Thursday, February 23, 2023

2023: Kasani - Kattani

 


Kasani, ‘Ala’ al-Din al-
Kasani, ‘Ala’ al-Din al- (‘Ala’ al-Din al-Kasani) (Malik al-‘Ulama’) (d. 1189).  One of the greatest jurists of the Hanafi law school.  In his main work, he attempted to imitate the work of his predecessor and master ‘Ala’ al-Din al-Samarqandi, but the attempt of al-Kasani proved to be far superior to the work of al-Samarqandi.


'Ala' al-Din al-Kasani see Kasani, ‘Ala’ al-Din al-
Malik al-'Ulama' see Kasani, ‘Ala’ al-Din al-
'Ulama', Malik al- see Kasani, ‘Ala’ al-Din al-


Kasem, Casey

Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (b. April 27, 1932, Detroit, Michigan – June 15, 2014, Gig Harbor, Washington) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio personality, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably American Top 40. He was the first actor to voice Norville "Shaggy" Rogers in the Scooby-Doo franchise (1969 to 1997 and 2002 to 2009) and as Dick Grayson/Robin in Super Friends (1973–1985).


Kasem began hosting the original American Top 40 on the weekend of July 4, 1970, and remained there until 1988. He would then spend nine years hosting another countdown titled Casey's Top 40, beginning in January 1989 and ending in February 1998, before returning to revive American Top 40 in 1998. Along the way, spin-offs of the original countdown were conceived for country music and adult contemporary audiences, and Kasem hosted two countdowns for the latter format beginning in 1992 and continuing until 2009. He also founded the American Video Awards in 1983 and continued to co-produce and host it until its final show in 1987.


Kasem also provided many commercial voiceovers, performed many voices for children's television (such as Sesame Street and the Transformers cartoon series), was "the voice of NBC" and helped with the annual Jerry Lewis telethon. 


Kasem was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1992.  Kasem's catch phrase was "Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars."




Kashani, Abol-Qasem
Kashani, Abol-Qasem (Ayatollah Abu’l-Qasim Kashani) (1882-1962).  More fully, Ayatollah Hajj Sayyid Abu al-Qasim Kashani.  Iranian religious and political leader during the national movement in the 1950s.  Born in Tehran, Kashani made a pilgrimage to Mecca at the age of fifteen and settled in Najaf, Iraq, to pursue his education.  He studied under Ayatollahs Khurasani, Khalili Tihrani, and Kamarah’i and became a mujtahid at twenty-five.  His political activity began against British rule in Iraq when his father was killed in an uprising in April 1916.  Sentenced to death in absentia, he escaped to Iran around February 1921. 

Between 1921 and 1941, Kashani initially enjoyed Reza Shah Pahlavi’s support and was elected to the Constituent Assembly, which approved the establishment of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1925.  However, he soon lost the shah’s friendship, abstained from politics, and confined himself to teaching.

Toward the end of Reza Shah’s reign, Kashani became involved in pro-German activities.  In January 1942, Kashani, General Fazlullah Zahedi (Fazi Allah Zahidi), and several army officers and politicians founded the Nahzat-i Milliyun-i Iran (Movement of Iranian Nationalists).  The group was soon discovered, its members were arrested, and Kashani was sent into exile. 

After World War II, Kashani, in cooperation with the grand mufti of Jerusalem, al-Hajj Amin al-Husayni, and the Iraqi military officer, Rashid ‘Ali al-Kilani, opposed the establishment of Israel, mobilized volunteers to aid Palestine, and collected funds for Palestinians.  At home in Iran, Kashani opposed nearly all governments after 1945 either on policy or

personal grounds.  Prime Ministers ‘Abd al-Husayn Hazhir and Hossein ‘Ali Razmara were both assassinated by the Fida’iyan-i Islam – presumably with Kashani’s blessing. 

On February 4, 1949, after an attempt on the shah’s life, Kashani was exiled to Lebanon.  In June 1950, he returned from exile and was elected to the Majlis (“parliament”) from Tehran.

Kashani’s power and popularity increased enormously during the movement to nationalize the Iranian oil industry.  In the Majlis and outside, his followers began to mobilize support for the National Front under Mohammad Mossadegh’s leadership.  On April 30, 1951, Mossadegh was appointed prime minister.

