City in Iran with 300,000 inhabitants. Situated in the south-western corner of Iran, on the island of Abadan.

Uncle of Muhammad. Successful merchant, and was known for the grandeur that he surrounded himself with during his travels. Stories tell that he was in charge of the Zamzam.

Caliphate dynasty ruling from 750 until 1258. All of one big family that claimed to descend from Abbas, an uncle of Muhammad.

Moroccan politician and liberation fighter and leader.

Emir, religious and military resistance fighter against the French occupation of Algeria.

King of Jordan. Was named crown prince less than 2 weeks before he was sworn in as regent of Jordan, following the declaration of the clinical death of his father, Hussein 1.

First Caliph of Islam.

Island, city, and emirate in the United Arab Emirates. The emirate has about 1.19 million inhabitanst, while the city has about 420,000.

Muslim theolgian, founder of the Ash'ari school of theology.

Founder of the Islamic school of the muwahhiduns, also known as Wahhabism.

Palestinian politician and guerilla leader.

Mountain range in south-western Libya, and a subrange of the Hoggar Mountains of Algeria. Lies southwest of the Fezzan area of central Libya.

City in Turkey with 1.1 million inhabitants. Situated inland, 30 km from the northeastern corner of the Mediterranean Sea.

City of Yemen, and the country's winter capital, with 530,000 inhabitants, situated in the south of the country, at the Gulf of Aden.

Western arm of the Arabian Sea, meeting the Red Sea at the strait Babu l-Mandeb.

Uttering used to call all Muslims to prayer, salat. Sent out from a minaret, either sung by a muezzin present in the minaret, or transmitted from a loudspeaker with the help of cassette recording.

City in Morocco with 720,000 inhabitants. A seaport and the administrative and economical centre for its region.

Egyptian Pharaoh, reigning from 1570 to 1546, and founder of the 18th dynasty.

Egyptian Pharaoh, reigning from 569 to 526 BCE, as part of the 26th dynasty.

The evil power in the Avesta, the collection of religious writings in Zoroastrianism.

The supreme god in Zoroastrianism.

City of Tunisia, and the centre of the mountainous region in the northwest of the country, with about 10,000 inhabitants.

Algerian political group. A militant subdivision of FIS, and not be confused with the far more active and brutal GIA.

Egypt's largest newspaper, founded in 1875 by the Taqla family.

President of Syria (1971-2000).

One of the greatest thinkers in Islam, and among the foremost theologians.

Arab poet, considered the greatest of the classical Arab poets.

City in Syria with 1.9 million inhabitants. Commercial and cultural centre of northern Syria.

City in northern Egypt with about 3.9 million inhabitants. A commercial and economic centre.

Independent republic, divided into 48 provinces. Certain mountainous regions are under the control of Islamist rebels.

Capital of Algeria with 2.9 million inhabitants, and the largest and most important city of the country, in economical, cultural and scientific sense.

4th Caliph, and the last Caliph that both Sunnis and Shi'is agree upon as justifiably elected, yet the Kharijis did not accept him from 658 and onwards.

The tenth Imam of the Twelver Shi'i Islam (833- 868).

Eighth Imam of the Twelver Shi'i Islam (799- 818).

The fourth Imam of Shi'i Islam (680- 712 or 713).

Descendants of Ali, the fourth Caliph, and the first Imam (according to Shi'i Islam).

The Arabic word for "God", used in Islam and Christianity.

Muslim saying, frequently used, in situations ranging from greeting to expression of strong sentiments. It is most correctly translated with "God is greater."

Egyptian Pharaoh, reigning from 1991 BCE to 1962 BCE, founder of the 12. dynasty, after overthrowing the rulers at Thebes.

Egyptian Pharaoh, reigning from 1843- 1797 BCE, belonging to the 12th dynasty.

Egyptian Pharaoh, reigning from 1546 to 1525 BCE, son of the founder of the 18th dynasty, Ahmose 1.

Egyptian Pharaoh, reigning from 1450 to 1424, as part of the 18th dynasty.

Egyptian Pharaoh reigning from 1417- 1379, being part of the 18th dynasty.

Egyptian Pharaoh, reigning from 1379 to 1362 BCE, as part of the 18th dynasty.

Eternal divine beings in Zoroastrianism, entities that bring blessings and comfort.

Capital of Jordan with 1,2 million inhabitants.

Timeline of events taking place in, and forming, the region of Southern Spain consisting of Andalucia Culture.

Capital of Turkey with 2.9 million inhabitants. Ankara is situated in the central of Turkey.

Mountain range of Lebanon and Syria. The length is approximately 150 km, and the highest mountain peaks at 2,814 metres.

Gulf that is an arm of the Red Sea, running to the east of the Sinai peninsula and west of the Arabian mainland.

Area made up of the Arabian Peninsula comprising the national states of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen.

Sea between the Arabian peninsula and the Indian subcontinent, that is part of the Indian Ocean.

Semitic language used by Arabs ? where there is a direct connection, as the majority of Arabs are Arabs by language and not by blood.

People living in North Africa and the Middle East, from western Morocco, to Oman, and from Turkey in the north to Yemen and Sudan in the south.

President of Palestine, through being president of the Palestinian Authority, which controls the Palestinian territories in Gaza and on the West Bank.

Theological school founded by Abu l-Hassani l-Ash'ari.

City in Egypt, with around 380,000 inhabitants.

City in Egypt with 260,000 inhabitants. Capital of the Aswan Governorate.

Dam construction in southern Egypt, that exploits the water of the Nile.

City in Saudi Arabia with 590,000 inhabitants. Slightly east of Mecca.

Founder of the modern republic of Turkey.

Mountainous area that fills most of the northwestern corner of Africa.

Muslim philosopher, physician, maliki jurist and ashari theologian.

The collections of scared texts in Zoroastrianism.

Iranian Islamic philosopher and physician.

Verse in the Holy Koran.

Religious honorary title in Twelver Shi'i Islam in Iran.