'ABBASIDS - The second great Islamic dynasty (Caliphate) 750-1258 AD. Descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas, they founded Baghdad as their capital and developed it into a major centre of the arts and sciences. The Islamic civilisation made great cultural and economic advances during their rule. The Seljuk Turks usurped the real power in 1055 though the Caliphs remained nominal figureheads until the Mongol invasion under Hulagu Khan, grandson of Geghis Khan, who sacked Baghdad and massacred most of its population.

ABKHAZ - Caucasian ethnic group of some 80,000 people and their language in the north-west Caucasus. SEE CIRCASSIAN.

ABU-BAKR - Muhammad's father-in-law and the first male convert to Islam, 573-634 AD. Elected first Caliph on Muhammad's death, he reunited the Beduin tribes under Islam and started the Islamic drive to conquer the neighbouring lands of Syria and Iraq.

ADYGHE - Caucasian ethnic group of some 100,000 and their language in the north-west Caucasus. SEE CIRCASSIAN.

AFARS - Hamitic tribe of Djibouti.

AFGHAN - SEE PUSHTUN

AFSHAR - Turkic tribe in Iran numbering some 0.6m.

AHL-I-HAQQ - Extreme Shi'a sect that deifies 'Ali. Numbering some 150,000 they are found in Iran, Turkey and Iraq.

AHMADDIYA - Muslim heretical sect started in India by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (d. 1908) who proclaimed himself Mahdi. They believe Jesus revived after crucifixion and preached in India where he died. Very active missionary movement with adherents all over the Muslim world and in the West. Outlawed in Pakistan.

'ALAWIS - Extreme Shi'a sect of north-western Syria numbering some 2.3 million people. Long persecuted by the orthodox Sunni majority, they are now the dominant group in Syria under president Assad, himself an 'Alawi.

ALEVIS - The Shi'a minority of Turkey. Some are Twelver Shi'as, but many are extreme Shi'a or belong to Shi'a oriented Sufi brotherhoods. Number some 8-12 millions Turks and Kurds. Long persecuted by the Sunni Ottoman government and its Republican successors. Most live in the provinces of Eastern Turkey.

'ALI - Muhammad's paternal cousin and son-in-law, married to Fatima. Was elected fourth Caliph in 656, but is seen by the Shi'a as the only true successor to Muhammad and as the first Imam. The Shi'a see his descendants as the real Imams in every age. Extreme Shi'a groups venerate him to the point of deification. Mu'awiya, the Umayad governor of Syria, fought him to attain the Caliphood for himself. 'Ali was assassinated by a Khariji in 661.

'ALI-ILAHIS - SEE AHL-I-HAQ with whom they are identical. However it is also a name given in Turkey (where ALEVI is more generally used) and Iran to all extreme Shi'a groups who worship 'Ali as God or God's manifestation.

AMHARA - Hamitic people of Ethiopia speaking Amharic, the official Semitic language of Ethiopia and numbering some 20 million people. Amharic developed from ÿancient Ge'ez, its alphabet has 33 characters. The Amhara were converted to Christianity in the 4th century under Coptic missionaries. They were the ruling class in Ethiopia and their Ethiopian Orthodox Church (monophysite) was the national state church.

'ANAZA - A strong north-Arabian Beduin tribal confederation to which the royal house of Saud also belong.

ARABS - A Semitic people originating in the Arabian Peninsula. Converted to Islam under the Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century, they then conquered all the Middle East establishing a vast Islamic empire. They settled in many of the conquered areasÿand Arabised their populations. Today there are overÿ20 Arab states from the Atlantic to the Arabian Gulf.

ARABIC - Major Semitic language, spoken by some 180 million people as their mother tongue, and by millions more as a second language. Classical Arabic is the language of the Qur'an. Arabic has many colloqial forms - Algerian,ÿMoroccan, Egyptian, Syrian, Iraqi, Arabian, etc. Standard Modern Arabic is the language of newspapers and radio today.

'ARAB - Another name for Beduin.

ARMENIANS - Indo-European people of the Eastern Anatolian highlands and Caucasus where they have lived for some three thousand years. Their language is Armenian, a special branch of the Indo-European family. They number some 6 million people, 3.5 in Armenian Republic, 1 million scattered around the Middle East and others in the West. Armenia was the first country to accept Christianity as its state religion in 301 AD. Intermittently independent or autonomous, they suffered much from persecution by various Muslim states culminating in the massacres and deportations by the Ottomans during WWI. The monophysite Armenian Orthodox Church is their national church and the repository of Armenian culture.

ASHKENAZIM - Jews of central and east European origin as opposed to those of Spanish or Middle Eastern origin. They developed Yiddish as their spoken language. Their liturgy has slight differences to that practiced by Sephardi Jews.

