Federation Nationale des Musulmans de France
Federation Nationale des Musulmans de France. Founded on November 30, 1985, “to act officially for the Muslims in France and to protect them.” The Federation Nationale des Musulmans de France (FNMF) is governed by the Law on Associations of 1901. It shares its registered office in Paris with the French branch of the Muslim World League (Rabitat al-‘Alam al-Islami). The federation was started by a French convert to Islam, Daniel Youssof Leclerc, who was president of Taybat (tayyibat – “excellent things”), a group committed to a more rigorous standard for the production and sale of halal meat than that practice by the Paris mosque. The mosque has traditionally been led by an Algerian imam, who alone has had the authority to control the slaughtering of animals. Taybat has contested this particular authority and, in general, the leadership of Algeria over Muslims in France.
The initial political purpose of the federation was, therefore, to free the Muslim community of the influence of Algeria. But its main object is to coordinate the actions of the approximately one hundred Muslim associations that originally comprised the FNMF, to assure their defense if necessary, and to facilitate the practice of the faith in a non-Muslim country. It seeks a friendly relationship with French society and hopes to instill a better knowledge of Islam. It wishes to implement the Islamic standard of living in every domain of life and the application of the shari‘a (the divine law), although this may run counter to the laicist or secular orientation of French public life (including schools), as instituted in the relevant law of December 1905. Nevertheless, the FNMF does not demand the opening of specifically Muslim schools and universities or the practice of polygamy.
The federation’s council consists of fifteen members and seven deputies (five members are chosen from old French Muslim families). All members are chosen by the associations which comprise the FNMF. Since 1985, there have been fifty ethnically distinct members of various political opinions within the council. The FNMF’s first president was a Frenchman, Jacques Yacoub Roty, whose family had been converted to Islam by Rene Guenon. However, Roty left the federation in 1986 in order to found his own association, Vivre L’Islam en Occident (To Live Islam in the West). Daniel Youssof Leclerc was chosen president in December 1986 and was a member of the constituent council of the Muslim World League.
FNMF see Federation Nationale des Musulmans de France.
Federation Nationale des Musulmans de France. Founded on November 30, 1985, “to act officially for the Muslims in France and to protect them.” The Federation Nationale des Musulmans de France (FNMF) is governed by the Law on Associations of 1901. It shares its registered office in Paris with the French branch of the Muslim World League (Rabitat al-‘Alam al-Islami). The federation was started by a French convert to Islam, Daniel Youssof Leclerc, who was president of Taybat (tayyibat – “excellent things”), a group committed to a more rigorous standard for the production and sale of halal meat than that practice by the Paris mosque. The mosque has traditionally been led by an Algerian imam, who alone has had the authority to control the slaughtering of animals. Taybat has contested this particular authority and, in general, the leadership of Algeria over Muslims in France.
The initial political purpose of the federation was, therefore, to free the Muslim community of the influence of Algeria. But its main object is to coordinate the actions of the approximately one hundred Muslim associations that originally comprised the FNMF, to assure their defense if necessary, and to facilitate the practice of the faith in a non-Muslim country. It seeks a friendly relationship with French society and hopes to instill a better knowledge of Islam. It wishes to implement the Islamic standard of living in every domain of life and the application of the shari‘a (the divine law), although this may run counter to the laicist or secular orientation of French public life (including schools), as instituted in the relevant law of December 1905. Nevertheless, the FNMF does not demand the opening of specifically Muslim schools and universities or the practice of polygamy.
The federation’s council consists of fifteen members and seven deputies (five members are chosen from old French Muslim families). All members are chosen by the associations which comprise the FNMF. Since 1985, there have been fifty ethnically distinct members of various political opinions within the council. The FNMF’s first president was a Frenchman, Jacques Yacoub Roty, whose family had been converted to Islam by Rene Guenon. However, Roty left the federation in 1986 in order to found his own association, Vivre L’Islam en Occident (To Live Islam in the West). Daniel Youssof Leclerc was chosen president in December 1986 and was a member of the constituent council of the Muslim World League.
FNMF see Federation Nationale des Musulmans de France.
Federation of Islamic Associations
Federation of Islamic Associations. Formed through the efforts of first-generation American born Muslims, mostly of Syrian and Lebanese origin. The Federation of Islamic Associations was created as a corporate body to help maintain ties between scattered Muslim communities. Abdullah Igram of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a World War II veteran, was instrumental in bringing together Muslims from the United States and Canada. His efforts led to the incorporation of the International Muslim Society (IMS) in 1952. The goals of the IMS were to help coordinate efforts to keep the faith of Islam, to preserve Muslim culture, to expound Islamic teachings, and to propagate true information about the faith. During its third annual meeting, held in Chicago in 1954, the members adopted a new name: the Federation of Islamic Associations of Canada and the United States (FIA).
During that same year, Igram made a personal request to President Dwight Eisenhower to grant Muslims in the American armed services the right to identify their religion on their name tags. This was perceived by members of the community as official recognition of their American identity. The FIA concentrated on holding annual meetings and conventions, which were attended mainly by persons of Arab background (with a few Muslims from Eastern Europe and Turkey). The organization also provided the opportunity for young people to meet potential marriage partners from within a common religious and cultural heritage. The recollections of participants in these conventions from the 1950s and 1960s are of pleasant social events in which camaraderie and informal interaction, even some forms of folk dancing, were encouraged.
