Islamic leaders, their biographies and accomplishments. Saul Silas Fathi

and sentenced to life imprisonment for seditious conspiracy for a bombing plot. In early 1999, from his high security jail in the US, he endorsed the unilateral cease-fire declared by al Gamaat al Islamiya.

      ***

Abdullah I ibn Hussein al Hashem (1882-1951): Emir of Tran Jordan, 1921-46, King of Jordan 1946-51 Son of Sharif Hussein ibn Ali al Hashem of Hijaz, Abdullah was educated in Istanbul, where his father was kept under surveillance from 1891 until the coup by the Young Turks in 1908. From 1912 to 1914 Abdullah represented Mecca in the Ottoman parliament. He participated in the Arab revolt against the Ottomans that, led by his father, erupted in June 1916. When Sharif Hussein declared himself King of Hijaz in 1917, Abdullah became his foreign minister. Most of them considered Abdullah a traitor, a lackey of the British, who had made underhanded deals with the Zionists at the expense of Arab interests. In July 1951, Shurki Ashu, a young Palestinian, assassinated Abdullah as he entered al Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem for Friday prayers. King of Jordan; assassinated in 1951.

      ***

Abdullah al-Ma’mun (786-833): The question of political succession has often been a major stumbling block in Islamic political history. Keen to avoid a similar conflict after his death, the celebrated Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid took the unusual step of nominating his successor during his own lifetime. According to the agreement formulated by Harun, he was to be succeeded by his son, Muhammad, who became known as Caliph al-Amin. It also stated that al-Amin, in turn, was to be succeeded by his brother, Abdullah, who later became known as Caliph al-Ma’mun. Al-Ma’mun denounced his brother as a traitor and this set the two brothers against each other, leading to considerable political infighting and loss of life. Al-Ma’mun not only went on to become one of the Muslim world’s most prominent rulers, but also carved out an important place for himself in the intellectual history of Islam.

      Abdullah al-Ma’mun ibn Harun al-Rashid was born in Baghdad after his father’s accession to the Abbasid throne at the age of twenty-two. The Caliph invited the leading scholars to come and teach al-Ma’mun. He thus received a thorough education in Arabic language, literature and aspects of Islamic sciences. Young al-Ma’mun acquired considerable knowledge of Islamic sciences and became thoroughly familiar with the Qur’an.

      In 809, Caliph Harun al-Rashid died at the age of forty-three. During his reign of twenty-two years he completely transformed the fortunes of the Abbasid Empire. He restored peace, order and security throughout his vast empire. Under Harun’s patronage, Baghdad became one of the Muslim world’s most famous educational, cultural and architectural centers.

      Al-Ma’mun was keen to reward his staff handsomely so as to prevent corruption, bribery and malpractice from rearing their ugly heads within his Government, and in this respect he was very successful. Like his father, al-Ma’mun transformed Baghdad into a thriving city. Under his stewardship, it became the world’s most dazzling capital city, being renowned for its schools, colleges, hospitals, markets, bookshops and libraries. As a generous patron of learning and education, he transformed the bait al-Hikmah (‘the House of Wisdom’), which was originally founded by his father Caliph Harun al-Rashid, into one of the Muslim world’s most famous libraries and research centers. He not only expanded its activities and renamed it as dar al-Hikmah (‘the Abode of Wisdom’), he also went out of his way to recruit some of the Muslim world’s brightest minds.

      Al-Ma’mun chose to champion the views of the Mu’tazilites with the result that, during his reign, Mu’tazilism became the official creed of the State. Unlike the Islamic traditionalists, who argued that the Qur’an was the uncreated Word of God, al-Ma’mun – like the Mu’tazilites – considered it to be a created Word of God.

      Caliph al-Ma’mun’s reign of two and a half decades came to an end when he was forty-seven. He died in the village of Budandun (in present-day Pozanti) during a military expedition he led against the Byzantines. His body was transferred to Tarsus where he was laid to rest following a simple funeral. His half-brother Abu Ishaq Muhammad Mu’tasim Billah succeeded him as Caliph.