ASSASSINS - SEE ISMA'ILIS. A Nizari Isma'ili sect of the 11th-13th century which flourished mainly in Persia, in the Alburz mountains where they had a quasi-independent state with its headquarters in the fortress of Alamut, and in the mountains of Syria and Lebanon. Their Grandmaster (Imam) was also known as "The Old Man Of The Mountain". They used assasination of Sunni and other leaders as a political and religious weapon.

ASSYRIANS - Nestorian Christians surviving mainly in Iraq, Iran and Turkey (some 150,000). The Nestorian Church was the Church of the Persian Empire and at one time had millions of adherents in the Middle East and Central Asia up to the Chinese border. Was almost wiped out by the Mongols. Separated from Eastern Orthodox churches in 431 after council of Ephesus. Syriac is liturgical language. Stressed two separate natures of Christ and would not call Mary "Mother of God". Edessa (Urfa) was its first centre. The Chaldeans are the Assyrians who accepted Roman Catholic supremacy as a Uniate church. They number some 350,000.

AYATOLLAH - Shi'a title for their greatest religious leaders, who represent the "Hidden Imam" to the community. Arabic for "Sign Of God". Khomeini was an Ayatollah. Every Shi'a believer must chose to follow and imitate a living Ayatollah.

AZANDES - African tribal group in South Sudan, related to the Nuba.

AZERIS - Turkic speaking people descended from the Oghuz Turks of Central Asia who settled in northwestern Iran from the 11th century. Their language is Azeri. They number 15 million, 8 million in northwestern Iran where they form the largest minority group and 7 million in independent Azerbaijan. They are Shi'a Muslims and have always been under Persian influence.

BAHAI - World religion founded by Baha'ullah (1817-1892) who proclaimed himself Mahdi in 1863 in Baghdad. It developed out of the Twelver Shi'a Babist heretical movement in Persia. Today a universalistic religion with its own scripture: "Kitab Akdas". Severely persecuted by the Islamic government of Iran. International headquarters are in Haifa, Israel, where Baha'ullahs tomb is found. Worldwide membership some 5 million, mainly in Iran, India, Africa, USA and other western countries.

BAKHTIARIS - nomadic tribal group of Iran speaking an Iranian language and numbering 1 million.

BALUCH - Iranian people group of mainly nomadic tribes living in Baluchistan, the desert area of eastern Iran (1.2 million), western Pakistan (3.5 million) and southern Afghanistan (0.25 million). Number some 5 million and speak Baloch, an Iranian language related to Persian. Intermittently fighting a guerilla war for autonomy and independence they are repressed by the central governments of the area.

BAQQARA - Arabic speaking, cattle breeding nomadic tribes of central-southern Sudan.

BARAKA - Blessing or grace. Often conceived of as a specific power available from Imams, saints, places and objects.

BARI - Nilotic African tribe of southern Sudan numbering some 0.7 million.

BASHKIRS - Turkic Muslim group of some 1.5 million, related to the Tatars and living mainly in the Bashkir Autonomous Republic of Russia.

BATIN - Esoteric, secret, hidden knowledge claimed by Isma'ili and other extreme Shi'a sects as well as Sufism. A characteristic of mystical gnostic movements. Also the hidden, mystical meaning of the Qur'an. Only the initiated have access to it through their spiritual masters.

BEDUIN - The Arabic speaking nomads of the Middle East, originating in the Arabian Peninsula but now found in all Arab countries from the Atlantic to the Arabian Gulf. They number some 20 million, though only some 2 million are still nomadic.

BEJA - A Hamitic people of the Red Sea Hills in north-eastern Sudan. They are traditionally nomads, number 1.8 million people and speak a Cushitic language, To-Bedawiye.

BERABER - The Berbers of the Middle Atlas in Morocco who speak Tamazight and number 3.2 million.

BERBER - The original inhabitants of the Maghreb, still speaking various dialects of Berber languages. Christianised during the Roman period, they converted to Islam with the Arab conquest of the 7th century. Their centres are in the Kabyle, Aures, Rif, Middle and High Atlas mountains. They constitute 40% of Morocco's population and 25% of Algeria's and number over 20 million people today. The main Berber groups are the Kabyles, Shawias, Beraber, Rif, Shluh and Tuareg.

BOHRAS - Taybi Isma'ilis of India whose leader, the Da'i Mutlak resides in Bombay. Their original home was Yemen, where there is still a small community. Due to persecution their leader moved to India in the 16th century where they flourished

BRAHUI - Dravidian community in west Pakistan living amongst the Baluch. Number some 1 million.

CALIPH - Title of the leaders of the Muslim community after Muhammad's death. Means "Deputy" or "Representative". The Shi'a prefer the word "Imam". Controversy over who was the real successor to Muhammad caused the main rifts in early Islam. The first four Caliphs accepted by the Sunnis were called "Rightly Guided". The Umayads, 'Abbasids, Fatimids and Ottomans all used the title Caliph..

