Faqih, Asad Mansur al-
Sheik Asad Mansur al-Faqih (1909 - April 2, 1988) was the first Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United States,
Sheik Faqih was a delegate to the founding conference of the United Nations in 1945, where he signed the charter on behalf of Saudi Arabia. He was appointed Ambassador to the United States later that year. He served simultaneously as Ambassador to Canada and Mexico and was his country's delegate to the United Nations from 1946 to 1955. He established Saudi embassies in China and Japan and served as chief inspector of diplomatic missions. He retired as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in 1963.
Sheik Faqih was also his country's Chief Justice and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and played a key role in maintaining strong Saudi ties with the Allies during World War II.
A resident of the United States after 1984, Sheik Faqih died of prostate cancer on April 2, 1988 at his home in Walnut Creek, Calif. He was 79 years old. He was survived by his wife, Yacout; seven children, Aida Abi-Mershed of London, Selma Hassen, Saniya Hamady and Zuheir al-Faqih of Washington, and Dr. Khaled al-Faqih, Ghida Heaps and Mrs. Hoda Cox of Walnut Creek; 20 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Faqir of Ipi
Faqir of Ipi (Mirza Ali Khan) (1897-1960). Pathan mullah and agitator along the Northwestern Frontier of the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent.
Faqir of Ipi (born Mirza Ali Khan) was a Pashtun from today's North-Waziristan Pakistan, Federally Administrated Tribal Areas. The Tribal Areas was partially administrated by British India, but was never ruled completely by the English in India. Tribal Areas had unique status of partially independent area. Faqir's followers addressed him as ‘Haji Sahib' (or "Respected Pilgrim"). The village of Ipi is located near Mirali Camp in North Waziristan Agency, Waziristan, from where the Faqir of Ipi started his self styled Jihad against the British government. He waged a highly effective guerrilla warfare against the British Empire throughout the 1930s and 1940s until the British departure in 1947. At one point nearly 40,000 British and Indian troops were reported to be in the field trying to capture him, while he succeeding in evading the tight net surrounding him. His own force of armed tribesmen, probably not exceeding one thousand men, armed with rifles and a few machine-guns, and occasionally one or two pieces of antiquated cannon were fielded against this much larger British army equipped with modern artillery, tanks and aircraft. The Faqir of Ipi was always short of ammunition, had no radio communication, and relied upon a traditional network of informants and messengers for his intelligence while the British had much more sophisticated communications and intelligence capabilities developed in World War II.
Faqir of Ipi was born Mirza Ali Khan in 1897 in Shankai Kairta, which is located near Khajuri Post in North Waziristan Agency. His family was from the Bangal Khel clan of the Haibati Madda Khel section of the Tori Khel Wazirs, which belongs to the greater Utmanzai branch concentrated in North Waziristan. His father was a religious man, named Arsala Khan. Mirza first went to religious schools on the British side of the border, and eventually, to a place near Jalalabad, where he became a Murid (pupil) of the Naqib of Chaharbagh, at the time the most famous and influential religious leader in Afghanistan. In 1923 Mirza Ali Khan performed the Hajj in Mecca and thereafter settled down in the village of Ipi, situated near the British military road connecting Bannu and Razmak. He was known as a peaceful, religious preacher. There he gradually acquired the reputation of saintliness among the clan of Daurs, but not attracting as yet the attention of the authorities as a potential agitator.
In March 1936, however, came the turning point in the Faqir's career. The incident was the trial case of the so-called 'Islam Bibi',the crisis was triggered by the conversion and marriage of a 15-year-old Hindu girl Ram Kori, named and known as Islam Bibi, to a Pashtun school teacher Syed Amir Noor Ali Shah of Bannu. A minor girl still, the British Resident of Waziristan and the Brigade Commander Bannu applied strong political pressure on the Torikhel and Madda Khel Waziris for the release of the girl. The next morning, two companies of Tochi Scouts surrounded the village holding Islam Bibi, and a flight of fully armed RAF Audaxes circled overhead in a show of force. The tribal elders acceded to the Political Agent's plea to allow Islam Bibi to declare her decision in front of a Jirga comprising both sides. Before such a Jirga could be arranged, however, the Deputy Commissioner of Bannu, with the concurrence of the NWFP Government, somehow managed to whisk Islam Bibi and her parents away into the interior of the Punjab.
The school teacher was accused of abduction and arrested. The case reached the court in Bannu city 'amid a blaze of publicity.' The trial magistrate found no evidence to suggest that Islam Bibi left her home under compulsion.
Noor Ali Shah's claim to the girl's custody was dismissed as he could not prove 'legal marriage'. He received two years imprisonment for abduction. This verdict proved the trigger for the Faqir.
The verdict 'enraged' the Muslims - especially the Daur tribesmen, Faqir Ipi's kinsmen, the Daur Maliks and mullahs left the Tochi for the Khaisora Valley to the south to rouse the Torikhel Waziris. The enraged tribesmen mustered two large lashkars 10,000 strong and battled the Bannu Brigade, with heavy casualties on both sides. Widespread lawlessness erupted as tribesmen blocked roads, overran outposts and ambushed convoys. The British retaliated by sending two columns converging in the Khaisora river valley. They suppressed the agitation by imposing fines and by destroying the houses of the ringleaders, including that of the Faqir of Ipi. However, the pyrrhic nature of the victory and the subsequent withdrawal of the troops was credited by the Wazirs to be a manifestation of the Faqir's miraculous powers. He succeeded in inducing a semblance of tribal unity, as the British noticed with dismay, among various sections of Tori Khel Wazirs, the Mahsuds and the Bhittannis. He cemented his position as religious leader by declaring a Jihad against the British. This move also helped rally support from Afghan tribesman across the border.
Soon after the campaign a general uprising broke out throughout Waziristan, realising the futility of confronting the British Army directly especially with their advantage of airpower tribesmen switched to guerrilla warfare. In one attack alone a British convoy of 200 heavy vehicles, escorted by 6 armored cars, was ambushed and wiped out in a narrow defile at Shahpur Tangi. Squadrons of the two air forces (RAF and RIAF) tried many tactics including scorched earth retaliation involving the burning of standing crops with jerry can petrol bombs and the killing of cattle with strafing attacks. This situation continued till Indian independence and the creation of Pakistan in 1947.