Kashani’s relations with Mossadegh had three phases: April 1951- July 20, 1952 marked the strengthening of their friendship and cooperation; the July 20, 1952, uprising saw Kashani working actively to remove Qavvam al-Saltanah and bring Mossadegh back to the premiership; October 1952 until the coup d’etat of August 19, 1953, when differences emerged between them.  Kashani finally broke with Mossadegh and turned to General Zahedi and the Pahlavi court.  The main reasons for the break were: Kashani’s expectation of more power and control over the cabinet; Mossadegh’s desire to keep the clergy out of the governmental process; Mossadegh’s inability to settle the Anglo-Iranian oil dispute; and the clergy’s fear of the growth of communism.

The coup d’etat of August 19, 1953, that overthrew Mossadegh’s government also ended Kashani’s political career.  General Zahedi, the new prime minister, offered Kashani a seat in the senate.  Kashani rejected the offer and pressured Zahedi to implement the oil nationalization law.  Zahedi ignored the ayatollah, who then declared Zahedi a dictator.  Kashani’s continued activities against Zahedi’s government resulted in his arrest and imprisonment in July 1956 on charges of cooperation with the Fida‘iyan-i Islam in Razmara’s assassination in 1951.  However, Kashani’s old age and the mediation of Ayatollahs Mohammad Hosayn Borujerdi (Muhammad Husayn Burujirdi) and Abu al-Fazl Zanjani saved his life.  In 1958, his son, Mustafa, was mysteriously poisoned.  This tragic event and disillusionment with politics caused Kashani to leave politics.  He died on March 14, 1962.

Kashani was a nationalist, a Constitutionalist, anti-British, anti-colonialist, anti-communist, Pan-Islamist, and a pragmatist.  He was combative, loved power, and lacked modesty but did not seek worldly and material possessions.  Indeed, he died a poor man.  He advocated the unity of the spiritual and the temporal spheres, seeing the separation of religion and politics as a colonial plot.   However, he never sought direct rule by the clergy. 

Kashani welcomed technological modernization and adoption of certain aspects of Western institutions.  He advocated political reform in Iran but did not desire structural change in its political system.  He strongly believed in legality and saw a role for both secular and religious law in public life.

Kashani’s major contribution to the status of the Iranian ‘ulama’ was his revival of their traditional leadership role as spokesmen of popular discontent.  The clerical opposition toward the government after 1963, and the developments that led to the 1979 revolution, were considerably influenced by Kashani’s ideas and activities.  Although his views differed greatly from his clerical successors regarding Iranian nationalism, the place of shari‘a in society, and attitudes toward the West, many of his ideas were elaborated by Ayatollah Khomeini and formed the foundations of his government.  The messianic mission for the ‘ulama’ that Kashani so often emphasized was expanded by Khomeini and formulated in the doctrine of vilayat-i faqih (wilayat al-faqih).  Finally, Kashani’s most important legacy was his dream of a non-aligned political bloc of all Muslim states, which found resonance in Khomeini’s “neither East nor West” policy.


Abol-Qasem Kashani see Kashani, Abol-Qasem
Abu'l-Qasim Kashani see Kashani, Abol-Qasem


Kashani, Hajj Mirza Jani
Kashani, Hajj Mirza Jani (d. 1852).  Babi historian.  He was one of the disciples of the Bab, Sayyid ‘Ali Muhammad of Shiraz.
Hajj Mirza Jani Kashani see Kashani, Hajj Mirza Jani


Kashghari, Mahmud ibn al-Husayn al-
Kashghari, Mahmud ibn al-Husayn al- (Mahmud ibn al-Husayn al-Kashghari) (Mahmud ibn Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Kashgari) (c.1005-1102)  Turkish scholar and lexicographer of the eleventh century.  His Diwan of the Turkish Language (Compendium of the Turkic Dialects) is one of the most significant records of the Turkish language and is also an important source for the history of the Turkish people.  Al-Kashgari was born in Barsgan at the beginning of the eleventh century (around 1005).  Mahmud became a political refugee around 1057 and finally settled in Baghdad, where he wrote the Compendium of the Turkic Dialects in 1077.  Little else is known of his life.  The Compendium is a Turkic dictionary/encyclopedia describing the Turkiyya language of the Chigil tribe of the Karakhanid confederation.  It also contains information on Turkic grammar, dialectology, folklore, history, and epic poetry; and it includes the first Turkic world map.  Al-Kashgari died in Upal, a small city southwest of Kashgar, and was buried there.  On May 26, 2006, a mausoleum was erected on his gravesite.

