Category: D

DURRANI DYNASTY

DURRANI  DYNASTY. The origin of the Durrani (also known as Abdali) Dynasty coincided with the violent death of the Iranian monarch Nadir Shah Afshar (1747) and the establishment of an independent political entity in a part of Khurasan that by the mid-1800s was known as Afghanistan. The founder of the dynasty was Ahmad Khan Abdali.

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ABD AL-AZIZ AL-DURI

ABD AL-`AZIZ AL-DURI, ( 1919-Nov. 19, 2010), Iraqi educator and Arabist social historian. Born in Baghdad, he was educated there and at London University. He taught history at the Higher Teachers’ College and the Faculty of Arts, was translation and publications director at the ministry of education, and was dean of Arts and then rector

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DRUZE

DRUZE. The Druze faith, or tawhid, grew out of the extremist Isma’ili Shi’i theology that prevailed in early Fatimid Cairo. This system had promised a radical political change within Islam which failed to materialize once the Isma’iliyah gained political power in North Africa, especially in Egypt in 969. People still looked for messianic rule and

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DRESS

DRESS. In the Muslim world, dress expresses identity, taste, income, regional patterns of trade, and the religiosity of its wearers. Dress and its use vary with regard to gender, age, marriage status, geographical origin, occupation, and even political sentiment. While the term Islamic dress has taken on new meanings in the contemporary period, the dress

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DRAMA:THE ISLAMIC VIEW

THE ISLAMIC VIEW OF DRAMA AND RELIGION By Dr. Malik S. Khan A Publication of Motamar at the United Nations by the International Islamic Council for Da`wa and Relief. My topic is “Drama and Religion.” In fact, this being an international conference, it ought to be explored as to how the two subjects relate to

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DJIBOUTI

DJIBOUTI. For many centuries the Horn of Africa, in which the Republic of Djibouti forms a small coastal enclave, has provided access for the transmittal of goods and ideas between the Middle East and the African continent. Since the ninth century CE Djibouti has been the point of departure for Islamic missionary activity and for

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DIWAN

DIWAN. A term of uncertain derivation, used throughout Islamic history to cover a number of institutions and practices, diwan can most inclusively be defined as a collection of a homogeneous body of written materials or an administrative office that produces such a collection. In the sense of a written body of materials, diwan was, and

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DIVINATION

DIVINATION. The comprehensive term for divination in the Islamic tradition is Kihanah, a term derived from Semitic antiquity. It is connected to all aspects, practical and theoretical, of the art of knowing that which cannot spontaneously be known. Ironic as it may seem, divination remained a subject worthy of the attention of many a serious

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DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS

DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS. An official delegation from one country to another, a diplomatic mission cal. be either temporary or permanent. The members of a diplomatic mission have diplomatic status, the most important element of which is diplomatic immunity. Although Muslim and non-Muslim diplomatic missions are virtually identical, they evolved quite separately. The concept of a diplomatic

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