During World War II, till as late as 1942, extensive efforts were made by Germany and Italy to ally with the Faqir and organize a full scale tribal uprising against the British. Support included money, weaponry and propaganda. The assistance was limited because of the obvious difficulties in supply and communication. These efforts were followed up primarily by the Italians as the Germans believed a British defeat was inevitable at that stage. However with the advent of the USSR in the war, pressure was put on Afghanistan to halt German and Italian infiltration of the tribal areas.
The creation of Pakistan in 1947 significantly dulled the Faqir's insurgency. As the Government was Muslim led, the religious grounds for the insurgency had been lost. This did not stop the Faqir from causing problems for the Pakistani government until his death. On 4 November 4, 1954 his Commander in Chief, Mehar Dil, surrendered himself personally to the Deputy Commissioner Bannu, and this, in effect, brought the Waziristan insurrection to an end.
The Faqir of Ipi died at night on April 16, 1960. A long term sufferer of asthma during his last days, he became so sick that it was not possible for him to walk for a few steps. People from far away often used to come and see him and ask for his blessing. His funeral prayers or Namaz-I-Janaza was held at Gurwaikht led by Maulavi Pir Rehman. Thousands of people from different places came for his Namaz-I-Janaza. He was buried at Gurwaikht.
Mirza Ali Khan see Faqir of Ipi
Haji Sahib see Faqir of Ipi
Respected Pilgrim see Faqir of Ipi
Faqir of Ipi (Mirza Ali Khan) (1897-1960). Pathan mullah and agitator along the Northwestern Frontier of the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent.
Faqir of Ipi (born Mirza Ali Khan) was a Pashtun from today's North-Waziristan Pakistan, Federally Administrated Tribal Areas. The Tribal Areas was partially administrated by British India, but was never ruled completely by the English in India. Tribal Areas had unique status of partially independent area. Faqir's followers addressed him as ‘Haji Sahib' (or "Respected Pilgrim"). The village of Ipi is located near Mirali Camp in North Waziristan Agency, Waziristan, from where the Faqir of Ipi started his self styled Jihad against the British government. He waged a highly effective guerrilla warfare against the British Empire throughout the 1930s and 1940s until the British departure in 1947. At one point nearly 40,000 British and Indian troops were reported to be in the field trying to capture him, while he succeeding in evading the tight net surrounding him. His own force of armed tribesmen, probably not exceeding one thousand men, armed with rifles and a few machine-guns, and occasionally one or two pieces of antiquated cannon were fielded against this much larger British army equipped with modern artillery, tanks and aircraft. The Faqir of Ipi was always short of ammunition, had no radio communication, and relied upon a traditional network of informants and messengers for his intelligence while the British had much more sophisticated communications and intelligence capabilities developed in World War II.
Faqir of Ipi was born Mirza Ali Khan in 1897 in Shankai Kairta, which is located near Khajuri Post in North Waziristan Agency. His family was from the Bangal Khel clan of the Haibati Madda Khel section of the Tori Khel Wazirs, which belongs to the greater Utmanzai branch concentrated in North Waziristan. His father was a religious man, named Arsala Khan. Mirza first went to religious schools on the British side of the border, and eventually, to a place near Jalalabad, where he became a Murid (pupil) of the Naqib of Chaharbagh, at the time the most famous and influential religious leader in Afghanistan. In 1923 Mirza Ali Khan performed the Hajj in Mecca and thereafter settled down in the village of Ipi, situated near the British military road connecting Bannu and Razmak. He was known as a peaceful, religious preacher. There he gradually acquired the reputation of saintliness among the clan of Daurs, but not attracting as yet the attention of the authorities as a potential agitator.
In March 1936, however, came the turning point in the Faqir's career. The incident was the trial case of the so-called 'Islam Bibi',the crisis was triggered by the conversion and marriage of a 15-year-old Hindu girl Ram Kori, named and known as Islam Bibi, to a Pashtun school teacher Syed Amir Noor Ali Shah of Bannu. A minor girl still, the British Resident of Waziristan and the Brigade Commander Bannu applied strong political pressure on the Torikhel and Madda Khel Waziris for the release of the girl. The next morning, two companies of Tochi Scouts surrounded the village holding Islam Bibi, and a flight of fully armed RAF Audaxes circled overhead in a show of force. The tribal elders acceded to the Political Agent's plea to allow Islam Bibi to declare her decision in front of a Jirga comprising both sides. Before such a Jirga could be arranged, however, the Deputy Commissioner of Bannu, with the concurrence of the NWFP Government, somehow managed to whisk Islam Bibi and her parents away into the interior of the Punjab.
The school teacher was accused of abduction and arrested. The case reached the court in Bannu city 'amid a blaze of publicity.' The trial magistrate found no evidence to suggest that Islam Bibi left her home under compulsion.
Noor Ali Shah's claim to the girl's custody was dismissed as he could not prove 'legal marriage'. He received two years imprisonment for abduction. This verdict proved the trigger for the Faqir.
The verdict 'enraged' the Muslims - especially the Daur tribesmen, Faqir Ipi's kinsmen, the Daur Maliks and mullahs left the Tochi for the Khaisora Valley to the south to rouse the Torikhel Waziris. The enraged tribesmen mustered two large lashkars 10,000 strong and battled the Bannu Brigade, with heavy casualties on both sides. Widespread lawlessness erupted as tribesmen blocked roads, overran outposts and ambushed convoys. The British retaliated by sending two columns converging in the Khaisora river valley. They suppressed the agitation by imposing fines and by destroying the houses of the ringleaders, including that of the Faqir of Ipi. However, the pyrrhic nature of the victory and the subsequent withdrawal of the troops was credited by the Wazirs to be a manifestation of the Faqir's miraculous powers. He succeeded in inducing a semblance of tribal unity, as the British noticed with dismay, among various sections of Tori Khel Wazirs, the Mahsuds and the Bhittannis. He cemented his position as religious leader by declaring a Jihad against the British. This move also helped rally support from Afghan tribesman across the border.
Soon after the campaign a general uprising broke out throughout Waziristan, realising the futility of confronting the British Army directly especially with their advantage of airpower tribesmen switched to guerrilla warfare. In one attack alone a British convoy of 200 heavy vehicles, escorted by 6 armored cars, was ambushed and wiped out in a narrow defile at Shahpur Tangi. Squadrons of the two air forces (RAF and RIAF) tried many tactics including scorched earth retaliation involving the burning of standing crops with jerry can petrol bombs and the killing of cattle with strafing attacks. This situation continued till Indian independence and the creation of Pakistan in 1947.