CIRCASSIAN - Northwest-Caucasian Muslim community numbering some 1.2 million. When Tsarist Russia conquered their area in 19th century, many of them migrated to lands of the Ottoman Empire where they were known as Cherkess. Today some 0.5 million live in the Caucasus and some 0.7 million are found mainly in Turkey, Syria, Jordan and Israel. The Circassian language is also called Kabardian. Related Adyge and Abkhaz groups are sometimes included under the Circassian umbrella term.

COPTS - The largest Christian community in the Midle East, the national Church of Egypt numbering some 8 million. The Copts claim their church was founded by St Mark and that they are descendants of the original Egyptians. Severely persecuted by the Byzantine Greek Orthodox State Church, they welcomed the Muslims as liberators. Coptic, derived from ancient Egyptian, is still the liturgical language in the Church. Arabic superseded it as the spoken language in the 10-12th century. The Coptic Church is one of the non-Chalcedonian, Monophysite churches stressing the one nature of Christ. It has its own Pope (Shenouda) as head. The Copts have sporadically faced persecution from the Muslims over the centuries and today face increasing pressure from the growing fundamentalism of the Islamic majority.

CRUSADES - The various military expeditions (11th - 14th centuries) sent from Europe to liberate the Holy Land from the Muslims. Succeeded in setting up Christian Kingdoms in the Levant which survived for some 200 years. Notorious for their great cruelty to Muslims and Jews under the sign of the cross, their memory still forms an emotional barrier in efforts to evangelise the Middle East.

CUSHITIC - Afro-Asiatic language group of 13 languages spoken by some 13 million people. Oromo (Galla) is spoken by 10 million people mainly in Ethiopia. Somali by 5 million in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya. To-Bedawiye spoken by the Beja of the Sudan also belongs to this group.

DAGESTANI - Several related northeast Caucasian Muslim groups speaking Avar, Lezghian, Dargwa, Lakk, Kumyk and Tabarasan languages.

DEMIURGE - Lesser God who created the material world in Gnostic and Neo-Platonic thought. Similar concepts infiltrated extreme-Shi'a and Sufi world views. Sometimes seen as one of the emanations of the Ultimate God. His bungling creation trapped divine sparks in the evil matter of the world which can be redeemed by the initiated "Knowers".

DERVISH - Sufi mystic, initiated member of a Sufi order. Seeks for union with the divine through asceticism, meditation, Dhikr and Sama'. See FAKIR, SUFISM.

DHIKR - Sufi ritual of reciting God's name, using the repetition of various names of God and Quranic verses coupled with breath control and other techniques to arrive at the ecstatic state of union with God.

DINKA - Largest Nilotic cattle breeding tribe of southern Sudan, numbering some 3 millions.

DRUZE - Semi-Islamic closed sect numbering some 750,000 adherents in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Founded in Cairo around 1090 by Fatimid Isma'ilis who accepted The Caliph al-Hakim as the manifestation of God.

FALASHAS - SEE JEWS, black Ethiopian Jews who claim descent from the tribe of Dan or from Solomon's son by the Queen of Sheba. Were cut off for centuries from mainline Judaism. Most have emigrated to Israel, the last wave of some 14,000 being flown there in one day in 1991.

FARSEES - Farsee speaking people of Iran, descendants of ancient Persians. The dominant community in Iran, numbering some 30 million.

FAQIR - See DERVISH. Member of a Sufi order.

FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM - Prayer (Salat), Almsgiving (Zakat), Fasting in Ramadan (Saum), and Pilgrimage to Mecca (Haj), the five duties compulsory on all Muslims.

GALLA - SEE OROMO. Cushitic Muslim group of Ethiopia and Kenya numbering 10 million and speaking Oromo (also called Galla). Largest minority group in Ethiopia.

GEORGIANS - People group of the south Caucasus speaking Georgian, a language of the Kartvellian group. Number some 5 million, 3.5 million living in the indepenet Republic of Georgia. Georgia accepted Greek Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire. It was intermittently independent or autonomous over the centuries. Annexed by Russia in 1801 it became a socialist soviet republic but proclaimed its independence in 1990.

GNOSTICISM - A religious movement of the first centuries AD. Believed in secret knowledge as the key to salvation available only to its initiates. Taught that this material world was created by an inferior God, the Demiurge.

GREEK ORTHODOX - also Eastern Orthodox and Rum, family of self-governing autonomous churches, successors of the Byzantine orthodox state church. Accept all early seven ecumenical councils. Split with western churches in the great schism of 1054. Patriarch of Constantinople is seen as head. Some 1.5 m members in Middle East. Largest churches today are in the Slavic countries of Eastern Europe and in Greece.

GYPSIES - SEE ROMANY

HADITH - Collections of Muhammad's words and actions seen as the obligatory model for Muslim conduct. It forms the main part of the Sunnah, the second authoritative source of Islamic law after the Qur'an.

HAJ - The pilgrimage to Mecca obligatory on all able bodied Muslims. One of the five pillars of Islam. Undertaken in the month of Dhul-Hija, pilgrims go around the Ka'aba seven times and perform other rituals. It concludes with the feast of 'Id al-Adha.

