Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Al Qaeda or Al Qaida äl kīˈĕdə, käˈĭdä [key] [Arab.,=the base], Sunni Islamic terrorist organization with the stated goals of uniting all Muslims and establishing a transnational, strict-fund...

(Encyclopedia) Mamun, al- (Abu al-Abbas Abd Allah al-Mamun) mämo͞onˈ [key], 786–833, 7th Abbasid caliph (813–33); son of Harun ar-Rashid. He succeeded his brother al-Amin after a bitter civil war, but was una...

(Encyclopedia) Al-Farghani ălfrəgāˈnəs [key], d. after 861, Arab astronomer. Al-Farghani was born in Farghana, Transoxania (present-day Fergana, Uzbekistan), and died in Egypt. His most important work, written ...

(Encyclopedia) Gezira, Al äl jäzēˈrä [key], region, SE Sudan, occupying the tract between the White and Blue Niles south of their convergence at Khartoum. The Arabic word Gezira means “island” or “peninsu...

(Encyclopedia) Al, symbol for the element aluminum. ...

(Encyclopedia) Al Aziziyah ăzĭzēˈä [key], town, NW Libya, near Tripoli. It is a major trade center of the Jifarah plain. Al Aziziyah was long considered to have recorded the highest shade temperature on earth, ...

(Encyclopedia) Manamah, Al äl mänämˈä [key], town (1991 pop. 127,578), capital, commercial center, and largest city of Bahrain, on the Persian Gulf. It has oil refineries and light industries and is a free port...

(Encyclopedia) Arish, Al äl ärēshˈ [key], town (1986 pop. 67,337), NE Egypt, in the Sinai peninsula, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is a fishing port and a military and administrative center; since the 1980s it ha...

(Encyclopedia) Baladhuri, al- äl-bäläˈᵺo͝orē [key], d. c.892, Arab historian. One of the most important Arab historians, he spent most of his life in Baghdad and enjoyed great influence at the court of the c...

(Encyclopedia) Shafi'i, al- (Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi'i), 767–820, Islamic jurist. Raised and educated in Mecca and Medina, he taught in Egypt and Baghdad. His teachings laid the groundwork for the...