During World War II, till as late as 1942, extensive efforts were made by Germany and Italy to ally with the Faqir and organize a full scale tribal uprising against the British. Support included money, weaponry and propaganda. The assistance was limited because of the obvious difficulties in supply and communication. These efforts were followed up primarily by the Italians as the Germans believed a British defeat was inevitable at that stage. However with the advent of the USSR in the war, pressure was put on Afghanistan to halt German and Italian infiltration of the tribal areas.
The creation of Pakistan in 1947 significantly dulled the Faqir's insurgency. As the Government was Muslim led, the religious grounds for the insurgency had been lost. This did not stop the Faqir from causing problems for the Pakistani government until his death. On 4 November 4, 1954 his Commander in Chief, Mehar Dil, surrendered himself personally to the Deputy Commissioner Bannu, and this, in effect, brought the Waziristan insurrection to an end.
The Faqir of Ipi died at night on April 16, 1960. A long term sufferer of asthma during his last days, he became so sick that it was not possible for him to walk for a few steps. People from far away often used to come and see him and ask for his blessing. His funeral prayers or Namaz-I-Janaza was held at Gurwaikht led by Maulavi Pir Rehman. Thousands of people from different places came for his Namaz-I-Janaza. He was buried at Gurwaikht.
Mirza Ali Khan see Faqir of Ipi
Haji Sahib see Faqir of Ipi
Respected Pilgrim see Faqir of Ipi
Farabi
Farabi (Abu Nasr Muhammad al-Farabi) (Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Tarkhan ibn Uzalagh al-Farabi) (Abu Nasr ibn Muhammad ibn Tarkhan ibn Auzlagh al-Farabi) (Abu al-Nasr Muhammad ibn al-Farakh al-Farabi) (al-Pharabius) (Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ibn Tarḫān ibn Awzlaġ al-Fārābi) (Alpharabius) (b. c. 872 – d. between December 14, 950 and January 12, 951). Muslim polymath and one of the greatest scientists and philosophers of Persia and the Islamic world of his time. He was also a cosmologist, logician, musician, psychologist and sociologist. He became known in the West under the names of Alfarabius (Alpharabius) and Avennasar (Abunaser).
Al-Farabi was a major contributor to philosophy, logic, sociology and science. He was best known as the “Second Teacher” (al-Mou’allim al-Thani), Aristotle being the first. Al-Farabi was largely responsible for cementing the position of Peripatetic philosophy at the core of nearly all philosophic thought in the Islamic world (and also, derivatively, much of the Christian world) through such an extensive series of written commentaries on Aristotle’s works that philosophical studies thereafter were dominated by his commentaries. Al-Farabi’s other major achievement was the creation of a cogent theory of an Islamic political philosophy based on Plato’s notions of supreme ruler-philosopher. This theory allowed a rational explanation of prophecy and the relatively unique role of prophetic revelation in a particular time and place. It also provided a universal definition of the purpose and goal of human society and government in general.
Al-Farabi, whose Latin name is Alfarabius, was born in Farab, Transoxiana (now Uzbekistan), of Turkish parentage. His ancestors were originally of Persian descent and his father was a general. After completing his education at Farab and Bukhara, he moved to Baghdad for higher studies, where his teachers were Christian Syrians expert in Greek philosophy. In Baghdad, al-Farabi studied several languages, science and technology, and philosophy. He also traveled to Damascus and Egypt for further studies. Eventually he came to live at the court of Sayf ad-Dawla (916-967), the ruler of Aleppo (now in Syria). Al-Farabi died a bachelor in Damascus in 950.
Al-Farabi was a qadi (a judge) in the early years of his long career. He eventually decided to take up teaching as his profession. Al-Farabi showed remarkable competence in several languages. Due to his exceptional talents in several branches of science and philosophy, he received the attention of King Saif al-Dawla at Halab (Aleppo). However, due to some unfortunate circumstances, he suffered great hardships and was once demoted to the position of caretaker of a garden.
Al-Farabi’s major contributions were in logic, philosophy and sociology. He also contributed immensely to mathematics, science, medicine, and music. He was also an encyclopedist. Al-Farabi’s great contribution in logic was that he made the study of logic systematic by dividing the subject into two categories: takhayyul (idea) and thubut (proof). Al-Farabi attempted to reconcile Platonism and Aristotelism with theology and wrote commentaries on physics, logic, and meteorology. Al-Farabi held the belief that philosophy and Islam are in harmony. He proved the existence of the void in his contribution to physics. His book Kitab al-Ihsa al-‘Ulum presents fundamental principles and classification of sciences from a fresh perspective.
Al-Farabi wrote several books on sociology, the most famous of which is the book entitled ‘Ara Ahl al-Madina al-Fadila’ (The Model City). It is a significant contribution to sociology and political science. He also wrote books on metaphysics and psychology that included his original work. Al-Farabi states that an isolated individual cannot achieve all the perfections by himself and without the aid of many other individuals. It is the innate disposition of every man to join another human being or other men in the labor he ought to perform. Therefore, to achieve what he can of that perfection, every man needs to stay in the neighborhood of others and associate with them.
Al-Farabi was also an expert in music. He contributed to musical notes and invented several musical instruments. Al-Farabi could play his instruments so well as to make people laugh or weep. His book on music, entitled Kitab al-Musiqa, was well known.
Al-Farabi wrote a large number of books in several fields that include his original contribution. One hundred seventeen books are known to have survived. Of these, forty-three books are on logic, seven each on political science and ethics, eleven on metaphysics, and twenty-eight books on medicine, sociology, music and commentaries. Al-Farabi’s book ‘Fusus al-Hikam was used as a text book of philosophy for several centuries in Europe. He had great influence on science and philosophy for several centuries.
Al-Farabi, like many other Muslim philosophers, traveled widely, visiting centers of learning and meeting with the learned masters of his time. He spent the last few years of his life in Aleppo, at the court of Sayf-ad-Dawlah.
Al-Farabi was one of the earliest Islamic thinkers to transmit to the Arab world the doctrines of Plato and Aristotle (which he considered essentially identical), thereby greatly influencing such later Islamic philosophers as Avicenna and Averroes.
Influenced in his metaphysical views by both Aristotle and the Neoplatonist Roman philosopher Plotinus, al-Farabi posited a Supreme Being who had created the world through the exercise of rational intelligence. He believed this same rational faculty to be the sole part of the human being that is immortal, and thus he set as the paramount human goal the development of the rational faculty. Al-Farabi gave considerably more attention to political theory than did any other Islamic philosopher, adapting the Platonic system (as developed in Plato’s Republic and Laws) to the contemporary Muslim political situation in The Perfect City.
