Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) World Council of Churches, an international, interdenominational organization of most major Protestant, Anglican, and Eastern Orthodox Christian churches; founded in Amsterdam in 1948, its headquarter...

(Encyclopedia) Zhu De or Chu Teh both: jo͞o dŭ [key], 1886–1976, Chinese Communist soldier and leader. He was graduated (1911) from the Yunnan military academy and served in various positions with armies loyal t...

(Encyclopedia) sharia, the religious law of Islam. As Islam makes no distinction between religion and life, Islamic law covers not only ritual but many aspects of life. The actual codification of canonic law is the ...

(Encyclopedia) Galt, Sir Alexander Tilloch tĭlˈək gôlt [key], 1817–93, Canadian statesman, b. England; son of John Galt. In 1835 he went to Canada in the service of the British American Land Company. He direct...

(Encyclopedia) Hamas hämäsˈ [key] [Arab., = zeal], Arabic acronym for the Islamic Resistance Movement, a Palestinian Islamic fundamentalist organization that was founded in 1987 during the Intifada; it seeks ...

(Encyclopedia) arrest, in law, seizure and detention of a person, either to bring him before a court body or official, or to otherwise secure the administration of the law. A person may be arrested for an alleged vi...

(Encyclopedia) Madison. 1 City (1990 pop. 12,006), seat of Jefferson co., SE Ind., on the Ohio River; settled c.1806, inc. 1838. It is a port of entry and a tobacco marketing center. Among its manufactures are trans...

(Encyclopedia) representation, in government, the term used to designate the means by which a whole population may participate in governing through the device of having a much smaller number of people act on their b...

(Encyclopedia) zoning, legislative regulations by which a municipal government seeks to control the use of buildings and land within the municipality. It has become, in the United States, a widespread method of cont...

(Encyclopedia) Saint Helena həlēˈnə [key], island, 47 sq mi (122 sq km), in the S Atlantic Ocean, 1,200 mi (1,931 km) W of Africa. Together with the islands of Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, it comprises the Br...