Al-Kashgari's father, Husayn, was the mayor of Barsgan and related to the Qara-Khanid ruling dynasty. His mother, Bibi Rābiy'a al-Basrī, was of Arab origin.

Al-Kashgari studied the Turkic dialects of his time and wrote the first comprehensive dictionary of Turkic languages, the Dīwānu l-Luġat al-Turk (Compendium of the languages of the Turks) in 1072. It was intended for use by the Caliphs of Baghdad, the new, Arab allies of the Turks. Mahmud Kashgari's comprehensive dictionary contains specimens of old Turkic poetry in the typical form of quatrains (Persio-Arabic rubāiyāt; Turkish: dörtlük), representing all the principal genres: epic, pastoral, didactic, lyric, and elegiac. His book also included the first known map of the areas inhabited by Turkic peoples.

Mahmud al-Kashgari died in 1102 at the age of 97 in Upal, a small city southwest of Kashgar, and was buried there. There is now a mausoleum erected on his gravesite. He is remembered as a prominent Uyghur scholar.

Mahmud ibn al-Husayn al-Kashgari see Kashghari, Mahmud ibn al-Husayn al-
Mahmud ibn Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Kashgari see Kashghari, Mahmud ibn al-Husayn al-


Kashi
Kashi (al-Kashani) (Ghiyath al-Din al-Kashi) (Ghiyāth al-Dīn Jamshīd ibn Masʾūd al-Kāshī) (Jamshīd Kāshānī) (c. 1380 Kashan, Persia (Iran) – June 22, 1429 Samarkand, Transoxania (Uzbekistan)) (c.1380 - June 22, 1429).  Persian mathematician and astronomer.  He wrote in Persian and in Arabic.  He gives a description of the test undergone by poets when they were admitted to the sovereign’s court.  He also assisted in the establishment of Ulugh Beg’s astronomical tables, and established the value of pi with extraordinary exactitude.

The first event known with certainty in al-Kāshī’s life is his observation of a lunar eclipse on June 2, 1406, from Kāshān. His earliest surviving work is Sullam al-samāʾ (1407; “The Stairway of Heaven”), an astronomical treatise dedicated to a local vizier. He dedicated the Mukhtaṣar dar ʿilm-i hayʾat (1410–11; “Compendium of the Science of Astronomy”) to Iskander (executed in 1414), the sultan of Eṣfahan and Fārs (both now located in Iran) and a member of the Timurid dynasty. About 1413–14 al-Kāshī finished the Khāqānī Zīj. The first of his major works, this set of astronomical tables (zīj) was dedicated to Ulūgh Beg, the Khāqānī (“Supreme Ruler”) of Samarkand and grandson of the founder of the Timurid dynasty, the great Islamic leader Timur (1336–1405). Still seeking a patron, al-Kāshī completed two works in 1416, Risāla dar sharḥ-i ālāt-i raṣd (“Treatise on the Explanation of Observational Instruments”) and Nuzha al-ḥadāiq fī kayfiyya ṣanʾa al-āla al-musammā bi ṭabaq al-manāṭiq (“The Garden Excursion, on the Method of Construction of the Instrument Called Plate of Heavens”), which describes a device (now known as an equatorium) that he invented for determining planetary positions. Al-Kāshī worked for some time in Herāt (now in Afghanistan) before finally receiving an invitation from Ulūgh Beg to go to Samarkand.