The FIA has been hampered by lack of funds, or trained indigenous leadership. Its assimilationist tendencies have been condemned by more conservative Muslims. In 1970, the FIA published a book that included selected readings from the Qur’an as well as a directory of Muslims in the United States. Efforts by the FIA leadership to compile a census of American Muslims have fared no better than those of any other group attempting such a task. They also tried unsuccessfully to create a standardized curriculum of Sunday school materials to be used by the various centers. The FIA is aware of the hostile media treatment of Arabs and Muslims in the United States and has concentrated its efforts on combating such misinformation.
At the peak of its popularity, the FIA listed some fifty mosques and organizations as its members. In recent years, the membership has dramatically declined owing to disagreement with the leadership over policies. The Muslim Star, the official organ of the FIA, provided extensive coverage about the nature of the regime of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Iran, as well as justification of the Iraqi position in the Iran-Iraq War. The public attacks of FIA on fellow Muslim organizations, such as that launched against the Muslim World League, have left it with decreasing grassroots support. By 1994, Muslim Star had ceased publication.
FIA see Federation of Islamic Associations.
Federation of Islamic Associations. Formed through the efforts of first-generation American born Muslims, mostly of Syrian and Lebanese origin. The Federation of Islamic Associations was created as a corporate body to help maintain ties between scattered Muslim communities. Abdullah Igram of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a World War II veteran, was instrumental in bringing together Muslims from the United States and Canada. His efforts led to the incorporation of the International Muslim Society (IMS) in 1952. The goals of the IMS were to help coordinate efforts to keep the faith of Islam, to preserve Muslim culture, to expound Islamic teachings, and to propagate true information about the faith. During its third annual meeting, held in Chicago in 1954, the members adopted a new name: the Federation of Islamic Associations of Canada and the United States (FIA).
During that same year, Igram made a personal request to President Dwight Eisenhower to grant Muslims in the American armed services the right to identify their religion on their name tags. This was perceived by members of the community as official recognition of their American identity. The FIA concentrated on holding annual meetings and conventions, which were attended mainly by persons of Arab background (with a few Muslims from Eastern Europe and Turkey). The organization also provided the opportunity for young people to meet potential marriage partners from within a common religious and cultural heritage. The recollections of participants in these conventions from the 1950s and 1960s are of pleasant social events in which camaraderie and informal interaction, even some forms of folk dancing, were encouraged.
The FIA has been hampered by lack of funds, or trained indigenous leadership. Its assimilationist tendencies have been condemned by more conservative Muslims. In 1970, the FIA published a book that included selected readings from the Qur’an as well as a directory of Muslims in the United States. Efforts by the FIA leadership to compile a census of American Muslims have fared no better than those of any other group attempting such a task. They also tried unsuccessfully to create a standardized curriculum of Sunday school materials to be used by the various centers. The FIA is aware of the hostile media treatment of Arabs and Muslims in the United States and has concentrated its efforts on combating such misinformation.
At the peak of its popularity, the FIA listed some fifty mosques and organizations as its members. In recent years, the membership has dramatically declined owing to disagreement with the leadership over policies. The Muslim Star, the official organ of the FIA, provided extensive coverage about the nature of the regime of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Iran, as well as justification of the Iraqi position in the Iran-Iraq War. The public attacks of FIA on fellow Muslim organizations, such as that launched against the Muslim World League, have left it with decreasing grassroots support. By 1994, Muslim Star had ceased publication.
FIA see Federation of Islamic Associations.
Fehim Pasha
Fehim Pasha (1873-1908). Chief of the secret police under the Ottoman sultan Abdul-hamid II.
Pasha, Fehim see Fehim Pasha
Fehim Pasha (1873-1908). Chief of the secret police under the Ottoman sultan Abdul-hamid II.
Pasha, Fehim see Fehim Pasha
Ferhad Pasha
Ferhad Pasha (d.1595). Ottoman Grand Vizier of Albanian origin. He was successful in the war against Persia.
Pasha, Ferhad see Ferhad Pasha
Ferhad Pasha (d.1595). Ottoman Grand Vizier of Albanian origin. He was successful in the war against Persia.
Pasha, Ferhad see Ferhad Pasha
Ferhat Abbas
Ferhat Abbas (October 24, 1899 - December 23, 1985). Algerian leader in the Algerian struggle for independence. Ferhat Abbas was born in Taher and was educated as a pharmacist. A political moderate disillusioned with French policy, he advocated Algerian self-determination and independence and was intermittently jailed for his political activities. In 1956, Ferhat Abbas joined the Cairo-based National Liberation Front (NLF) which was then waging a war of independence against the French. From 1958 to 1961, Ferhat Abbas headed the Algerian government in exile. After Algerian independence in 1962, Abbas soon quarreled with the more radical NLF leadership and was put under house arrest in 1964-1965. Subsequently, he retired from public life.
Ferhat Abbas was the son of Said Ben Ahmed Abbas and Maga bint Ali. He was born in a village south of Taher in the department of Jijel. He was formerly an "integrationist" not opposed to the French annexation but advocating an Algeria where Algerians would have the same rights as Frenchmen. He became disillusioned with France when his hopes were not realized, and turned to nationalism, issuing the Manifesto of the Algerian People in 1943, and forming the nationalist party Union Démocratique du Manifeste Algérien in 1946.
Not long after the Algerian War of Independence against French rule began November 1954, Ferhat Abbas joined the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN), in September 1955. His political standing in Algeria and reputation as a moderate nationalist, acceptable to the West, helped him become president of the provisional Algerian nationalist government-in-exile, the GPRA, from 1958 until 1961. He lost his place to Benyoucef Ben Khedda, which may have been a reason for his decision to join Ahmed Ben Bella's and Houari Boumédiène's Tlemcen Group in opposition to the GPRA, which was subsequently dismantled.