Al-Farabi was the first Islamic philosopher to uphold the primacy of philosophical truth over revelation, claiming that, contrary to the beliefs of various other religions, philosophical truth is the same throughout the world. He formulated as an ideal a universal religion in which all other existing religions are considered symbolic expressions of the universal religion. Of about 100 works by al-Farabi, many have been lost, including his commentaries on Aristotle. Many others have been preserved in medieval Latin translations only. In addition to his philosophical writings, al-Farabi compiled a Catalogue of Sciences, the first Muslim work to attempt a systematization of human knowledge. He also made a contribution to musical theory in his Great Book of Music.
Al-Farabi’s philosophy represents the first serious attempt in Islamic philosophy to bring about a rapprochement between the teachings of Plato and Aristotle. It was toward this end that he wrote many commentaries and expositions on Plato’s and Aristotle’s treatises. Despite such commentaries, he came to be known for his works on logic and political philosophy. In logic, ethics, and metaphysics he followed Aristotle; in politics he preferred Plato.
Al-Farabi argues that all existing beings are divided into necessary and possible existents. Necessary beings exist by virtue of themselves and need no external cause of their existence. Possible beings are those that can exist or not exist, and their existence requires an external cause. Farabi then goes on to argue that if one were to strip all the accidental (unnecessary) attributes of a existent thing, what would be left is the essence of that thing. Therefore, all existent beings for Farabi consist of an essence to which existence is added. It is only God, Farabi tells us, for whom essence and existence are one and the same.
Farabi’s views on the origin of the world seem to have been influenced by the Neoplatonic doctrine of emanation. According to Farabi, God, in contemplating himself, emanates an intellect from himself and from this intellect, which contemplates itself, emanates the Second Intellect, and so forth until the Tenth Intellect, which Farabi calls the “Agent Intellect.” These intellects, for Farabi, provide the intermediary world between the incorporeal world and ours, the world of generation and corruption.
Al-Farabi, who interprets Aristotle’s account of the intellects in his own way, argues that Aristotle believes in four different intellects. These intellects are: Intellect in Potentiality, which he identifies with the human soul and its ability to think; Intellect in Actuality, which is their realization within the corporeal world of the intelligible; the Acquired Intellect, which to him is attained when the intellect in actuality reflects upon the intelligible; and finally there is the Agent Intellect, which is the cause of thinking.
Al-Farabi is perhaps the greatest logician of Islam. He undertook an extensive study and critique of the entire Aristotelian Organon. His principal contributions to logic were his analysis of principles of syllogistic reduction, his emphasis on hypothetical and disjunctive syllogisms (arguments involving “if ... then ...” and “either ... or ...” premises), his discussion of induction, and his account of the use of the categorical syllogism in arguments by analogy. In addition to these significant contributions, he also offered an in-depth treatment of the status of future contingencies and the determination of future events.
Post-Farabi Muslim logicians remained under his influence. Even those who modified or criticized his views often came to know of Aristotle through his eyes. The most notable example is Ibn Sina (Avicenna), who was highly influenced by Farabi’s view on logic.
Al-Farabi believed that there is but one fundamental religion and that the various religions were manifestations of it. Affirming the truth of all religions, al-Farabi maintained that each religion is applicable to its particular milieu. All religions, therefore, are like points on the circumference of a circle aiming at the center, which is God. What differentiates people is not the variety of religions they profess, but ignorance of the fact that all persons are manifestations of God on different planes of reality and at different stages of spiritual progress.
Expanding upon the oneness of truth, Farabi elaborates on the notion of prophecy. Farabi’s interpretation of prophecy, a view that brought condemnation from orthodox scholars, led him to consider a prophet as someone who has mastered philosophy as well as spirituality. A prophet in Farabi’s view is a perfect human being, one who has actualized all of that person’s intellectual and spiritual potentialities. According to Farabi, the traditional concept of prophecy, in which God chooses a prophet based on his own will, is incorrect.
Once human perfection is attained, the prophet assumes two responsibilities, being a philosopher and being a statesman. The acquired intellect of the philosopher through its contact with the Agent Intellect brings about illumination, which Farabi identifies as revelation (wahy). The prophet, in addition to being a perfect philosopher, is a perfect statesman whose primary responsibility is to govern the state justly. In order to govern, the prophet must use his illuminated intellect to make decisions that will insure the common good of the people.
For Farabi, the philosophical mind at the peak of its development becomes like matter to the Active Intellect. Prophets are those who have attained this state and go beyond the philosophical truth to imaginative truth, which is then transformed into symbols, figures, and actions, through which societies can be moved towards a greater degree of moral insight and ethical practice.
Since all things come into being from a single cause, Farabi declares, a good state follows the principle of having a prophet-philosopher as the ruler, and hence the cause of the good state. The prophetic aspect of the ruler enables him to communicate with the masses, who understand only the language of persuasion. The prophet’s philosophical side, on the other hand, allows the prophet as ruler to speak to the intellectual elite, who can understand reasoning and will accept only that which is rationally justifiable. This view of the prophet as ruler also implies that the principles of religion ultimately are consistent with philosophical principles and that the apparent inconsistency between religion and philosophy stems from the failure to realize that each one is designed for a different task.
According to Farabi, the human being has an innate yearning for community life, and as such attains happiness only within the state. Following Plato, Farabi believes that people are happy if and only if they fulfill the function for which they were created. Since human beings are unequal in that they have various capacities for service, it is therefore the responsibility of the state to insure that its citizens are placed where their true nature can best be utilized.
Like Plato in the Republic, Farabi models his ideal state after the human body. As a natural model in which there exists a hierarchy consisting of mind, spirit, and body. The highest level in this hierarchy -- the mind -- has a natural right to dominate and harmonize the lower levels. In government, accordingly, the prophet is the “unruled ruler,” who governs by virtue of his divine wisdom.
Some historians of philosophy contend that Farabi was likely a Shi‘ite since he was patronized by Sayf ad-Dawlah, a Shi‘ite king, and therefore his political philosophy should be viewed in that context. That is, the ruler of the Farabian state would resemble a Shi‘ite imam, who as possessor of divine wisdom, with access to esoteric truth, is therefore qualified to rule.
Since a good state is a natural state and it is only natural for human beings to want to be happy, it is the responsibility of the state to insure that its citizens be happy, according to Farabi. He treats the subject of happiness and its attainment extensively.