From 1417 to 1420, Ulūgh Beg founded a madrasah (Islamic school for the study of theology, law, logic, mathematics, and natural science) in Samarkand to which he invited the greatest scholars of his realm. Following his arrival in about 1420, there can be no doubt that al-Kāshī was the leading astronomer and mathematician at the new institution. (Until the assassination of Ulūgh Beg in 1449, and the subsequent political repression, Samarkand was the most important center of science in the Islamic realm.) In 1424, Ulūgh Beg, who was also an astronomer, began the construction of a great observatory at Samarkand, provisioned with the best equipment available. Al-Kāshī gives a vivid account of scholarly life at Samarkand during construction of the observatory in two undated letters to his father in Kāshān. In addition to including interesting information on the construction of the observatory building and the astronomical instruments, these letters characterize al-Kāshī as the closest collaborator and consultant of Ulūgh Beg.

Al-Kāshī produced his greatest mathematical works after his arrival in Samarkand. In 1424 he completed the Risāla al-muḥīṭīyya (“Treatise on the Circumference”), a computational masterpiece in which he determined the value of 2π to 9 sexagesimal places. (Al-Kāshī worked exclusively in base 60; his result is equivalent to 16 decimal places of accuracy, far eclipsing the 6 decimal places achieved by the Chinese mathematician Tsu Ch’ung-chih (430–501) and setting a record that lasted for almost 200 years.) In the introduction al-Kāshī observes that a small error in the estimated value of π results in a large error when calculating the circumference of enormous circles, such as the celestial sphere. In order to calculate the size of the universe with an error smaller than the width of a horse’s hair (a standard Persian unit of measurement 
 1/36 inch), al-Kāshī used a polygon with 3 × 228 sides to estimate π.

Al-Kāshī’s best-known work is the Miftāḥ al-ḥisāb (“Key of Arithmetic”), completed in 1427 and also dedicated to Ulūgh Beg. This encyclopedic work instructs in the solution of a wide range of problems from astronomy, surveying, and finance through the use of arithmetic—defined by al-Kāshī as “the science consisting of basic rules to find numerical unknowns from relevant known quantities.” The pedagogical excellence of the Miftāḥ al-ḥisāb is attested by the numerous copies made of it over the following centuries.

In his third masterpiece, Risāla al-watar waʾl-jaib (“Treatise on the Chord and Sine”), he calculates the sine of 1° correct to 10 sexagesimal places. This precision was essential for the accuracy of Ulūgh Beg’s Astronomical Tables. It is unclear, however, whether al-Kāshī completed the treatise himself or whether it was completed after his death by his colleague Qādī Zāde ar-Rūmī (c. 1364–1436). Al-Kāshī was murdered outside the Samarkand observatory on June 22, 1429, probably on the command of Ulūgh Beg.

Kashani, al- see Kashi
Ghiyath al-Din al-Kashi see Kashi
Ghiyāth al-Dīn Jamshīd ibn Masʾūd al-Kāshī see Kashi
Jamshīd Kāshānī see Kashi


Kashif al-Ghita’
Kashif al-Ghita’. A family of Shiʿite ulama and mujtahidun originating in the Shiʿite holy city of al-Najaf in southern Iraq.

The founder of the family, Jaʿfar ibn Khidr al-Najafi (1743/1751 - 1812), was an alim (singular of ulama) who wrote the fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) textbook Kashif al-Ghita (The uncoverer of the error), from which the family surname was derived. In 1807, he led the defense of Najaf against the raiding Wahhabis, a Sunni fundamentalist and purist movement led by amirs of the house of Al Saʿud, based in Najd.  Ja'far led the resistance in al-Najaf during the the siege by the Wahhabis in 1805 and became involved in a bloody conflict between two factions of the inhabitants of this native town, which led to a feud lasting over a century.

Jaʿfar's sons, Shaykh Musa ibn Jaʿfar (1766 - 1827), Shaykh Ali ibn Jaʿfar (d. 1837), and Shaykh Hasan ibn Jaʿfar (1776 - 1848), were mujtahidun (senior Shiʿite religious authorities empowered to issue religious decrees based on primary sources; singular mujtahid) in Najaf, where they were involved in political developments. Shaykh Musa ibn Jaʿfar Kashif al-Ghita mediated between the Ottoman Empire and the Persians during the 1820s.