HARRATIN - Berber group descended from black African slaves and converts to Islam. Found mainly in Morocco and Mauritania, they are farmers who were seen as vassals by nomadic Berber "white " tribes.

HAZARA - People group of Afghanistan speaking an Iranian language. Number 2 million.

HELLENISM - The form of Greek culture prelavent from the Mediterranean to the Indus following Alexander the Great's conquests. It was the dominant culture of the first centuries AD and later influenced Islamic culture.

HIJRA - Muhammad's migration from Mecca to Medina in 622 AD. Starting point of the Muslim calendar.

HUI - In the wider term Muslims of all ethnic groups living on Chinese territory and numbering some 60-70 millions. In the narrow term one of the Chinese Muslim groups, descended from Arab-Persian traders who intermarried with Han Chinese and today number some 8 million.

'IBADIS - Only surviving sect of early Kharijis, an extreme puritannical group who assassinated 'Ali and regarded Sunni Caliphs as apostates. Believe that any suitable Muslim could be elected as the Imam (Caliph) regardless of his origin. Very conservative sect found today in Oman and in pockets in the Maghreb.

IJMA' - One of the four sources of Islamic law, it is the consensus of opinion of the Muslim community represented by its learned men and jurists.

IMAM - For Sunnis a religious teacher who leads the prayers in the mosque. For Shi'as, the ultimate ruler from 'Alis house who is the true successor to Muhammad in every age and is considered sinless and infallible. The Twelver Shi'as recognise eleven visible Imams starting with 'Ali. The twelfth has gone into hiding (occultation) as the "Hidden Imam" in touch with his people through his representatives. He will return as the Mahdi at the end of the age to set up a golden era. For the Shi'a belief in the Imams is a sixth pillar of Islam.

INITIATION - Secret ceremony which marks the entry of an applicant as full member into one of the many mystical religious groups such as extreme Shi'a communities and Sufi orders.

IRANIANS - SEE FARSEES. The Persian (Farsee) speaking people of Iran.

ISLAM - The monotheistic religion founded by Muhammad in Arabia in the 7th century. Its Holy book is the Qur'an. It means submission to the will of God (Allah) as revealed in the Qur'an and the later Sunnah.

ISMA'ILIS - Shi'a sect, also known as Seveners, who split off the main Shi'a group over the succession to the sixth Imam. It flourished in the 9th-11th centuries. Established the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt which lasted for 250 years. Qarmatians were a socialist-anarchist branch of Isma'ilism. Assassins established themselves in Syrian and Caspian Sea mountains until overrun by Mongols. Survive today scattered from Syria to India to Central Asia. One group, the Khojas, accepts the Aga-Khan as Imam. Another, the Bohras are centred on Yemen.

ISSAS - Hamitic tribes of Djibouti.

JA'ALIYIN - Beduin tribe of Sudan.

JACOBITES - Other name for Syrian Orthodox Church.

JEWS - The nation and the religious community descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Dispersed after the Romans destroyed the Temple and Jerusalem in 70 AD they suffered much persecution from Christians and Muslims. Their two main centres today are the USA (6.5 million) and Israel (4.1 million). Total number estimated at 17 million worldwide with significant communities in the former USSR, South America, France and the UK.

JIHAD - "Holy War" in Islam. It is a striving for the faith both in the moral and military areas. Military Jihad was commanded against infidels. Some groups see Jihad as the sixth pillar of faith.

JUDAISM - The monotheistic religion of the Jews that developed out of the Bible. It is based on the Law given to Moses and its interpretation by Jewish sages over the centuries as codified in the Mishnah, Talmud and their commentaries. Main branches today are Orthodox, Conservative and Reformed.

JUHAYNA - Beduin tribe of Sudan.

KA'ABA - The cube-shaped bulding in the centre of the Holy Mosque at Mecca to which all Muslims turn in prayer. The Black Stone is set in its eastern corner. It was a pre-Islamic shrine which Muhammad purified in 630. Said to have been rebuilt by Abraham and Ishmael, it is at the centre of the Muslim pilgrimage, the Haj.

KABABISH - Beduin tribe of Sudan.

KABYLE - Main Berber tribes of Algeria, living in the Kabyle Mountains of northern Algeria. Number some 4.2 milliom.

KARACHAY - North-Caucasian Muslim group of 300,000 people who share an autonomous area within the Russian Federation together with the Circassians.

KARA'ITES - Jewish sect that accepted only the Old Testament, mainly the Pentateuch, as its source of authority and rejected later Rabbinic interpretations such as the Talmud. They accepted only a literal interpretation of the Torah. Flourished for a while in Iraq in between 8th - 10th centuries, then dwindled. Some 10,000 now live in Israel

KARAKALPAK - (Black Hat), Turkic group of some 300,000 living mainly in Uzbekistan along the lower reaches of the Amu-Darya floodplain and the adjacent Kizil-Kum desert.