There are three alternative interpretations of the nature of happiness according to Farabi: happiness as a purely theoretical activity, happiness as a practical activity exclusively, and happiness as a harmonious combination of the theoretical and the practical.
Arguing that theoretical excellence brings about practical excellence, Farabi concludes that it is the task of philosophy to actualize the perfection of the theoretical. Accordingly, Farabi argues that human perfection as the ultimate goal is achieved by a rapprochement of theoretical and practical reason. Although Farabi contended that theoretical perfection is to be sought through metaphysical inquiry, there are indications that Farabi believed that, practically speaking, theoretical perfection could not be attained even in the best of cases.
Although the practical component of happiness is presented by Farabi as a private activity of a moral nature, true happiness, according to him, is possible only within the context of a society. Thus, Farabi emphasizes the necessity of a perfect political order and a supreme ruler whose virtuous character can bestow happiness upon the citizens. The purpose of life for Farabi is the full development of the rational faculty and the attainment of truth through philosophical contemplation. Such an end in life can be fulfilled only in well-organized societies wherein just rulers govern. However, to be just one needs the type of theoretical wisdom that makes it possible to devise practical laws. Farabi states that those societies that are governed by rulers who are the repositories of philosophical wisdom are “good societies," while others are "ignorant" or “misguided" societies.
Abu al-Nasr Muhammad ibn al-Farakh al-Farabi see Farabi
Abu Nasr Muhammad al-Farabi see Farabi
Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Tarkhan ibn Uzalagh al-Farabi see Farabi
Avennasar see Farabi
Alfarabius see Farabi
Second Teacher see Farabi
Farabi (Abu Nasr Muhammad al-Farabi) (Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Tarkhan ibn Uzalagh al-Farabi) (Abu Nasr ibn Muhammad ibn Tarkhan ibn Auzlagh al-Farabi) (Abu al-Nasr Muhammad ibn al-Farakh al-Farabi) (al-Pharabius) (Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ibn Tarḫān ibn Awzlaġ al-Fārābi) (Alpharabius) (b. c. 872 – d. between December 14, 950 and January 12, 951). Muslim polymath and one of the greatest scientists and philosophers of Persia and the Islamic world of his time. He was also a cosmologist, logician, musician, psychologist and sociologist. He became known in the West under the names of Alfarabius (Alpharabius) and Avennasar (Abunaser).
Al-Farabi was a major contributor to philosophy, logic, sociology and science. He was best known as the “Second Teacher” (al-Mou’allim al-Thani), Aristotle being the first. Al-Farabi was largely responsible for cementing the position of Peripatetic philosophy at the core of nearly all philosophic thought in the Islamic world (and also, derivatively, much of the Christian world) through such an extensive series of written commentaries on Aristotle’s works that philosophical studies thereafter were dominated by his commentaries. Al-Farabi’s other major achievement was the creation of a cogent theory of an Islamic political philosophy based on Plato’s notions of supreme ruler-philosopher. This theory allowed a rational explanation of prophecy and the relatively unique role of prophetic revelation in a particular time and place. It also provided a universal definition of the purpose and goal of human society and government in general.
Al-Farabi, whose Latin name is Alfarabius, was born in Farab, Transoxiana (now Uzbekistan), of Turkish parentage. His ancestors were originally of Persian descent and his father was a general. After completing his education at Farab and Bukhara, he moved to Baghdad for higher studies, where his teachers were Christian Syrians expert in Greek philosophy. In Baghdad, al-Farabi studied several languages, science and technology, and philosophy. He also traveled to Damascus and Egypt for further studies. Eventually he came to live at the court of Sayf ad-Dawla (916-967), the ruler of Aleppo (now in Syria). Al-Farabi died a bachelor in Damascus in 950.
Al-Farabi was a qadi (a judge) in the early years of his long career. He eventually decided to take up teaching as his profession. Al-Farabi showed remarkable competence in several languages. Due to his exceptional talents in several branches of science and philosophy, he received the attention of King Saif al-Dawla at Halab (Aleppo). However, due to some unfortunate circumstances, he suffered great hardships and was once demoted to the position of caretaker of a garden.
Al-Farabi’s major contributions were in logic, philosophy and sociology. He also contributed immensely to mathematics, science, medicine, and music. He was also an encyclopedist. Al-Farabi’s great contribution in logic was that he made the study of logic systematic by dividing the subject into two categories: takhayyul (idea) and thubut (proof). Al-Farabi attempted to reconcile Platonism and Aristotelism with theology and wrote commentaries on physics, logic, and meteorology. Al-Farabi held the belief that philosophy and Islam are in harmony. He proved the existence of the void in his contribution to physics. His book Kitab al-Ihsa al-‘Ulum presents fundamental principles and classification of sciences from a fresh perspective.
Al-Farabi wrote several books on sociology, the most famous of which is the book entitled ‘Ara Ahl al-Madina al-Fadila’ (The Model City). It is a significant contribution to sociology and political science. He also wrote books on metaphysics and psychology that included his original work. Al-Farabi states that an isolated individual cannot achieve all the perfections by himself and without the aid of many other individuals. It is the innate disposition of every man to join another human being or other men in the labor he ought to perform. Therefore, to achieve what he can of that perfection, every man needs to stay in the neighborhood of others and associate with them.
Al-Farabi was also an expert in music. He contributed to musical notes and invented several musical instruments. Al-Farabi could play his instruments so well as to make people laugh or weep. His book on music, entitled Kitab al-Musiqa, was well known.
Al-Farabi wrote a large number of books in several fields that include his original contribution. One hundred seventeen books are known to have survived. Of these, forty-three books are on logic, seven each on political science and ethics, eleven on metaphysics, and twenty-eight books on medicine, sociology, music and commentaries. Al-Farabi’s book ‘Fusus al-Hikam was used as a text book of philosophy for several centuries in Europe. He had great influence on science and philosophy for several centuries.
Al-Farabi, like many other Muslim philosophers, traveled widely, visiting centers of learning and meeting with the learned masters of his time. He spent the last few years of his life in Aleppo, at the court of Sayf-ad-Dawlah.
Al-Farabi was one of the earliest Islamic thinkers to transmit to the Arab world the doctrines of Plato and Aristotle (which he considered essentially identical), thereby greatly influencing such later Islamic philosophers as Avicenna and Averroes.