The most prominent scion of the Kashif al-Ghita family in the twentieth century was Muhammad Husayn Kashif al-Ghita (1877 - 1954), who received the title and status of marja (supreme religious authority). He was the author of numerous books on religious topics, printed in Arabic and Persian, and had adherents throughout the Shiʿa world. In his books he showed the need for Islamic unity and expressed his views about the ideal Islamic society. He maintained a correspondence with the Maronite intellectual Amin Rihani. He traveled to Hijaz, Syria, and Egypt, and lectured at al-Azhar University in Cairo. In 1909, he published a book, al-Din wa al-Islam aw al-Daʿwa al-Islamiyya (Religion and Islam, or The Islamic call), which called for a revival of Islam and its purification from recent trends of extremism and superstition.

During the 1920s and 1930s, Muhammad Husayn was an active Shiʿite politician in Iraq. In the period of unrest and tribal rebellions (1934 - 1935), he formulated the Shiʿite demands, but refused - due to the strife among the Shiʿite tribes and politicians - to commit himself to the tribal rebellion under Abd al-Wahid Sikkar, which was backed and manipulated by Sunni Baghdadi politicians of the Ikha al-Watani Party. Starting from the late 1930s, he introduced moderate reforms and modernization in his madrasa (religious college) in Najaf.

In 1931, Muhammad Husayn Kashif al-Ghita attended the Muslim Congress in Jerusalem - the first Shiʿite mujtahid to take part in a Muslim Congress - and led the prayers at the opening ceremony at the al-Aqsa Mosque.

Following World War II Muhammad Husayn began to warn against the dangers of communism. In 1953, he held talks with the British and American ambassadors on the communist influences among young Shiʿites in Iraq.



Ghita', Kashif al- see Kashif al-Ghita’.
Ja'far ibn Khidr al-Najafi see Kashif al-Ghita’.
Musa ibn Ja'far ibn Khidr al-Najafi see Kashif al-Ghita’.
Ali ibn Ja'far ibn Khidr al-Najafi see Kashif al-Ghita’.
Hasan ibn Ja'far ibn Khidr al-Najafi see Kashif al-Ghita’.
Muhammad Husayn Kashif al-Ghita see Kashif al-Ghita’.


Kashifi, Kamal al-Din Husayn
Kashifi, Kamal al-Din Husayn (Kamal al-Din Husayn Kashifi) (al-Wa‘iz -- “the preacher”) (d. 1504/1505).  Persian writer and preacher.  Among other works he wrote a new Persian version of Kalila wa-Dimna.  The Ottoman Turkish translation of this work became widely known in Europe.  Its translation into French is one of the sources of La Fontaine’s Fables.
Kamal al-Din Husayn Kashifi see Kashifi, Kamal al-Din Husayn
Wa'iz, al- see Kashifi, Kamal al-Din Husayn
The Preacher see Kashifi, Kamal al-Din Husayn


Kashmiri
Kashmiri.  See Kashmiris.


Kashmiris
Kashmiris.  There are several Muslim groups, in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, now divided unequally between India (where it is the only state with a Muslim majority) and Pakistan (where it is called Azad Kashmir).  The largest Muslim group speaks Kashmiri, an Indo-Iranian language.  Its members are culturally distinguishable and think of themselves as distinct not only from Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists but also from other Muslims of the region who speak Punjabi, Pashto, Dogri, Pahari, and Shina.

Kashmiri speakers, who are ninety-five percent Muslim, are heavily concentrated in the Vale of Kashmir, the heart of the former princely state located high in the Himalayan Mountains of north India. 

Although there was an independent Muslim sultanate in Kashmir for two centuries (1346-1586) and it was a province of the Mughal empire for another century and a half (1586-1752), its more recent history is one of subjugation, first to the Pushtun of Afghanistan (1752-1819), then to the Sikh kingdom of Ranjit Singh (1819-1846) and lastly to the British, ruling through a Hindu Dogra dynasty from neighboring Jammu State (1846-1947).  Under these three sets of alien rulers, the Muslim ruling class disappeared, and the peasantry and artisans were systematically exploited through oppressive taxation, forced labor and usurious debts.  Kashmiri Muslims were excluded from the state’s army, civil service and education in favor of outsiders, so they naturally developed a deep suspicion of all governments.  Only Hindu Pandits (Brahmins) among the Kashmiri-speaking subjects of the maharaja had some opportunity in the later years of Dogra rule to join the ruling elite.  Thus, there has been, until the generation which entered politics in 1931, no Muslim Kashmiri leadership comparable to the Muslim aristocracy and professional upper middle class of the United Provinces in British India which played such a conspicuous part in the founding of Pakistan.  It was this difference in elite, in conjunction with the fear of plundering Pushtun tribesmen, which probably accounts for the unwillingness of most Kashmiri Muslims to take the side of Pakistan in the three wars that country has fought with India over this territory (1947-1948, 1965, 1971).