Due to Pakistan's support to the cause of Algerian struggle for independence and self determination, Ferhat Abbas was given a Pakistani diplomatic passport for his foreign travels.
Algeria became independent on July 5, 1962. From September 25, 1962 to September 15, 1963, Ferhat Abbas was president of the constitutional assembly, but this institution was rapidly sidelined by Ben Bella, who had gained the presidency. Abbas resigned in protest at the FLN's decision to establish a one-party state under Ben Bella He was then placed under house arrest from 1964 until 1965.
In 1976–79, Ferhat Abbas was again placed under house arrest, after signing a statement opposing the country's powerful military-backed President, Colonel Houari Boumédiènne. Still, he received official recognition in the form of a state decoration, the Medal of Resistance, on October 30, 1984. He died just over a year later.
Articles written in Ferhat Abbas' youth are collected in Le Jeune Algérien (1931). His ideas on democracy and views on history were set out in a series of essays including La nuit coloniale (1962), Autopsie d'une guerre (1980) and L'indépendance confisquée (1984).
Abbas, Ferhat see Ferhat Abbas
Ferhat Abbas (October 24, 1899 - December 23, 1985). Algerian leader in the Algerian struggle for independence. Ferhat Abbas was born in Taher and was educated as a pharmacist. A political moderate disillusioned with French policy, he advocated Algerian self-determination and independence and was intermittently jailed for his political activities. In 1956, Ferhat Abbas joined the Cairo-based National Liberation Front (NLF) which was then waging a war of independence against the French. From 1958 to 1961, Ferhat Abbas headed the Algerian government in exile. After Algerian independence in 1962, Abbas soon quarreled with the more radical NLF leadership and was put under house arrest in 1964-1965. Subsequently, he retired from public life.
Ferhat Abbas was the son of Said Ben Ahmed Abbas and Maga bint Ali. He was born in a village south of Taher in the department of Jijel. He was formerly an "integrationist" not opposed to the French annexation but advocating an Algeria where Algerians would have the same rights as Frenchmen. He became disillusioned with France when his hopes were not realized, and turned to nationalism, issuing the Manifesto of the Algerian People in 1943, and forming the nationalist party Union Démocratique du Manifeste Algérien in 1946.
Not long after the Algerian War of Independence against French rule began November 1954, Ferhat Abbas joined the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN), in September 1955. His political standing in Algeria and reputation as a moderate nationalist, acceptable to the West, helped him become president of the provisional Algerian nationalist government-in-exile, the GPRA, from 1958 until 1961. He lost his place to Benyoucef Ben Khedda, which may have been a reason for his decision to join Ahmed Ben Bella's and Houari Boumédiène's Tlemcen Group in opposition to the GPRA, which was subsequently dismantled.
Due to Pakistan's support to the cause of Algerian struggle for independence and self determination, Ferhat Abbas was given a Pakistani diplomatic passport for his foreign travels.
Algeria became independent on July 5, 1962. From September 25, 1962 to September 15, 1963, Ferhat Abbas was president of the constitutional assembly, but this institution was rapidly sidelined by Ben Bella, who had gained the presidency. Abbas resigned in protest at the FLN's decision to establish a one-party state under Ben Bella He was then placed under house arrest from 1964 until 1965.
In 1976–79, Ferhat Abbas was again placed under house arrest, after signing a statement opposing the country's powerful military-backed President, Colonel Houari Boumédiènne. Still, he received official recognition in the form of a state decoration, the Medal of Resistance, on October 30, 1984. He died just over a year later.
Articles written in Ferhat Abbas' youth are collected in Le Jeune Algérien (1931). His ideas on democracy and views on history were set out in a series of essays including La nuit coloniale (1962), Autopsie d'une guerre (1980) and L'indépendance confisquée (1984).
Abbas, Ferhat see Ferhat Abbas
Ferid
Ferid (Damad Ferid) (Damat Mehmed Ferid) (1853 - October 6, 1923). Ottoman prime minister who was backed by the sultan (his brother-in-law) and the Western powers after World War I.
Damat Ferid Pasha (full name Damat Mehmed Ferid Pasha) was an Ottoman statesman who held the office of grand vizier during two periods under the reign of the last Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI Vahdeddin, the first time between March 4, 1919 and October 2, 1919 and the second time between April 5, 1920 and October 21, 1920. Officially, he held the office a total of five times, since his cabinets were recurrently dismissed under various pressures and he had to present new ones.
Damat Ferid was born in 1853 in İstanbul, son of the Governor of Beirut and Sidon. He served several positions with Ottomans before he entered the foreign office of the Ottoman Empire and was assigned to different post embassies in Paris, Berlin, Petersburg and London. He married a daughter of Abdülmecid, Mediha Sultan, which earned him the title of "Damat" (bridegroom to the Ottoman dynasty). Like his father, he became a member of the Şûrâ-yı Devlet in 1884, and earned the title of vizier soon afterwards. Refused the post of ambassador to London by the sultan Abdulhamid II, he resigned from public service and returned only after two decades, in 1908, as a member of the upper chamber of the Ottoman Parliament (Âyân Meclisi).
Damat Ferid's first office as grand vizier coincided with the Occupation of İzmir by the Greek army and the tumultuous ensuing period. He was dismissed on September 30, 1919, but after two short-lived governments under Ali Rıza Pasha and Hulusi Salih Pasha, the sultan had to call him back to form a new government on April 5, 1920 and remained as grand vizier until October 17, 1920, forming two different cabinets in between.