Influenced in his metaphysical views by both Aristotle and the Neoplatonist Roman philosopher Plotinus, al-Farabi posited a Supreme Being who had created the world through the exercise of rational intelligence. He believed this same rational faculty to be the sole part of the human being that is immortal, and thus he set as the paramount human goal the development of the rational faculty. Al-Farabi gave considerably more attention to political theory than did any other Islamic philosopher, adapting the Platonic system (as developed in Plato’s Republic and Laws) to the contemporary Muslim political situation in The Perfect City.
Al-Farabi was the first Islamic philosopher to uphold the primacy of philosophical truth over revelation, claiming that, contrary to the beliefs of various other religions, philosophical truth is the same throughout the world. He formulated as an ideal a universal religion in which all other existing religions are considered symbolic expressions of the universal religion. Of about 100 works by al-Farabi, many have been lost, including his commentaries on Aristotle. Many others have been preserved in medieval Latin translations only. In addition to his philosophical writings, al-Farabi compiled a Catalogue of Sciences, the first Muslim work to attempt a systematization of human knowledge. He also made a contribution to musical theory in his Great Book of Music.
Al-Farabi’s philosophy represents the first serious attempt in Islamic philosophy to bring about a rapprochement between the teachings of Plato and Aristotle. It was toward this end that he wrote many commentaries and expositions on Plato’s and Aristotle’s treatises. Despite such commentaries, he came to be known for his works on logic and political philosophy. In logic, ethics, and metaphysics he followed Aristotle; in politics he preferred Plato.
Al-Farabi argues that all existing beings are divided into necessary and possible existents. Necessary beings exist by virtue of themselves and need no external cause of their existence. Possible beings are those that can exist or not exist, and their existence requires an external cause. Farabi then goes on to argue that if one were to strip all the accidental (unnecessary) attributes of a existent thing, what would be left is the essence of that thing. Therefore, all existent beings for Farabi consist of an essence to which existence is added. It is only God, Farabi tells us, for whom essence and existence are one and the same.
Farabi’s views on the origin of the world seem to have been influenced by the Neoplatonic doctrine of emanation. According to Farabi, God, in contemplating himself, emanates an intellect from himself and from this intellect, which contemplates itself, emanates the Second Intellect, and so forth until the Tenth Intellect, which Farabi calls the “Agent Intellect.” These intellects, for Farabi, provide the intermediary world between the incorporeal world and ours, the world of generation and corruption.
Al-Farabi, who interprets Aristotle’s account of the intellects in his own way, argues that Aristotle believes in four different intellects. These intellects are: Intellect in Potentiality, which he identifies with the human soul and its ability to think; Intellect in Actuality, which is their realization within the corporeal world of the intelligible; the Acquired Intellect, which to him is attained when the intellect in actuality reflects upon the intelligible; and finally there is the Agent Intellect, which is the cause of thinking.
Al-Farabi is perhaps the greatest logician of Islam. He undertook an extensive study and critique of the entire Aristotelian Organon. His principal contributions to logic were his analysis of principles of syllogistic reduction, his emphasis on hypothetical and disjunctive syllogisms (arguments involving “if ... then ...” and “either ... or ...” premises), his discussion of induction, and his account of the use of the categorical syllogism in arguments by analogy. In addition to these significant contributions, he also offered an in-depth treatment of the status of future contingencies and the determination of future events.
Post-Farabi Muslim logicians remained under his influence. Even those who modified or criticized his views often came to know of Aristotle through his eyes. The most notable example is Ibn Sina (Avicenna), who was highly influenced by Farabi’s view on logic.
Al-Farabi believed that there is but one fundamental religion and that the various religions were manifestations of it. Affirming the truth of all religions, al-Farabi maintained that each religion is applicable to its particular milieu. All religions, therefore, are like points on the circumference of a circle aiming at the center, which is God. What differentiates people is not the variety of religions they profess, but ignorance of the fact that all persons are manifestations of God on different planes of reality and at different stages of spiritual progress.
Expanding upon the oneness of truth, Farabi elaborates on the notion of prophecy. Farabi’s interpretation of prophecy, a view that brought condemnation from orthodox scholars, led him to consider a prophet as someone who has mastered philosophy as well as spirituality. A prophet in Farabi’s view is a perfect human being, one who has actualized all of that person’s intellectual and spiritual potentialities. According to Farabi, the traditional concept of prophecy, in which God chooses a prophet based on his own will, is incorrect.
Once human perfection is attained, the prophet assumes two responsibilities, being a philosopher and being a statesman. The acquired intellect of the philosopher through its contact with the Agent Intellect brings about illumination, which Farabi identifies as revelation (wahy). The prophet, in addition to being a perfect philosopher, is a perfect statesman whose primary responsibility is to govern the state justly. In order to govern, the prophet must use his illuminated intellect to make decisions that will insure the common good of the people.
For Farabi, the philosophical mind at the peak of its development becomes like matter to the Active Intellect. Prophets are those who have attained this state and go beyond the philosophical truth to imaginative truth, which is then transformed into symbols, figures, and actions, through which societies can be moved towards a greater degree of moral insight and ethical practice.
Since all things come into being from a single cause, Farabi declares, a good state follows the principle of having a prophet-philosopher as the ruler, and hence the cause of the good state. The prophetic aspect of the ruler enables him to communicate with the masses, who understand only the language of persuasion. The prophet’s philosophical side, on the other hand, allows the prophet as ruler to speak to the intellectual elite, who can understand reasoning and will accept only that which is rationally justifiable. This view of the prophet as ruler also implies that the principles of religion ultimately are consistent with philosophical principles and that the apparent inconsistency between religion and philosophy stems from the failure to realize that each one is designed for a different task.
According to Farabi, the human being has an innate yearning for community life, and as such attains happiness only within the state. Following Plato, Farabi believes that people are happy if and only if they fulfill the function for which they were created. Since human beings are unequal in that they have various capacities for service, it is therefore the responsibility of the state to insure that its citizens are placed where their true nature can best be utilized.
Like Plato in the Republic, Farabi models his ideal state after the human body. As a natural model in which there exists a hierarchy consisting of mind, spirit, and body. The highest level in this hierarchy -- the mind -- has a natural right to dominate and harmonize the lower levels. In government, accordingly, the prophet is the “unruled ruler,” who governs by virtue of his divine wisdom.
Some historians of philosophy contend that Farabi was likely a Shi‘ite since he was patronized by Sayf ad-Dawlah, a Shi‘ite king, and therefore his political philosophy should be viewed in that context. That is, the ruler of the Farabian state would resemble a Shi‘ite imam, who as possessor of divine wisdom, with access to esoteric truth, is therefore qualified to rule.
