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Avempace

(Encyclopedia)Avempace āˈvəmpās, äˌvĕmpäˈthā [key], Arabic Ibn Bajja, d. 1138, Spanish-Arab philosopher. Little is known of his life, but he was born in Zaragoza and died in Fès, Morocco. Developing the ...

Banna, Hasan al-

(Encyclopedia)Banna, Hasan al- häsˈsän äl-bänˈnə [key], 1906–49, Egyptian religious and political leader; founder of the Muslim Brotherhood. He was involved with traditional Islamic education in Egypt. In ...

Chishti, Muin ad-Din Hasan

(Encyclopedia)Chishti, Muin ad-Din Hasan mo͞oēnˈ äd-dĭn häsänˈ chĭshˈtē [key], 1142–1236, Indian Muslim saint, b. Sistan, Persia. He founded a Sufi mystic order responsible for spreading Islamic teachi...

Gaur, ruined city, India

(Encyclopedia)Gaur gour [key], ruined city, West Bengal state, India. Known also as Lakhnauti, the city was an ancient Hindu capital of Bengal. It was captured (c.1200) by the Islamic rulers of Delhi and remained a...

Amru al-Kais

(Encyclopedia)Amru al-Kais ämˈro͞o äl-kīs [key], fl. 6th cent., Arabic poet. His verse, like much of the poetry of the pre-Islamic period, is intensely subjective and stylistically perfect. He was esteemed by ...

Hud

(Encyclopedia)Hud ho͞od [key], a pre-Qur'anic prophet of Islam. Hud unsuccessfully exhorted his South Arabian people, the Ad, to worship the One God. The Qur'an mentions that their incredulity was punished by a de...

Barzani, Masoud

(Encyclopedia)Barzani, Masoud, 1946–, Kurdish political leader, b. Mahabad, Iran. The son of Mustafa Barzani, founder of the Kurdistan Democratic party (KDP), he joined the Kurdish forces fighting for autonomy fr...

Taj Mahal

(Encyclopedia)Taj Mahal täzh məhälˈ, täj məhŭlˈ [key], mausoleum, Agra, Uttar Pradesh state, N India, on the Yamuna River. It is considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the world and the finest ex...

Baha'i

(Encyclopedia)Baha'i bähäˈē, –hīˈ, bə– [key], religion founded by Baha Ullah (born Mirza Huseyn Ali Nuri) and promulgated by his eldest son, Abdul Baha (1844–1921). It is a doctrinal outgrowth of Babis...

Messi, Lionel Andrés

(Encyclopedia)Messi, Lionel Andrés lyonālˈ ändrāsˈ māˈsē [key], 1987–, Argentinian-Spanish soccer player, b. Rosario, Argentina. He showed great talent early, and his family moved to Spain in 2000 when F...