The Muslims and Hindus of Kashmir lived in relative harmony, since the Sufi-Islamic way of life that Muslims followed in Kashmir complemented the Rishi tradition of Kashmiri Pandits.[citation needed] This led to a syncretic culture where Hindus and Muslims revered the same local saints and prayed at the same shrines[citation needed]. Famous sufi saint Bulbul Shah was able to convert Rinchan Shah who was then prince of Kashgar Ladakh to an Islamic lifestyle, thus founding the Sufiana composite culture. Under this rule, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist Kashmiris generally co-existed peacefully. Over time, however, the Sufiana governance gave way to outright Muslim monarchs.


Kashshi, Abu ‘Amr al-
Kashshi, Abu ‘Amr al- (Abu ‘Amr al-Kashshi) (d. c. 951).  Imami transmitter of traditions (hadith) during the tenth century.  He wrote a work on the reliability of the transmitters from the Imams.
Abu 'Amr al-Kashshi see Kashshi, Abu ‘Amr al-


Kasrawi Tabrizi, Sayyid Ahmad
Kasrawi Tabrizi, Sayyid Ahmad (Sayyid Ahmad Kasrawi Tabrizi) (Ahmad Kasravi) (1890/1891-1946).  Iranian historian, linguist, jurist and ideologist.  Charges of slander of Islam were brought against him because of his views on religion.  He was assassinated by the Fida’iyyan-i Islam.  Kasrawi was born in Tabriz to an extremely religious family and received his primary education in a religious establishment.  Turning against the hypocrisy, superficiality, and rigidity that he saw in the curriculum, he left the clerical establishment and joined the constitutionalists in 1911.  Mainly for his ardently anti-Shi‘ite stand, he was assassinated in 1946 by a member of an extremist religious organization, the Fida’iyan-i Islam, which had formed in 1945 under the leadership Ayatollah Kashani in Qom.  Kasrawi is also known as the writer of several works on Iranian political and social history.
Sayyid Ahmad Kasrawi Tabrizi see Kasrawi Tabrizi, Sayyid Ahmad
Tabrizi, Sayyid Ahmad Kasrawi see Kasrawi Tabrizi, Sayyid Ahmad
Kasravi, Ahmad see Kasrawi Tabrizi, Sayyid Ahmad
Ahmad Kasravi see Kasrawi Tabrizi, Sayyid Ahmad

Kata'ib Hezbollah

Kata'ib Hezbollah (literally "Battalions of the Party of God') -- or the Hezbollah Brigades -- is a radical Iraqi Shiite paramilitary group which is part of the Popular Mobilization Forces backed by Iran. During the Iraq War (2003–11), the group fought against Coalition forces. It has been active in the War in Iraq (2013-2017) and the Syrian civil war (2011–present). The group was commanded by Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis until he was killed in a United States drone attack in January 2020. Thereafter, he was replaced by Abdul Aziz al-Muhammadawi (Abu Fadak), as the new leader of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). The KH (Kata'ib Hezbollah) militia seeks to establish an Iran-aligned government in Iraq, expel American forces from the country, and advance the regional and international interests of Iran in Iraq and the region. It takes a central part in carrying out attacks against United States targets in Iraq and acts as part of the Axis of Resistance. Kata'ib Hezbollah is directly subordinate to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC's) Quds Force and operates under its instructions and guidance.


Kata'ib Hezbollah is officially listed as a terrorist organization by the governments of Japan, United Arab Emirates, and the United States.