Since a good state is a natural state and it is only natural for human beings to want to be happy, it is the responsibility of the state to insure that its citizens be happy, according to Farabi. He treats the subject of happiness and its attainment extensively.
There are three alternative interpretations of the nature of happiness according to Farabi: happiness as a purely theoretical activity, happiness as a practical activity exclusively, and happiness as a harmonious combination of the theoretical and the practical.
Arguing that theoretical excellence brings about practical excellence, Farabi concludes that it is the task of philosophy to actualize the perfection of the theoretical. Accordingly, Farabi argues that human perfection as the ultimate goal is achieved by a rapprochement of theoretical and practical reason. Although Farabi contended that theoretical perfection is to be sought through metaphysical inquiry, there are indications that Farabi believed that, practically speaking, theoretical perfection could not be attained even in the best of cases.
Although the practical component of happiness is presented by Farabi as a private activity of a moral nature, true happiness, according to him, is possible only within the context of a society. Thus, Farabi emphasizes the necessity of a perfect political order and a supreme ruler whose virtuous character can bestow happiness upon the citizens. The purpose of life for Farabi is the full development of the rational faculty and the attainment of truth through philosophical contemplation. Such an end in life can be fulfilled only in well-organized societies wherein just rulers govern. However, to be just one needs the type of theoretical wisdom that makes it possible to devise practical laws. Farabi states that those societies that are governed by rulers who are the repositories of philosophical wisdom are “good societies," while others are "ignorant" or “misguided" societies.
Abu al-Nasr Muhammad ibn al-Farakh al-Farabi see Farabi
Abu Nasr Muhammad al-Farabi see Farabi
Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Tarkhan ibn Uzalagh al-Farabi see Farabi
Avennasar see Farabi
Alfarabius see Farabi
Second Teacher see Farabi
Farah Nur
Farah Nur (b. c. mid-19th century- d. before World War II). Somali oral poet and clan leader. Much of his poetry concerns the conflict between his own clan and another which extorted a tribute from them. Some of his poetry deals also with the partitions of the Somali nation by foreign powers.
Nur, Farah see Farah Nur
Farah Nur (b. c. mid-19th century- d. before World War II). Somali oral poet and clan leader. Much of his poetry concerns the conflict between his own clan and another which extorted a tribute from them. Some of his poetry deals also with the partitions of the Somali nation by foreign powers.
Nur, Farah see Farah Nur
Fara’idiyya
Fara’idiyya (Fara'idi). Muslim sect in Bengal established at the beginning of the nineteenth century by Hajji Shari‘at Allah.
Fara'idi see Fara’idiyya
Fara’idiyya (Fara'idi). Muslim sect in Bengal established at the beginning of the nineteenth century by Hajji Shari‘at Allah.
Fara'idi see Fara’idiyya
Farangi Mahal
Farangi Mahal (Farangi Mahall) (Firangi Mahal) ("French Palace"). Family of prominent India Hanafi theologians and mystics flourishing from the eighteenth century to the present day.
In 1694, the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb provided a grant for the family of a deceased scholar named Qutb ud-Din. They took up residence in Lucknow in a household (mahal) formerly occupied by a Frenchman (farangi means “foreigner”), hence the name. Not a school in the Western sense, the Mahal served as a place of residence for Qutb ud-Din’s descendants. The family has continued to produce noted religious scholars and Sufis until the present day.
Qutb ud-Din’s son, Nizam ud-Din, developed the Dars-i Nizamia, a syllabus of Islamic learning used by many religious scholars. Abd al-Hai (1848-1886) was one of the most famous authorities of his day, and his opinions (Fatawa) were collected and widely circulated. Abd al-Bari was a very powerful figure in the 1910s and 1920s. After studies in Mecca and Constantinople, he founded his own branch of the school and counted many aristocrats and politicians (e.g., the Ali brothers) among his spiritual disciples. Possessed of a violent temper, he was prone to extremist political views. Other members of the family in his generation were more moderate. Indeed, Abd al-Bari’s activities caused a lasting personal and political split in the Farangi Mahal group.
Farangi Mahall see Farangi Mahal
Mahall, Farangi see Farangi Mahal
Mahal, Farangi see Farangi Mahal
Firangi Mahal see Farangi Mahal
Mahal, Firangi see Farangi Mahal
"French Palace" see Farangi Mahal
Farangi Mahal (Farangi Mahall) (Firangi Mahal) ("French Palace"). Family of prominent India Hanafi theologians and mystics flourishing from the eighteenth century to the present day.
In 1694, the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb provided a grant for the family of a deceased scholar named Qutb ud-Din. They took up residence in Lucknow in a household (mahal) formerly occupied by a Frenchman (farangi means “foreigner”), hence the name. Not a school in the Western sense, the Mahal served as a place of residence for Qutb ud-Din’s descendants. The family has continued to produce noted religious scholars and Sufis until the present day.
Qutb ud-Din’s son, Nizam ud-Din, developed the Dars-i Nizamia, a syllabus of Islamic learning used by many religious scholars. Abd al-Hai (1848-1886) was one of the most famous authorities of his day, and his opinions (Fatawa) were collected and widely circulated. Abd al-Bari was a very powerful figure in the 1910s and 1920s. After studies in Mecca and Constantinople, he founded his own branch of the school and counted many aristocrats and politicians (e.g., the Ali brothers) among his spiritual disciples. Possessed of a violent temper, he was prone to extremist political views. Other members of the family in his generation were more moderate. Indeed, Abd al-Bari’s activities caused a lasting personal and political split in the Farangi Mahal group.
Farangi Mahall see Farangi Mahal
Mahall, Farangi see Farangi Mahal
Mahal, Farangi see Farangi Mahal
Firangi Mahal see Farangi Mahal
Mahal, Firangi see Farangi Mahal
"French Palace" see Farangi Mahal
Farazdaq
Farazdaq (al-Farazdaq -“the lump of dough”) (Tammab ibn Ghalib) (Hammam ibn Ghalib Abu Firas) (Ar. "lump of dough") (ca. 641 - ca. 728-730). Arab poet.
Al-Farazdaq was born in Kadhima (modern day Kuwait) and lived at Basra. He was a member of Darim, one of the most respected divisions of the Bani Tamim, and his mother was of the tribe of Dabba. His grandfather Sa'sa' was a Bedouin of great repute, his father Ghalib followed the same manner of life until Basra was founded, and was famous for his generosity and hospitality.