KAZAKS - Turkic speaking people of Central Asia numbering 9 million, of whom 7 m live in the large Republic of Kazakstan and 1 m in the Chinese province of Xingiang. The Kazaks were descended from the Mongol Hordes. The Kazak Khanate was founded in the 15th century and was gradually absorbed into the Russian Empire from the 18th century onward.

KHARIJIS - SEE IBADIS. Early puritan Islamic movement of seceders from the fourth Caliph 'Ali. Claimed that the most worthy Muslim should be elected Caliph, regardless of origin. This was opposed by both Sunni and Shi'a doctrines of Caliphate (or Imamate). Believed it their duty to rebel against all illegitimate rule. Organised numerous rebellions against Ummayads and Abassids and were mostly wiped out during first two hundred years of Islam. Moderate Ibadi Khariji sect survives today in Oman and the Maghreb.

KHOJAS - Isma'ili group in India. Accept the Agha-Khan as their spiritual leader (Imam). Successors to the Nizari Isma'ilis and Assassins. Following pwrsecution in Persia the Isma'ili Nizari leaders moved to India were their following today numbers several millions.

KURDS - Kurdish speaking Indo-Iranian community of 22 million people who have inhabited the same area for thousands of years speaking various dialects of the Kurdish language, but have never had their own independent state. Today divided mainly between Turkey, Iran and Iraq where their national movement is suppressed. Significant groups also in Syria, Caucasian states and western Europe.

KIRGIZ - Turkic speaking Muslim people of Central Asia numbering 3 million, of whom 2 m live in independent Kirgizia. Settled in the region they now inhabit in the 12th century.

LATINS - Name given to mainline Roman Catholics in Middle East to distinguish them from the Greek Catholics who are called Melkites and the Greek Ortodox called Rum.

MAHDI - the "Guided One". Messiah figure of Shi'a and Sunni eschatology. Shi'as expect the "Hidden Imam" (for Twelver Shi'as Muhammad al-Mahdi who disappeared in 880) to reappear at end of the age as the Mahdi and establish a Kingdom of justice. Sunnis also expect a Messianic figure at the end times who will usher in a golden age. There have been many false Mahdis in Islamic history.

MANDAEANS - Ancient Gnostic sect of which some 15,000 still survive in southern Iraq and Iran. Believe in a divine Saviour who lived on earth and defeated the powers of darkness.

MANICHAEANS - Gnostic sect which flourished from the 3rd century into the first centuries of Islam. Founded by Mani (216-176) in Persia it spread all over the Roman and Persian Empires and into Central Asia where it became for a while the state religion of the Uigurs. Persecuted by the Abassids, it was later wiped out by the Mongols but has deeply influenced various Islamic sects.

MARONITES - Main Christian Church and community of Lebanon, numbering some 0.6 million in Lebanon and 1.5 million worldwide. Founded in 6th century, it is an Eastern rite church with Syriac as liturgical language which later affiliated to the Roman Catholic Church as the largest UNIATE church.

MELKITES - another name for the Greek-Catholic (uniate) churche of the Middle East.

METWALIS - Another name for the Twelver Shi'as of southern Lebanon and the Beka'a valley who number some 1 million and are the largest community in Lebanon.

MINARET - Literally "lighthouse", the tower attached to a mosque from which the call to prayer is isssued.

MONISM - Belief that there is only one basic reality to all existence despite the variety apparent in creation which is seen as an illusion. All existence is one.

MONOTHEISM - Belief in one unique and supreme God who is the only creator and sustainor of the universe.

MONGOLS - The people of Mongolia. Originally nomads they were united by Genghiz Khan in the 13th century and together with allied peoples quickly conquered a vast Empire from China in the East to Central Europe in the West. Known for their cruelty in war. In conquered Muslim lands they later converted to Islam and belonged to the ruling class of many Muslim lands, especially the Moghul Empire in India but also in Iran and Afghanistan. In Mongolia they accepted Tibetan Buddhism.

MOORS - Main population group in Mauritania and also some 10% of Morocco's population. Originally a mixture of Berber and Arabic peoples who today speak Hassaniya Arabic.

MOSQUE - The Muslim place of prayer and worship. Usually has an outer court with a water source for the ritual washings and an unfurnished, carpeted inner hall for the ritual prayers. Special prayers are said on Friday afternoon led by the Imam who also delivers a sermon. The Qibla (direction of Mecca) which Muslims face whilst praying is indicated by the Mihrab - a niche in one of the walls.

MUHAMMAD - The Prophet, Apostle and founder of Islam (570-632). Claimed that the Qur'an revealed to him by the angel Gabriel is God's final message to humanity, superseding the revelations to Jews by Moses and to Christians by Jesus.

MUHARRAM - Shi'a commemoration of Hussein's martyrdom at Karbala, held on the tenth day of the month Muharram. Includes a passion play on the martyrdom and self flagelation. A time of extreme religios emotion for Shi'as.