His second office coincided with the closure of the Ottoman Parliament under pressure from the British and French forces of occupation. Along with four other notables, he agreed to sign the Treaty of Sevres, comprising disastrous conditions for Turkey, which caused an uproar of reaction towards his person, that he retorted by becoming increasingly hostile to the new nationalist movement led by Mustafa Kemal Pasha which was centered in Ankara and more and more collaborative with the occupation forces.
Even after his dismissal, and the formation of a new Ottoman government under Ahmed Tevfik Pasha, he remained widely disliked (especially in Anatolia) and with the Turkish victory in the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922), he fled to Europe. He died in Nice, France, on October 6, 1923 and was buried in the city of Sidon.
Damad Ferid see Ferid Damat Mehmed Ferid see Ferid
Ferid (Damad Ferid) (Damat Mehmed Ferid) (1853 - October 6, 1923). Ottoman prime minister who was backed by the sultan (his brother-in-law) and the Western powers after World War I.
Damat Ferid Pasha (full name Damat Mehmed Ferid Pasha) was an Ottoman statesman who held the office of grand vizier during two periods under the reign of the last Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI Vahdeddin, the first time between March 4, 1919 and October 2, 1919 and the second time between April 5, 1920 and October 21, 1920. Officially, he held the office a total of five times, since his cabinets were recurrently dismissed under various pressures and he had to present new ones.
Damat Ferid was born in 1853 in İstanbul, son of the Governor of Beirut and Sidon. He served several positions with Ottomans before he entered the foreign office of the Ottoman Empire and was assigned to different post embassies in Paris, Berlin, Petersburg and London. He married a daughter of Abdülmecid, Mediha Sultan, which earned him the title of "Damat" (bridegroom to the Ottoman dynasty). Like his father, he became a member of the Şûrâ-yı Devlet in 1884, and earned the title of vizier soon afterwards. Refused the post of ambassador to London by the sultan Abdulhamid II, he resigned from public service and returned only after two decades, in 1908, as a member of the upper chamber of the Ottoman Parliament (Âyân Meclisi).
Damat Ferid's first office as grand vizier coincided with the Occupation of İzmir by the Greek army and the tumultuous ensuing period. He was dismissed on September 30, 1919, but after two short-lived governments under Ali Rıza Pasha and Hulusi Salih Pasha, the sultan had to call him back to form a new government on April 5, 1920 and remained as grand vizier until October 17, 1920, forming two different cabinets in between.
His second office coincided with the closure of the Ottoman Parliament under pressure from the British and French forces of occupation. Along with four other notables, he agreed to sign the Treaty of Sevres, comprising disastrous conditions for Turkey, which caused an uproar of reaction towards his person, that he retorted by becoming increasingly hostile to the new nationalist movement led by Mustafa Kemal Pasha which was centered in Ankara and more and more collaborative with the occupation forces.
Even after his dismissal, and the formation of a new Ottoman government under Ahmed Tevfik Pasha, he remained widely disliked (especially in Anatolia) and with the Turkish victory in the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922), he fled to Europe. He died in Nice, France, on October 6, 1923 and was buried in the city of Sidon.
Damad Ferid see Ferid Damat Mehmed Ferid see Ferid
Feridun
Feridun (Feridun Beg) (Feridun Ahmed Beg) (Fereydun Ahmad Bayg) (d. March 16, 1583). Private secretary of the Ottoman Grand Vizier Mehmed Pasha Soqollu. As the head of the chancery, he compiled a collection of state papers.
Feridun Ahmed Beg was a protégé of the famous grand vizier Moḥammad Pasha Ṣoqollū, Feridun Beg also distinguished himself at the siege of Szigetvár (1566) and was subsequently promoted to the posts of secretary of state and chancellor (raʾīs al-kottāb and nešānjī). He died on March 16, 1583.
Feridun Beg see Feridun Feridun Ahmed Beg see Feridun Fereydun Ahmad Bayg see Feridun Beg, Feridun see Feridun Beg, Feridun Ahmed see Feridun Bayg, Fereydun Ahmad see Feridun
Feridun (Feridun Beg) (Feridun Ahmed Beg) (Fereydun Ahmad Bayg) (d. March 16, 1583). Private secretary of the Ottoman Grand Vizier Mehmed Pasha Soqollu. As the head of the chancery, he compiled a collection of state papers.
Feridun Ahmed Beg was a protégé of the famous grand vizier Moḥammad Pasha Ṣoqollū, Feridun Beg also distinguished himself at the siege of Szigetvár (1566) and was subsequently promoted to the posts of secretary of state and chancellor (raʾīs al-kottāb and nešānjī). He died on March 16, 1583.
Feridun Beg see Feridun Feridun Ahmed Beg see Feridun Fereydun Ahmad Bayg see Feridun Beg, Feridun see Feridun Beg, Feridun Ahmed see Feridun Bayg, Fereydun Ahmad see Feridun
Ferishta
Ferishta (Muhammad Qasim Ferishta) (Muhammad Qasim Firishta) (c.1560-c.1620). Indo-Muslim historian and writer on Indian medicine. The name Ferishta (Firishta) means angel or one who is sent in Persian.
Ferishta served the Ahmadnagar and Bijapur sultanates and wrote the history of the Muslim sultanates of the Deccan. His Tarikh-i Ferishta is considered to be the best general history of India from the early Hindu rajas to his own day. Ferishta supplies detailed information about the Ghaznavids, the sultans of Delhi, the Deccan states, and the regional kingdoms of Kashmir, Gujarat, Malwa, Bengal, and Sind. The last chapter of the work deals with the Sufi saints of India. Ferishta was in the service of the ruler of Bijapur, Ibrahim Adil Shah II, and dedicated the work to him. In July 1604, Ferishta accompanied Ibrahim Adil Shah’s daughter, Begum Sultan, to Paithan, where she was married to the emperor Akbar’s son Daniyal. In 1605, Adil Shah sent Ferishta to Lahore. Ferishta is known for his meticulous collection of data, chronological arrangement, and simple but effective presentation. He also wrote a book on the indigenous system of medicine entitled Dastur ul-Atibba.
