Glossary • 475Fatimid dynasty: Arab family of Isma'ili Shi'is claiming descent from Ali and Fa-
tima, ruling North Africa (909-972) and Egypt (969-1171), and claiming con¬
trol of Syria, Hijaz, and Yemen
Faysal (FYE-sul): King of Saudi Arabia (1964-1975)
Faysal I: Son of Husayn of Mecca, Arab Revolt leader, who headed provisional
Arab government in Damascus (1918-1920); ousted by France, he later be¬
came king of Iraq (1921-1933)
Faysal II: Iraq's last king (1939-1958)
Ferid, Damad (fe-REED, dah-MAWD): Ottoman prime minister backed by the
sultan and the Western powers (1919-1920)
Fertile Crescent: Modern term for the lands extending from the eastern Mediter¬
ranean, via Syria and Mesopotamia, to the Persian Gulf
fez: Crimson brimless head-covering worn by male officials in the later Ottoman
Empire and in some successor states; outlawed in Turkey by Kemal Ataturk
fidaiyin (fe-DA-ee-yeen): Commandos, or people who sacrifice themselves for a
cause, often applied to Palestinians fighting against Israel or to militant Shi'is
fiqh (FIK-h): The science of Islamic law (jurisprudence)
fitna (FIT-na): Term applied to several civil wars in early Islamic history
Four Reserved Points: Britain's limitations on its unilateral declaration of Egypt's
independence (1922)
Fourteen Points: President Wilson's plan to settle issues that had caused World
War I, calling for self-determination of all peoples
Franjiyah, Sulayman (fran-JEE-ya, slay-MAN): Lebanon's president (1970-1976)
free will: Religious doctrine that God has created human beings who can choose
their actions, as opposed to predestination
Fuad I (foo-ODD): Egypt's sultan and king (1917-1936)
Fustat (foos-TAWT): Egyptian garrison town in early Islamic times; later an ad¬
ministrative center, near modern Cairo
Gabriel: Angel, in Muslim belief, who transmitted the Quran to Muhammad
Galilee: Mountainous area of northern Israel, containing many Arab villages
garrison town: City, such as Basra, Kufa, or Fustat, set up by the early caliphs to
house Arab soldiers
al-Gaylani, Rashid Ali (el-gay-LAH-nee, rah-SHEED AH-lee): Leader of the 1941
Arab nationalist government in Iraq, overthrown by the British
Gaza Strip: Small part of southwest Palestine held by Egyptian forces in 1948 and
inhabited by Arabs, administered by Egypt (1948-1956 and 1957-1967), cap¬
tured by Israel in 1956 and 1967, and governed by Israel (1967-1994) and by
the PLO (since 1994)
Geneva Conference: December 1973 meeting of Israel, Egypt, and Jordan,
cochaired by the US and the USSR
Genghis Khan: see Jenghiz Khan
Gezira Sporting Club (guh-ZEE-ra): Exclusive Cairo social club