MYSTICISM - The search for a direct, intuitive and personal experience and knowledge of God and the techniques used to attain to this goal. Mystics search for a union with the divine.

M'ZABIS - Berber community of Algerian oasis of M'zab in the Sahara. Belong to the ancient and strict Ibadi sect of the Kharijis. Live mainly in a seven town league around the oasis of the Wadi M'zab.

NESTORIAN - SEE ASSYRIAN

NUBA PEOPLE - African tribes of central-western Sudan, centred on the Nuba mountains. Numbering some 3.1 m.

NUBIANS - Hamitic people of the Egyptian-Sudanese border area who founded a powerful Empire (Biblical Cush) in ancient times. Later there were three Christian Nubian kingdoms that held out for 600 years until finally destroyed by Muslims in the 15th century. Many Nubians live scattered in Egypt. Their main centre was swamped by the waters of lake Nasser with the building of the Aswan High Dam.

NURISTANIS - Population group of Afghanistan which was pagan but forced to convert to Islam in the 19th century. Number some 0.5 million.

NUER - Nilotic tribe of southern Sudan numbering some 1.5 million.

OROMO - SEE GALLA.

PALESTINIANS - Arab population of former Palestine, many living as refugees in other Arab lands since the creation of Israel in 1948. Number some 4 million worldwide, 0.8 m in Israel proper, 1.5 in the territories occupied by Israel after the 1967 war.

PANTHEISM - Belief that all reality is in essence divine - that God is in everything.

PATHANS - PUKHTUNS, PUSHTUNS, SEE AFGHANS. Main population group of Afghanistan. Living also in the Northwest Frontier province of Pakistan. Speak Pukhtun, an Iranian language. Number 25 million, 9 million in Afghanistan and 16 million in Pakistan.

PARSEES - Small surviving Zoroastrian community (some 125,000), living mainly in India near Bombay. Fleeing Muslim persecution in Iran they emigrated to India in 16th century. Zoroastrianism had been the state religion of the Persian Empire before the Muslim conquest.

PERSIANS - SEE FARSEES, IRANIANS. Dominant group of Iran since Cyrus the Great. Today number some 30 million speaking Farsee, the official language of Iran.

POLYTHEISM - The worship of many Gods seen as rulers of the various aspects of life and of the world.

QASHQAIS - Turkic tribe of Iran numbering 1 million.

QIYAS - Principle of analogical deduction and interpretation of the Qur'an. The solution to a present day legal problem is inferred from an analogous case of early Islam. Seen as one of the four sources of Islamic law.

QUR'AN - The Holy Scripture of Islam. Said to have been revealed to Muhammad by the angel Gabriel. The original is believed to be eternal and inscribed in heaven. The Caliph 'Uthman edited the final code and destroyed all other variants.

RAMADAN - Month of fasting obligatory for all Muslims who must abstain from food and water every day of the month from dawn to sunset. The fast of Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. Concludes with Id al-Fitr.

REINCARNATION - The belief that individual souls survive death and are reborn to live again in a different body, thus passing through a series of lives. Held by some extreme Shi'a and Sufi groups.

RIF - Berber tribes of the Rif mountains in northern Morocco. Number some 1.2 million.

ROMANY - Another name for GYPSIES. There are small communities of Romanys scattered in most Middle Eastern countries, totaling at least 100,000, most of them professing Islam. They are looked down upon by other population groups and are at the bottom of the social scale.

RUMELI TURKS - Turkish speaking Muslims of the Balkans.

RWALA - Large Beduin tribe of the Syrian desert.

SAFAVIDS - Persian dynasty of the 15 - 17th centuries, who made Shi'a Islam into the state religion of Persia and fought a 200 year war against the Sunni Ottoman Turks.

SALAT - Prayers which are obligatory on every Muslim five times a day facing Mecca. One of the five pillars of Islam. Consist of a recitation of the Shihada and the Fatiha accompanied by ritual movements and prostration.

SAMARITANS - Semi-Jewish community descended from the various people the Assyrians settled in the north of Israel after the exile of the ten tribes. Accept only the Pentateuch as their religious Scriptures. Once fairly powerful, their centre was the temple on Mount Gerizim. Today only some 500 survive in Israel and the West Bank.

SAYYIDS - See SHARIFS, title of Muslims claiming descent from Muhammad, highly respected in all Muslim societies. Often seen as the nobility of the area and possessing supernatural Baraka.

SEPHARDIC JEWS - Jews descended from the Jewish community in Spain which flourished under the Muslim rule and which was expelled after the Reconquista in 1492. Ladino was their language and is still in some use today. Most settled in North Africa, Turkey and other Muslim lands as well as in Italy and the Balkans.

SHAHSEVAN - Turkmen Shi'a group in Iran, descendants of the supporters of the Turkmen Safavid Sufi order that eventually came to rule the Persian Safavid Empire.