Ferishta was born at Astrabad to Gholam Ali Hindu Shah, on the shores of the Caspian Sea. While he was still a child his father was summoned away from his native country into Ahmadnagar, Hindustan, to teach Persian to the young prince Miran Husain Nizam Shah with whom Ferishta studied.
In 1587, Ferishta was serving as the captain of guards of King Murtuza Nizam Shah when Prince Miran overthrew his father and claimed the throne of Ahmadnagar. Having been a former friend, Prince Miran spared Ferishta's life who then left for Bijapur to enter the service of King Ibrahim Adil II in 1589.
Having been in military positions until then, Ferishta was not immediately successful in Bijapur. Further exacerbating matters was the fact that Ferishta was of a Shia origin and, therefore, did not have much chance of attaining high positions in the dominantly Sunni courts of Deccan kings. In 1593, Ibrahim Shah II ultimately implored Ferishta to write a history of India with equal emphasis on the history of Deccan dynasties as no work thus far had given equal treatment to all regions of the subcontinent.
The work was variously known as the Tarikh-i Firishta and the Gulshan-i Ibrahim. In the introduction, a resume of the history of Hindustan prior to the times of the Muslim conquest is given, and also the victorious progress of Arabs through the East. The first ten books are each occupied with a history of the kings of one of the provinces; the eleventh book gives an account of the Muslims of Malabar; the twelfth a history of the Muslim saints of India; and the conclusion treats of the geography and climate of India. It also includes graphic descriptions of the persecution of Hindus during the reign of Sikandar Butshikan in Kashmir.
Tarikh-i Firishta consists primarily of the following books:
1. The Kings of Ghazni and Lahore
2. The Kings of Dehli
3. The Kings of Dakhin - divided into 6 chapters:
a. Kulbarga
b. Bijapur
c. Ahmadnagar
d. Tilanga
e. Birar
f. Bidar
4. The Kings of Gujarat
5. The Kings of Malwa
6. The Kings of Khandesh
7. The Kings of Bengal and Bihar
8. The Kings of Multan
9. The Rulers of Sind
10. The Kings of Kashmir
11. An account of Malabar
12. An account of Saints of India
13. Conclusion - An account of the climate and geography of India
Muhammad Qasim Ferishta see Ferishta Muhammad Qasim Firishta see Ferishta Firishta, Muhammad Qasim see Ferishta
Ferishta (Muhammad Qasim Ferishta) (Muhammad Qasim Firishta) (c.1560-c.1620). Indo-Muslim historian and writer on Indian medicine. The name Ferishta (Firishta) means angel or one who is sent in Persian.
Ferishta served the Ahmadnagar and Bijapur sultanates and wrote the history of the Muslim sultanates of the Deccan. His Tarikh-i Ferishta is considered to be the best general history of India from the early Hindu rajas to his own day. Ferishta supplies detailed information about the Ghaznavids, the sultans of Delhi, the Deccan states, and the regional kingdoms of Kashmir, Gujarat, Malwa, Bengal, and Sind. The last chapter of the work deals with the Sufi saints of India. Ferishta was in the service of the ruler of Bijapur, Ibrahim Adil Shah II, and dedicated the work to him. In July 1604, Ferishta accompanied Ibrahim Adil Shah’s daughter, Begum Sultan, to Paithan, where she was married to the emperor Akbar’s son Daniyal. In 1605, Adil Shah sent Ferishta to Lahore. Ferishta is known for his meticulous collection of data, chronological arrangement, and simple but effective presentation. He also wrote a book on the indigenous system of medicine entitled Dastur ul-Atibba.
Ferishta was born at Astrabad to Gholam Ali Hindu Shah, on the shores of the Caspian Sea. While he was still a child his father was summoned away from his native country into Ahmadnagar, Hindustan, to teach Persian to the young prince Miran Husain Nizam Shah with whom Ferishta studied.
In 1587, Ferishta was serving as the captain of guards of King Murtuza Nizam Shah when Prince Miran overthrew his father and claimed the throne of Ahmadnagar. Having been a former friend, Prince Miran spared Ferishta's life who then left for Bijapur to enter the service of King Ibrahim Adil II in 1589.
Having been in military positions until then, Ferishta was not immediately successful in Bijapur. Further exacerbating matters was the fact that Ferishta was of a Shia origin and, therefore, did not have much chance of attaining high positions in the dominantly Sunni courts of Deccan kings. In 1593, Ibrahim Shah II ultimately implored Ferishta to write a history of India with equal emphasis on the history of Deccan dynasties as no work thus far had given equal treatment to all regions of the subcontinent.
The work was variously known as the Tarikh-i Firishta and the Gulshan-i Ibrahim. In the introduction, a resume of the history of Hindustan prior to the times of the Muslim conquest is given, and also the victorious progress of Arabs through the East. The first ten books are each occupied with a history of the kings of one of the provinces; the eleventh book gives an account of the Muslims of Malabar; the twelfth a history of the Muslim saints of India; and the conclusion treats of the geography and climate of India. It also includes graphic descriptions of the persecution of Hindus during the reign of Sikandar Butshikan in Kashmir.