      ***

Abdullah ibn Abdul Aziz al Saud (1923- ): Saudi Arabian crown Prince, 1982, son of Abdul Aziz al Saud and Asi al Shuraim of the Rashid clan, which was defeated by Abdul Aziz in 1921, Abdullah was born and educated in Riyadh. He started his career as governor of Mecca and became deputy defense minister and commander of the national Guard in 1963. When Khalid ibn Abdul Aziz acceded the throne in 1975 he appointed Abdullah as second deputy premier. Washington’s relations with Riyadh soured when it emerged that fifteen of the nineteen hijackers of 9/11 were Saudi nationals. Abdullah I (Abdullah ibn Husayn), 1882-1951, king of Jordan (1946-51), b. Mecca; son of Husayn ibn Ali of the Hashemite family.

      During World War I, Abdullah, with British support, led Arab revolts against Turkish rule. After the war, the unsuccessfully fought against Ibn Saud for control of the Hejaz. In 1921, Great Britain made Abdullah the emir of Transjordan as well as placed Abdullah’s brother Faisal as king of Iraq. In World War II, Abdullah strongly opposed the Axis powers. Following the partition of Palestine (May, 1948) he led the troops of his British-trained force, the Arab Legion, against the newly declared state of Israel. Abdullah annexed the portions of Palestine now known as the West Bank. His foreign policy was directed toward creation of an Arab federation, preferably under Hashemite rule. In 1951 he was assassinated in Jerusalem.

      ***

Abdullah, Sheikh Muhammad (1905-1982): Kashmiri Muslim leader. He began his career as an activist in the Kashmir Muslim Conference in the 1930s, agitating against the arbitrary rule of the Hindu Dogra Maharaja of Kashmir. Later, as the leader of the Muslim National Conference, he established close links with the Indian National Congress and Jawaharlal Nehru.

      ***

Abraham: First of the patriarchs of Israel, from whom the Israelites traced their descent. He is revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims. The biblical stories of Abraham are of varying date and origin, and it is uncertain how much historical fact they contain. According to the book of Genesis (the first book of the Old Testament), Abraham lived in the middle of the 2^nd millennium BC at Haran in northern Mesopotamia. He was divinely called to leave his home and family and go to a new land, Canaan. It is recorded that God made a covenant (or agreement) with him, promising him a multitude of descendants to whom he would give Canaan forever, provided that he and all his male descendants were circumcised. Accordingly, Abraham’s wife Sarah, although aged over 90, gave birth to a son, Isaac. God subsequently tested Abraham’s faith by asking him to sacrifice Isaac to him. When Abraham showed his readiness to do this, a ram was substituted for the sacrifice and God confirmed his covenant. Through Ishmael, his son by Hagar, the maidservant of Sarah, he is considered by Muslims an ancestor of the Arabs, and is frequently mentioned (as Ibrahim) in the Koran.

      ***

Abu Al-Abbas Al-Suffah (750-754): Abu al-Abbas as-Saffah, d. 754, 1^st Abbasid caliph (749-54). Abu al Qasim Muhammad: also known as the Hidden Imam. He was the Twelfth Imam of the Shiah, who was said to have gone into hiding in 874 to save his life; in 934 his “Occultation” was declared God it was said had miraculously concealed the Imam and he could make no further direct contact with Shi’as. Shortly before the Last Judgment, he would return as the Mahdi to inaugurate a golden age of justice and peace, having destroyed the enemies of God.

      ***

Abu al Qasim Muhammad: Also known as the Hidden Imam. He was the Twelfth Imam of the Shiah, who was said to have gone into hiding in 874 to save his life; in 934 his “Occultation” was declared God it was said had miraculously concealed the Imam and he could make no further direct contact with Shi’as. Shortly before the Last Judgment, he would return as the Mahdi to inaugurate a golden age of justice and peace, having destroyed the enemies of God.

      ***

Abu Bakr al-Razi (841-925): ‘The greatest clinician of Islam and of the whole Middle Ages. He was the most celebrated and probably the most original of the Arabic writers.’ Some historians have