490 • GlossaryQajar dynasty (GHAW-jar): Family of Turkic origin ruling Persia (1794-1925)
qanat (kah-NAWT in Arabic or ghaw-NAWT in Persian): Canal or channel carry¬
ing irrigation water underground
qanun (ka-NOON): A ruler's edict, as opposed to the rules or laws contained in
the Shari'a
Qarmatian (kar-MAH-te-an): Member of an Isma'ili Shi'i group that established
a republic, allegedly practicing communism of property and spouses, in tenth-
century Bahrain and Arabia
Qasim, Abd al-Karim (KAW-sem, AB-del-ka-REEM): Iraq's president (1958-1963)
and Nasir's rival in Arab politics
qawm (KOWM): Arab clan
Qays (KICE): Northern Arabian tribe, Kalb's rival in early Muslim times
Qom (GHOM): Shi'i religious and educational center in Iran
Qubilai Khan (KOO-bi-lie): Mongol ruler in the late thirteenth century; some¬
times called Kubla Khan
Quran (koor-AWN): The collection of revelations that Muslims believe God
vouchsafed to Muhammad through Gabriel, and one of the main sources of
Islamic law, literature, and culture; also called the Koran
Quray, Ahmad (koo-RAY-uh): Palestinian Authority prime minister (2003-2004)
Quraysh (koo-RAYSH): Leading tribe of northwest Arabia, especially Mecca
Rabat Summit (ra-BAWT): 1974 meeting of Arab heads of state, recognizing the
PLO as the sole Palestinian representative
Rabin, Yitzhak (ra-BEEN, yits-KHAHK): Israel's prime minister (1974-1977 and
1992-1995)
Rafsanjani, Ali Akbar Hashimi (raf-san-JAW-nee): Iran's president (1989-1997)
Ramadan (ra-ma-DAWN): Month of the Arabic calendar during which Muslims
refrain from eating, drinking, and sexual intercourse from daybreak to sunset,
commemorating first revelations of the Quran to Muhammad
Ramallah (ra-MALL-ah): West Bank Palestinian city north of Jerusalem
Rashid dynasty: Ruling family in northeastern Arabia and rival of the Saudis in
the early twentieth century
Rashidun caliphs (ra-shee-DOON): For Sunni Muslims, Muhammad's successors
as umma leaders: Abu-Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali
re'aya (re-AH-ya): Member(s) of the Ottoman subject class
refugees, Palestinian: Arabs who left their homes in areas now part of Israel, dur¬
ing the 1948 or 1967 wars
Republican People's Party: Liberal Turkish party founded by Kemal Ataturk
in 1923
Reshid, Mustafa (re-SHEET, MOOS-ta-fa): Westernizing Ottoman reformer in
the early Tanzimat era (d. 1858)
Revisionist Party: Right-wing Zionist movement founded by Jabotinsky
Revolutionary Guards: Iranian-organized Islamic guerrilla movement active
in various Middle Eastern countries