Tarikh-i Firishta consists primarily of the following books:
1. The Kings of Ghazni and Lahore
2. The Kings of Dehli
3. The Kings of Dakhin - divided into 6 chapters:
a. Kulbarga
b. Bijapur
c. Ahmadnagar
d. Tilanga
e. Birar
f. Bidar
4. The Kings of Gujarat
5. The Kings of Malwa
6. The Kings of Khandesh
7. The Kings of Bengal and Bihar
8. The Kings of Multan
9. The Rulers of Sind
10. The Kings of Kashmir
11. An account of Malabar
12. An account of Saints of India
13. Conclusion - An account of the climate and geography of India
Muhammad Qasim Ferishta see Ferishta Muhammad Qasim Firishta see Ferishta Firishta, Muhammad Qasim see Ferishta
Fida‘iyan-i Islam
Fida‘iyan-i Islam (Devotees of Islam). Religio-political organization which was created in 1945 in Tehran by Sayyid Mujtaba Navvab Safavi. Born in 1923, Navvab claimed descent from the Prophet on his father’s side, and on his mother’s side, from the Safavid dynasty (1501-1722).
Training to become a cleric, Navvab attended the Shi‘a theological school of Najaf in Iraq, where he came across the anticlerical writings of Ahmad Kasravi. Finding Kasravi’s works heretical, Navvab made an unsuccessful attempt on Kasravi’s life, then in March 1946 two of Navvab’s followers murdered Kasravi.
Taking advantage of the publicity surrounding Kasravi’s murder, Navvab formed an alliance with the powerful political cleric Ayatollah Abu al-Qasim Kashani (Abol-Qasem Kashani). This union signaled a new activist phase in the life of Fida‘iyan-i Islam. In May 1948, the Fida‘iyan held a public demonstration of several thousand people in Tehran supporting the Palestinian Arabs and denouncing the Zionists. The following February, an assassin attempted to kill Shah Muhammad Reza Pahlavi. Although not charged directly, the Fida‘iyan were suspected of collusion, and their patron, Kashani, was exiled abroad for his alleged involvement in the plot.
At Kashani’s behest, the Fida‘iyan intensified their public agitation. In November 1949, the Fida ‘iyan assassinated an avowed enemy, the former prime minister and the sitting minister of court, ‘Abd al-Husayn Hazhir. Martial law was declared in Tehran, and after a short trial, the convicted murderer was hanged. This execution increased public tension, particularly in the holy city of Qom. Finally, as agitation intensified, the government permitted Kashani’s return.
The Fida‘iyan soon found themselves involved in the public debate on oil nationalization. Prime Minister Husayn ‘Ali Razmara, who was negotiating with the British for a new oil agreement, was assassinated in March 1951 by a close follower of Navvab. Although Kashani was implicated in Razmara’s assassination, no action was taken against him, and the assassin spent only a few months in jail.
Less than two weeks after Razmara’s death, the dean of the School of Law at Tehran University, ‘Abd al-Hamid Zanganah, was assassinated. The atmosphere of terror associated with the Fida‘iyan clearly contributed to this new act.
After the National Front government of Dr. Muhammad Musaddiq (Mohammed Mossadegh) came to power, the Fida‘iyan’s relationship with Kashani ruptured. Left without a prominent protector, Navvab and most of the Fida‘iyan’s top leadership were jailed by the government. In February 1952, the Fida‘iyan attempted to assassinate Dr. Husayn Fatimi, a prominent National Front Majlis (“parliament”) deputy. Navvab was kept in jail, then released in early 1953.
The coup of August 1953 returned the shah to the throne and ushered in a new phase for the Fida‘iyan. At first quiescent, the Fida ‘iyan attempted to assassinate Prime Minister Husayn ‘Ala in November 1955 on the eve of his departure for Iraq to formally sign Iran’s participation in the pro-Western Baghdad Pact. Although injured, the prime minister proceeded to Baghdad as scheduled.
The government swiftly arrested the Fida‘iyan leaders, including their former associate, Kashani. Most of those arrested were soon released, but Navvab and three of his closest allies were sentenced to death and executed in January 1956. Even though the trials and executions ended the Fida ‘iyan as an organization, some of their followers continued to operate clandestinely.
The Fida‘iyan’s name was associated indirectly with a group known as Hizb-I Milal-I Islami (Islamic Nations Party), which succeeded in assassinating Prime Minister Hasan ‘Ali Mansur in January 1965. Some members of this group had been members of the Fida‘iyan. After the success of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the Fida‘iyan re-emerged under the self-proclaimed leadership of the cleric Sadiq Khalkhali. But because many of the Fida‘iyan goals were already enshrined in the new regime’s programs, they soon disappeared from the political arena.
The actual size of the Fida‘iyan membership is in dispute. At its height, the organization probably had somewhere between thirty thousand and forty thousand members and a much larger number of sympathizers. The membership was concentrated in a few major cities, particularly Tehran, Mashhad, and Qom. The Fida‘iyan attracted young semi-literates and illiterate Muslims on the fringes of urban society. Most were youths between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five who held low-status occupations in or around the bazaar. Navvab remained the acknowledged leader of the group, although his lieutenants, the Vahidi brothers, continued to play a key role in the organization.
The Fida‘iyan’s strength was based on their critical alliance with the clergy and their acts of terror. They also established contacts with Muslims in other countries. Navvab traveled to Egypt, saw leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, and made contacts with co-religionists in Jordan, Iraq, and probably Turkey. Yet none of these were ties of long-range significance.