Kathrada, Ahmed Mohamed
Ahmed Mohamed Kathrada (b. August 21, 1929, Schweizer-Reneke, Western Transvaal, South Africa  – d. March 28, 2017, Johannesburg, South Africa), sometimes known by the nickname "Kathy", was a South African politician, former political prisoner and anti-apartheid activist.
Kathrada's involvement in the anti-apartheid activities of the African National Congress (ANC) led him to his long-term imprisonment following the Rivonia Trial, in which he was held at Robben Island and Pollsmoor Prison.  Following his release in 1990, he was elected to serve as a member of parliament, representing the ANC. He authored a book, No Bread for Mandela- Memoirs of Ahmed Kathrada, Prisoner No. 468/64.
Born into an Indian Muslim family, Kathrada was born in the small country town of Schweizer-Reneke in the Western Transvaal, the fourth of six children in a Gujarati Bohra family of South African Indian immigrant parents from Surat, Gujarat. 
Owing to his Indian origin and the policies of the time, he could not be admitted to any of the "European" or "African" schools in the area and thus he had to move to Johannesburg, 200 miles to the east, to be educated. Once in Johannesburg, he was influenced by leaders of the Transvaal Indian Congress such as Dr.Yusuf Dadoo, I. C. Meer, Moulvi and Yusuf Cachalia, and J. N. Singh. Consequently, he became a political activist at the early age of 12 when he joined the Young Communist League of South Africa.. He took part in various activities such as handing out leaflets and performing volunteer work in the individual passive resistance against the Pegging Act in 1941. During World War II, he was involved in the anti-war campaign of the Non-European United Front.  
At the age of 17, Kathrada left school to work full-time for the Transvaal Passive Resistance Council in order to work against the Asiatic Land Tenure and Indian Representation Act, commonly referred to as the "Ghetto Act", which sought to give Indians limited political representation and defined the areas where Indians could live, trade and own land.
Kathrada was one of the two thousand volunteers imprisoned as a result of the campaign; he spent a month in a Durban jail. This was his first jail sentence for civil disobedience. Reportedly, he gave an incorrect age to the police so that he would not be treated as a juvenile, but sent to an adult prison instead. Later, he was elected as secretary-general of the Transvaal Indian Youth Congress.
While Kathrada was a student at the University of the Witwatersrand he was sent as a delegate of the Transvaal Indian Youth Congress to the Third World Festival of Youth and Students in East Berlin  in 1951.  He was elected as the leader of the large multi-racial South African delegation. He remained in Europe in order to attend a congress of the International Union of Students in Warsaw, and finally travelled to Budapest and worked at the headquarters of the World Federation of Democratic Youth for nine months.
As a result of the growing co-operation between the African and Indian Congresses in the 1950s, Kathrada came into close contact with African National Congress leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu.  Kathrada was one of 156 accused in the four-year Treason Trial which lasted from 1956 to 1960. Eventually, all of the accused were found not guilty.
After the ANC and various other anti-apartheid organizations were banned in 1960, Kathrada continued his political activities despite repeated detentions and increasingly severe house arrest measures against him. In order to be free to continue his activities, Kathrada went underground early in 1963.
On July 11, 1963, Kathrada was arrested at the South African internal headquarters of Umkhonto we Sizwe ("The Spear of the Nation" - the military wing of the ANC) in Rivonia near Johannesburg. Although Kathrada was not a member of Umkhonto we Sizwe, he became one of the accused in the famous Rivonia Trial, which started in October 1963. He was charged with sabotage and attempting to overthrow the government by violent means.
The trial ended in June 1964; Kathrada was sentenced to life imprisonment along with Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Andrew Mlangeni, Billy Nair, Elias Motsoaledi, Raymond Mhlaba and Denis Goldberg. 
For the following 18 years, Kathrada was confined to the Robben Island Maximum Security Prison along with most of his Rivonia Trial "colleagues". In October 1982, he was moved to Pollsmoor Maximum Prison near Cape Town to join others such as Mandela, Sisulu, Mhlaba and Mlangeni who had been moved there a few months before.
While in jail on Robben Island and in Pollsmoor, Kathrada completed a bachelor's degree in History/Criminology and Bibliography as well as Honours degrees in History and African Politics through the University of South Africa. (However, the prison authorities refused to allow him or the other prisoners to pursue postgraduate studies.)
On October 15, 1989, Kathrada, along with Jeff Masemola, Raymond Mhlaba, Billy Nair, Wilton Mkwayi, Andrew Mlangeni, Elias Motsoaledi, Oscar Mpetha, and Walter Sisulu were released from Johannesburg prison.
After the unbanning of the ANC in February 1990, Kathrada served on the interim leadership committees of both the ANC and the South African Communist Party.  He resigned from the latter position when he was elected to the ANC National Executive Committee in July 1991. During the same year, he was appointed as head of ANC public relations as well as a fellow of the University of the Western Cape's  Mayibuye Centre.
Kathrada went on the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in 1992.
In the first all-inclusive democratic South African elections in 1994, Kathrada was elected as a member of parliament for the ANC.  In September 1994, Kathrada was appointed as the political advisor to President Mandela in the newly created post of Parliamentary Counsellor. In June 1999, Kathrada left parliamentary politics.
In 1994 and 1995, Kathrada was elected as chairperson of the Robben Island Museum Council. He remained the chairperson of the Robben Island Museum Council. On October 27, 2013, on the island, he launched the International Campaign to Free Marwan Barghouthi and All Palestinian Prisoners.
Kathrada's life partner was Barbara Hogan, a Minister of Public Enterprises. 

