198. Key Figures in the History of IslamJunaid of Baghdad (d. 910): the first of the "sober Sufis" who insisted
that the experience of God lay in enhanced self-possession and that
the wild exuberance of the "drunken Sufis" was merely a stage that
the true mystic should transcend.
Khadija: the first wife of the Prophet Muhammad and the mother of all
his surviving children. She was also the first convert to Islam and
died before the hjrah during the persecution of the Muslims by the
Quraysh in Mecca (616—19), possibly as a result of the privations she
suffered.
Khan, Muhammad Ayub: prime minister of Pakistan (1958-69), who
followed a strongly secularizing policy, which led eventually to his
downfall.
Khatami, Hojjat 01-Islam Seyyid: president of Iran (1997-). He wants
to see a more liberal interpretation of Islamic law in Iran and to fos-
ter relations with the West.
Khomeini, Ayatollah Ruhollah (1902-89): the spiritual mentor of the
Islamic revolution against the Pahlavi regime, and the Supreme
Faqih of Iran (1979-89).
Kindi, Yaqub ibn Ishaq al- (d. 870): the first major Faylasuf, who
worked alongside the Mutazilah in Baghdad but also sought wisdom
from Greek sages.
Kirmani, Aqa Khan (1853-96): an Iranian secularist reformer.
Mahdi, Caliph al-: Abbasid caliph (775-85) who recognized the piety
of the more religious Muslims, encouraged the study of fiqh and
helped the religious to come to terms with his regime.
Mahmud II: Ottoman sultan (1808-39) who introduced the moderniz-
ing Tanzimat reforms.
Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir (d. 1700): an alim who showed the less at-
tractive form of Twelver Shiism after it had become the establish-
ment faith in Iran, vigorously suppressing the teaching of Falsafah
and persecuting the Sufis.
Malcolm X (1925—65): the charismatic leader of the black separatist
group Nation of Islam, who achieved a high profile in the United
States during the Civil Rights movement. In 1963 he seceded from
the heterodox Nation of Islam and took his followers into main-
stream Sunni Islam; as a result, he was assassinated two years later.
Malik ibn Anas (d. 795): the founder of the Maliki school of Islamic ju-
risprudence.
Mamun, Caliph al-: Abbasid caliph (81 3-33) whose reign marked the
beginning of the Abbasid decline.