The Fida‘iyan’s finances were secured through influential sympathizers in the bazaar merchant community and among certain clerical elements. They disseminated their messages through several publications, including newspapers, regular broadsheets, and leaflets. Their major book of ideology, Rahnamah-yi haqa’iq (The Guide to Truth), published in 1950, includes their most complete statement and blueprint for a new Shi‘a Islamic order.
Highly puritanical in scope, Rahnamah-yi haqa’iq pronounced the Fida’iyan’s ultimate goal to create a new order based on shari‘a (Islamic law). It envisaged a state in which religion and politics were necessary parts of the same system and a society in which the divine laws and injunctions provided the moral and legal basis for all acts. In such a system, parliament would not legislate; it would be merely a consultative assembly ensuring that all existing and future regulations were in accordance with Shi‘a Islamic precepts. Monarchy was not necessarily unacceptable if the monarch obeyed Islamic precepts. The clerics in the Fida‘iyan state would be entrusted with a multiplicity of functions, ranging from administering to the masses’ religious needs, to serving as judges of the Islamic courts, to implementing an Islamic educational system. The clerics would ensure that ethics and morality would be observed and gender separation in the public sphere, including schools, would be strictly observed. As judges of the Islamic courts, the clerics would supervise a strict penal code that included cutting off a thief’s hand and public whipping of an adulterer.
The Fida‘iyan perceived women as second class citizens, confined to the home. They viewed the idea of women’s rights as detrimental to the moral fabric of the social order and endorsed the Shi‘a concept of temporary marriage as a remedy for prostitution. The Fida‘iyan were also minimally tolerant of certain religious minorities, such as Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians, who were given limited protected rights. The Baha’is had no place in the Fida‘iyan system.
The Fida‘iyan considered the accumulation of wealth a legitimate economic activity and encouraged commerce as long as Islamic anti-usury norms were maintained. They combined encouragement of business with a strong sense of social welfare and general charity toward the poor.
The importance of the Fida‘iyan in Iranian and Islamic history lies in their forceful articulation of certain rigid principles of religion for the social order. However, their willingness to legitimize violence on the basis of religious dogma and their daring acts of violence made their impact far greater than their organizational strength or numbers justify.
Devotees of Islam see Fida‘iyan-i Islam
Fida‘iyan-i Islam (Devotees of Islam). Religio-political organization which was created in 1945 in Tehran by Sayyid Mujtaba Navvab Safavi. Born in 1923, Navvab claimed descent from the Prophet on his father’s side, and on his mother’s side, from the Safavid dynasty (1501-1722).
Training to become a cleric, Navvab attended the Shi‘a theological school of Najaf in Iraq, where he came across the anticlerical writings of Ahmad Kasravi. Finding Kasravi’s works heretical, Navvab made an unsuccessful attempt on Kasravi’s life, then in March 1946 two of Navvab’s followers murdered Kasravi.
Taking advantage of the publicity surrounding Kasravi’s murder, Navvab formed an alliance with the powerful political cleric Ayatollah Abu al-Qasim Kashani (Abol-Qasem Kashani). This union signaled a new activist phase in the life of Fida‘iyan-i Islam. In May 1948, the Fida‘iyan held a public demonstration of several thousand people in Tehran supporting the Palestinian Arabs and denouncing the Zionists. The following February, an assassin attempted to kill Shah Muhammad Reza Pahlavi. Although not charged directly, the Fida‘iyan were suspected of collusion, and their patron, Kashani, was exiled abroad for his alleged involvement in the plot.
At Kashani’s behest, the Fida‘iyan intensified their public agitation. In November 1949, the Fida ‘iyan assassinated an avowed enemy, the former prime minister and the sitting minister of court, ‘Abd al-Husayn Hazhir. Martial law was declared in Tehran, and after a short trial, the convicted murderer was hanged. This execution increased public tension, particularly in the holy city of Qom. Finally, as agitation intensified, the government permitted Kashani’s return.
The Fida‘iyan soon found themselves involved in the public debate on oil nationalization. Prime Minister Husayn ‘Ali Razmara, who was negotiating with the British for a new oil agreement, was assassinated in March 1951 by a close follower of Navvab. Although Kashani was implicated in Razmara’s assassination, no action was taken against him, and the assassin spent only a few months in jail.
Less than two weeks after Razmara’s death, the dean of the School of Law at Tehran University, ‘Abd al-Hamid Zanganah, was assassinated. The atmosphere of terror associated with the Fida‘iyan clearly contributed to this new act.
After the National Front government of Dr. Muhammad Musaddiq (Mohammed Mossadegh) came to power, the Fida‘iyan’s relationship with Kashani ruptured. Left without a prominent protector, Navvab and most of the Fida‘iyan’s top leadership were jailed by the government. In February 1952, the Fida‘iyan attempted to assassinate Dr. Husayn Fatimi, a prominent National Front Majlis (“parliament”) deputy. Navvab was kept in jail, then released in early 1953.
The coup of August 1953 returned the shah to the throne and ushered in a new phase for the Fida‘iyan. At first quiescent, the Fida ‘iyan attempted to assassinate Prime Minister Husayn ‘Ala in November 1955 on the eve of his departure for Iraq to formally sign Iran’s participation in the pro-Western Baghdad Pact. Although injured, the prime minister proceeded to Baghdad as scheduled.
The government swiftly arrested the Fida‘iyan leaders, including their former associate, Kashani. Most of those arrested were soon released, but Navvab and three of his closest allies were sentenced to death and executed in January 1956. Even though the trials and executions ended the Fida ‘iyan as an organization, some of their followers continued to operate clandestinely.