Kathrada died at a medical center in Johannesburg from complications of a cerebral embolism on 28 March 28, 2017, at the age of 87.
In addition to receiving the Isitwalandwe Award (the ANC’s highest possible accolade) whilst still in prison, Kathrada has also been awarded four Honorary Doctorates, including the University of Missouri, Michigan State University, and the University of Kentucky. 
Kathrada was also voted 46th in the Top 100 Great South Africans in 2004.
He was awarded the Pravasi Bharativa Samman by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs in 2005.

Katib Celebi
Katib Celebi (Katib Chelebi) (Katip Celebi) (Hajji Khalifa) (Haji Khalifa) (Mustafa ibn ‘Abdullah) (Mustafa bin Abdallah) (1609, Istanbul - 1657, Istanbul).  Ottoman historian, bibliographer and geographer.  He was one of the most conspicuous and productive Ottoman scholars of his time, particularly in the non-religious sciences.  He wrote some twenty-two (22) works.  Katib Celebi was the son of a soldier.  He was apprenticed to one of the government accounts departments and accompanied the army on various Eastern campaigns.  In about 1635, legacies enabled him to devote most of his time to study, and the rest of his short life was spent in Istanbul composing works on nearly every branch of learning.  His monumental bibliography of Muslim literature is still an indispensable work of reference.  Katib Celebi also wrote a Universal History in Arabic from the Creation to his own day, a more detailed chronicle of the years 1591-1655 in Turkish, and a history of Ottoman naval campaigns.

Katib Celebi was one of the first Ottoman scholars to be receptive to learning about the sciences of Renaissance Europe.  Aided by a renegade French priest, he translated into Turkish a Latin edition of Johann Carion’s Chronicle; selections from the Corpus universae historiae praesertim byzantinae; and the Atlas minor of Mercator and Hondius.  His work on translating the Atlas minor enabled Katib Celebi to embark on a new version of a great geographical work Jihan-numa (Cosmorama) of which he had had to leave the first version unfinished for lack of material on Western Europe.  His last work, Mizan al-Haqq (The Balance of Truth), is a collection of essays seeking to reconcile the contradictions between orthodox dogma and popular practice.


Celebi, Katib see Katib Celebi
Chelebi, Katib see Katib Celebi
Hajji Khalifa see Katib Celebi
Khalifa, Hajji see Katib Celebi
Mustafa ibn 'Abdullah see Katib Celebi
Katip Celebi see Katib Celebi


Ka’ti, Mahmud ibn al-Hajj
Ka’ti, Mahmud ibn al-Hajj (Mahmud ibn al-Hajj Ka’ti) (d. 1593). Songhai scholar.  He wrote a work of history concerned with the Songhai.
Mahmud ibn al-Hajj Ka'ti see Ka’ti, Mahmud ibn al-Hajj


Kattani, al-
Kattani, al-.  Name of an important and celebrated family of Fez, Morocco, belonging to the Sharifian branch of the Idrisids.

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