SHARI'A - Islamic law which covers all aspects of human life, religious and secular. It is derived from its four sources: Qur'an, Sunnah (Hadith), Ijma' and Qiyas. The legal specialists and judges who interpret and enforce it are the Qadis, 'Ulama' and Muftis.

SHARIFS - See SAYYIDS.

SHAWIYA - Berber community of the Aures mountains of Algeria numbering 1.5 million.

SHI'A - the second major Muslim group in the world, accounting for some 12% of all Muslims. Believe 'Ali to have been Muhammad's first true successor (Caliph, Imam) as ruler of all Muslims and reject the first three Sunni Caliphs. Believe that final authority resides in the Imams of 'Alis house who are the infallible representatives of God in every age. Shi'a are a majority in Iran and Iraq and form significant minorities in Yemen, Lebanon, Pakistan, Central Asia, and elsewhere. The main group are the Twelvers who recognise twelve Imams, the last of whom went into hiding. Other smaller groups are the Seveners (Isma'ilis), Fivers (Zaydis) and extreme Shi'a (Ghulat) sects. The Fatimid and Safavid dynasties were Shi'a.

SHILLUK - Nilotic tribe of south Sudan, number some 0.5 million. Living on west bank of Nile. Settled farmers who grow cattle, sheep, goats. Headed by a king considered divine.

SHIRK - In Islam the greatest possible sin, that of associating a creature with the One God, ascribing equals to God.

SHLUH - Berber Shilha speaking community of the High Atlas of Morocco. Number 5.1 million.

SUFISM - mystical movement in Islam which originated in the 8th century searching for a direct experience of God and union with him. Sufi orders are widespread all over the Muslim world, involving both Sunnis and Shi'a. Had great influence on Islamic thinking and helped the spread of Islam to new areas.

SUNNAH - The "Way" or practice of the Prophet, includes all the Prophet taught and did as recorded in the Qur'an and Hadith. It is seen as authoritative on all Muslims for belief and conduct. Refers to the words and actions of the Prophet and to a lesser degree to those of the first four "rightly guided" Caliphs.

SUNNI - largest group in Islam, comprising almost 90% of all Muslims in the world. Accept first four "Rightly Guided" Caliphs and their successors. Accept the process of law making and interpretation developed by their legal experts using four sources of authority: Qur'an, Hadith, Ijma' and Qiyas. There are four official schools of interpretation in Sunni Islam: Maliki, Shafi'i, Hannafi and Hanbali. The Umayad, 'Abassid, Mameluk and Ottoman dynasties were all Sunni.

SYNCRETISM - The fusion of two or more religions into a new religious system.

SYRIAN ORTHODOX - SEE JACOBITE. Ancient non-Chalcedonian, monophysite church that uses Syriac as its liturgical language. Its first centre was Antioch. Severely persecuted by the Byzantine Greek Orthodox church, it saw the Muslim Arabs as liberators. Once powerful and widespread, it today has some 250,000 adherents in the Middle East, mainly in Syria, Iraq, Turkey, and Lebanon.

TAJIKS - Muslim People of Central Asia, living mainly in Tajikistan (2.5 m) and Afghanistan (3.5 m), numbering some 6 million, speaking Tajik, an Iranian language closely related to modern Persian. The Tajiks were the original Iranian population of Afghanistan and Turkistan who later intermingled with Turkic and Mongolian conquerors.

TAMASHEK - Berber language of the Tuareg tribes of North Africa and the Sahel. Also spelled Tamarshak. Its written form is called Tifinagh.

TATAR - Turkic group of 6-7 million people, descendants of the Mongol Golden Horde with its centre at Kazan, living mostly in areas of the former Soviet Union. They were converted to Islam in the 16th century. There are Kazan (Volga) Tatars (6 m), Crimean Tatars (0.25 m) and and Siberian Tatars.

TARIQA - "Path", title of Sufi orders.

TAWHID - The important Muslim doctrine of the unity of God. God is unique and sovereign, has no parts or partners: "There is no God but Allah." Many Muslim groups call themselves "Muwahidun" - proclaimers of the Unity to stress their orthodoxy, even when heretical.

THEOSOPHY - "Divine Wisdom", mystical systems designed to give an intuitive knowledge of God.

TUAREGS - Berber tribes of the Sahara and the Sahel, mainly nomadic. The northern tribes are centred on the Ahaggar and Air mountains, the southern in the savannahs north of the Niger River. The men wear veils over their faces which it is a shame to remove. Number some 1.5 million.

TURKMEN - Turkic tribes originally nomadic, descended from the Oghuz Turks, who converted to Islam and settled in Central Asia, northern Iran and Anatolia. Number 4.5 million, of whom some 2.7 m live in the independent Republic of Turkmenistan. Other main concentrations are in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey and Syria.