The Fida‘iyan’s name was associated indirectly with a group known as Hizb-I Milal-I Islami (Islamic Nations Party), which succeeded in assassinating Prime Minister Hasan ‘Ali Mansur in January 1965. Some members of this group had been members of the Fida‘iyan. After the success of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the Fida‘iyan re-emerged under the self-proclaimed leadership of the cleric Sadiq Khalkhali. But because many of the Fida‘iyan goals were already enshrined in the new regime’s programs, they soon disappeared from the political arena.
The actual size of the Fida‘iyan membership is in dispute. At its height, the organization probably had somewhere between thirty thousand and forty thousand members and a much larger number of sympathizers. The membership was concentrated in a few major cities, particularly Tehran, Mashhad, and Qom. The Fida‘iyan attracted young semi-literates and illiterate Muslims on the fringes of urban society. Most were youths between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five who held low-status occupations in or around the bazaar. Navvab remained the acknowledged leader of the group, although his lieutenants, the Vahidi brothers, continued to play a key role in the organization.
The Fida‘iyan’s strength was based on their critical alliance with the clergy and their acts of terror. They also established contacts with Muslims in other countries. Navvab traveled to Egypt, saw leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, and made contacts with co-religionists in Jordan, Iraq, and probably Turkey. Yet none of these were ties of long-range significance.
The Fida‘iyan’s finances were secured through influential sympathizers in the bazaar merchant community and among certain clerical elements. They disseminated their messages through several publications, including newspapers, regular broadsheets, and leaflets. Their major book of ideology, Rahnamah-yi haqa’iq (The Guide to Truth), published in 1950, includes their most complete statement and blueprint for a new Shi‘a Islamic order.
Highly puritanical in scope, Rahnamah-yi haqa’iq pronounced the Fida’iyan’s ultimate goal to create a new order based on shari‘a (Islamic law). It envisaged a state in which religion and politics were necessary parts of the same system and a society in which the divine laws and injunctions provided the moral and legal basis for all acts. In such a system, parliament would not legislate; it would be merely a consultative assembly ensuring that all existing and future regulations were in accordance with Shi‘a Islamic precepts. Monarchy was not necessarily unacceptable if the monarch obeyed Islamic precepts. The clerics in the Fida‘iyan state would be entrusted with a multiplicity of functions, ranging from administering to the masses’ religious needs, to serving as judges of the Islamic courts, to implementing an Islamic educational system. The clerics would ensure that ethics and morality would be observed and gender separation in the public sphere, including schools, would be strictly observed. As judges of the Islamic courts, the clerics would supervise a strict penal code that included cutting off a thief’s hand and public whipping of an adulterer.
The Fida‘iyan perceived women as second class citizens, confined to the home. They viewed the idea of women’s rights as detrimental to the moral fabric of the social order and endorsed the Shi‘a concept of temporary marriage as a remedy for prostitution. The Fida‘iyan were also minimally tolerant of certain religious minorities, such as Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians, who were given limited protected rights. The Baha’is had no place in the Fida‘iyan system.
The Fida‘iyan considered the accumulation of wealth a legitimate economic activity and encouraged commerce as long as Islamic anti-usury norms were maintained. They combined encouragement of business with a strong sense of social welfare and general charity toward the poor.
The importance of the Fida‘iyan in Iranian and Islamic history lies in their forceful articulation of certain rigid principles of religion for the social order. However, their willingness to legitimize violence on the basis of religious dogma and their daring acts of violence made their impact far greater than their organizational strength or numbers justify.
Devotees of Islam see Fida‘iyan-i Islam
Fida’iyyan-i Islam
Fida’iyyan-i Islam. See Fida‘iyan-i Islam..
Fida’iyyan-i Islam. See Fida‘iyan-i Islam..
Fida’iyyin
Fida’iyyin (Fida'iyin). Commandos or people who sacrifice themselves for a cause. The term is often applied to Palestinians fighting against Israel or to militant Shi‘a.
Fida'iyin see Fida’iyyin
Fida’iyyin (Fida'iyin). Commandos or people who sacrifice themselves for a cause. The term is often applied to Palestinians fighting against Israel or to militant Shi‘a.
Fida'iyin see Fida’iyyin
Fighani
Fighani (Baba) (d.1519). Pseudonym of a celebrated Persian poet from Shiraz. His patronymic, like his first name, is unknown.
Baba see Fighani
Fighani (Baba) (d.1519). Pseudonym of a celebrated Persian poet from Shiraz. His patronymic, like his first name, is unknown.
Baba see Fighani
Fikri
Fikri (‘Abd Allah Pasha Fikri) (1834-1890). Egyptian statesman, poet and prose-writer. He is regarded as one of the authors who have helped to give a simpler character to Arabic literary style.
‘Abd Allah Pasha Fikri see Fikri
Fikri (‘Abd Allah Pasha Fikri) (1834-1890). Egyptian statesman, poet and prose-writer. He is regarded as one of the authors who have helped to give a simpler character to Arabic literary style.
‘Abd Allah Pasha Fikri see Fikri
Filali
Filali. Name of the dynasty of Sharifs (Shorfa') from Tafilalt, reigning in Morocco from 1659 until the present day.
Filali. Name of the dynasty of Sharifs (Shorfa') from Tafilalt, reigning in Morocco from 1659 until the present day.
Findiriski
Findiriski (d. 1640). Persian scholar and philosopher. He was respected by both the Safavid Shah ‘Abbas and the Mughal court in India.
Findiriski (d. 1640). Persian scholar and philosopher. He was respected by both the Safavid Shah ‘Abbas and the Mughal court in India.
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