TURKS, OTTOMAN - 46 million. Largest group of Turkic speaking people, now settled mainly in Turkey (Anatolian Peninsula). Originating in Central Asia they started migrating to the Byzantine Empire in the 8th century, originally as slaves and mercenaries. Converted to Islam, first the Seljuk Turks set up an Empire, later the Ottomans who conquered Constantonople and large areas of the Balkans, their Empire also included Northe Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Iraq and parts of the Caucasus. Ottoman Turkish is the official language of Turkey.

TWELVERS - See SHI'A. Main Shi'a group, also called Imamis. State religion of Iran. Accept twelve Imams begining with 'Ali. The twelfth, Muhammad al-Mahdi, disappeared in 880 and is believed to have gone into hiding (occultation). He will appear as the Mahdi at the end of the age to usher in the golden age of peace and justice. His representatives on earth are the Ayatollas. The Imams are seen as sinless and infallible, the final authority in religion. Belief in the Imam is a central item of the Shi'a faith. The tombs of the dead Imams are centres of pilgrimages in Iraq and Iran (Karbala, Kadimain, Qum).

UIGURS - Turkic group of 7.5 million. Among the oldest Turkic speaking peoples. Live mainly in western part of Xingiang province of China, some 250,000 in the former Soviet Union. Their first kingdom was along the Orhan river and in 840 was overrun by the Kirgiz. Their second kingdom in the Turfan basin had strong Buddhist and Manichean leanings. Was overthrown by the Mongols in the 13th century, the Uigurs contributing their cultural and administrative skills to the Mongol Empire.

'UMAR - Second "rightly guided" Caliph (634-644) following Abu-Bakr. One of Muhammad's earliest disciples he was known for his simple lifestyle and strictness. In his time Islam expanded into Egypt, Iraq and Persia. Murdered by a Christian Persian slave in the mosque at Medina.

UMAYADS - First Arab Muslim dynasty (661-750). Founded by Mu'awiya of the Umaya family, governor of Syria, who challenged 'Ali and proclaimed himself fifth Caliph. The Umayad capital was Damascus. The Umayads extended the Islamic Empire from Spain to India. There were eleven Umayad Caliphs until they were overthrown by the 'Abassids who later moved the capital to Baghdad.

UMMA - The worldwide community of all Muslims seen as one nation under God, submissive to his revelation in the Qur'an.

UNIATES - Churches in the Middle East, originally part of various Eastern Orthodox churches, who later transferred their allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church whilst keeping their own distinctives. The main ones are the Maronites, Syrian Catholic, Chaldean, Greek Catholic, Coptic Catholic and Armenian Catholic.

'UTHMAN - Third of the "rightly guided" Caliphs. Son-in-law of Muhammad. Ordered the compilation of the authoritative version of the Qur'an. Regarded as weak and worldly he was murdered in 656. His assassination triggerred off the civil war between his successor 'Ali and Mu'awiya the Umayad governor of Syria who was 'Uthman's cousin and sought to avenge his death.

UZBEKS - Turkic people numbering 18 million. 16.5 million live in Uzbekistan, 1.5 million in Afghanistan. Descended from part of the Golden Horde who settled between the lower Volga river and the Aral Sea. In the 16th century they invaded and settled in and around Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent, setting up the three khanates of Kokand, Bukhara and Khiva.

WAHABIS - Members of a puritan Islamic renewal movement established by Muhammad ibn 'abd al-Wahab (d.1792) in Nejd in Arabia. He aimed at a restoration of pure Islam free from later innovations such as Sufism and Shi'ism. The Wahabis accept only the authority of the Qur'an and the Sunna. It eventually became the official creed of the house of Saud and under its banner ibn-Saud conquered most of the Arabian peninsula and established the Saudi Arabian Kingdom. It is still the official creed of Saudi Arabia and has a strong influence on Muslim fundamentalist movements around the world.

YAZIDIS - Syncretistic religious community, mainly Kurdish speaking, linked to extreme Shi'a teaching and centred on the Sinjar mountains of north-west Iraq, but also found in nearby areas of Turkey, Syria, Iran and Armenia. Number some 250,000. Severely persecuted by the Sunnis in Turkey and Iraq who called them "devil worshippers".

ZAYDIS - Fiver Shi'a group who split from the main Shi'a branch over the election of the fifth Imam. They are the dominant group in northern Yemen, where their Imams have ruled for almost a thousand years. Number some 5 million.

ZAKAT - The giving of alms incumbent on all Muslims. One of the five pillars of Islam. Usually 2.5% of a person's yearly income. Must only be used for distribution to the poor and needy.

ZENAGA - Berber group found in Morocco, Mauritania and Lybia.

ZOROASTRIANISM - The religion of ancient Persia founded by Zoroaster in the tenth century BC. It was monotheistic in that it believed in one supreme creator God, and dualistic in that it postulated equal and opposed principles (or spirits) of good and evil. Zoroastrianism was the offical state religion of the various Persian Empires until the Muslim invasion.