At the age of 15, Farazdaq was known as a poet, and though checked for a short time by the advice of the caliph Ali to devote his attention to the study of the Qur'an, he soon returned to making verse. In the true Bedouin spirit he devoted his talent largely to satire and attacked the Bani Nahshal and the Bani Fuqaim. When Ziyad, a member of the latter tribe, became governor of Basra in 669, the poet was compelled to flee, first to Kufa, and then, as he was still too near Ziyad, to Medina, where he was well received by the city's emir, Said ibn al-As. There he remained about ten years, writing satires on Bedouin tribes, but avoiding city politics.
However, Farazdaq lived a prodigal life, and his amorous verses led to his expulsion by the caliph Marwan I. Just at that time he learned of the death of Ziyad and returned to Basra, where he secured the favor of Ziyad's successor Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad. Much of his poetry was now devoted to his matrimonial affairs. He had taken advantage of his position as guardian and married his cousin Nawar against her will. She sought help in vain from the court of Basra and from various tribes. All feared the poet's satires. At last she fled to Mecca and appealed to the political contender to the Ummayids Abdallah ibn Zubayr, who, however, succeeded in inducing her to consent to a confirmation of the marriage.
Quarrels soon arose again. Farazdaq took a second wife, and after her death a third, to annoy Nawar. Finally he consented to a divorce pronounced by Hasan al-Basri. Another subject occasioned a long series of verses, namely his feud with his rival Jarir and his tribe the Bani Kulaib. These poems are published as the Nakaid of Jarir and al-Farazdaq.
Al-Farazdaq became official poet to the Umayyad caliph Al-Walid I (r. 705–715), to whom he dedicated a number of panegyrics.
He is most famous for the poem that he gave in Makkah (Mecca0 when Ali bin Hussain bin Ali bin Abu Talib entered the Haram of the Kaba angering the emir. The poem is extremely powerful. It is because of this poem that he was imprisoned.
al-Farazdaq see Farazdaq
“the lump of dough” see Farazdaq
Tammab ibn Ghalib see Farazdaq
Hammam ibn Ghalib Abu Firas see Farazdaq
Farazdaq (al-Farazdaq -“the lump of dough”) (Tammab ibn Ghalib) (Hammam ibn Ghalib Abu Firas) (Ar. "lump of dough") (ca. 641 - ca. 728-730). Arab poet.
Al-Farazdaq was born in Kadhima (modern day Kuwait) and lived at Basra. He was a member of Darim, one of the most respected divisions of the Bani Tamim, and his mother was of the tribe of Dabba. His grandfather Sa'sa' was a Bedouin of great repute, his father Ghalib followed the same manner of life until Basra was founded, and was famous for his generosity and hospitality.
At the age of 15, Farazdaq was known as a poet, and though checked for a short time by the advice of the caliph Ali to devote his attention to the study of the Qur'an, he soon returned to making verse. In the true Bedouin spirit he devoted his talent largely to satire and attacked the Bani Nahshal and the Bani Fuqaim. When Ziyad, a member of the latter tribe, became governor of Basra in 669, the poet was compelled to flee, first to Kufa, and then, as he was still too near Ziyad, to Medina, where he was well received by the city's emir, Said ibn al-As. There he remained about ten years, writing satires on Bedouin tribes, but avoiding city politics.
However, Farazdaq lived a prodigal life, and his amorous verses led to his expulsion by the caliph Marwan I. Just at that time he learned of the death of Ziyad and returned to Basra, where he secured the favor of Ziyad's successor Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad. Much of his poetry was now devoted to his matrimonial affairs. He had taken advantage of his position as guardian and married his cousin Nawar against her will. She sought help in vain from the court of Basra and from various tribes. All feared the poet's satires. At last she fled to Mecca and appealed to the political contender to the Ummayids Abdallah ibn Zubayr, who, however, succeeded in inducing her to consent to a confirmation of the marriage.
Quarrels soon arose again. Farazdaq took a second wife, and after her death a third, to annoy Nawar. Finally he consented to a divorce pronounced by Hasan al-Basri. Another subject occasioned a long series of verses, namely his feud with his rival Jarir and his tribe the Bani Kulaib. These poems are published as the Nakaid of Jarir and al-Farazdaq.
Al-Farazdaq became official poet to the Umayyad caliph Al-Walid I (r. 705–715), to whom he dedicated a number of panegyrics.
He is most famous for the poem that he gave in Makkah (Mecca0 when Ali bin Hussain bin Ali bin Abu Talib entered the Haram of the Kaba angering the emir. The poem is extremely powerful. It is because of this poem that he was imprisoned.
al-Farazdaq see Farazdaq
“the lump of dough” see Farazdaq
Tammab ibn Ghalib see Farazdaq
Hammam ibn Ghalib Abu Firas see Farazdaq
Fara’zis
Fara’zis. Participants in the Fara’zi movement. Founded in what is today Bangladesh in 1818 by Haji Shari’at Allah (1781-1840), the Fara’zi movement rallied rural Muslim peasants and artisans to observe the obligatory practice (fara’zi) of Sunni Islam and to reject the syncretism associated with Hindu and Shi‘ite elites. Unlike other reformist movements of the period such as the Ahl-i Hadith, the Fara’zis affirmed their devotion to established legal and mystical traditions. They were, however, unique in forbidding congregational prayers under British rule. From 1838 to 1857, under the leadership of the founder’s son Dudu Miyan (1819-1862), the Fara’zis developed into a violent resistance against Hindu landholders and British indigo planters. The movement continues into the present but has long lacked its revolutionary fervor.
Fara’zis. Participants in the Fara’zi movement. Founded in what is today Bangladesh in 1818 by Haji Shari’at Allah (1781-1840), the Fara’zi movement rallied rural Muslim peasants and artisans to observe the obligatory practice (fara’zi) of Sunni Islam and to reject the syncretism associated with Hindu and Shi‘ite elites. Unlike other reformist movements of the period such as the Ahl-i Hadith, the Fara’zis affirmed their devotion to established legal and mystical traditions. They were, however, unique in forbidding congregational prayers under British rule. From 1838 to 1857, under the leadership of the founder’s son Dudu Miyan (1819-1862), the Fara’zis developed into a violent resistance against Hindu landholders and British indigo planters. The movement continues into the present but has long lacked its revolutionary fervor.
Farghani
Farghani (Abu’l-‘Abbas Ahmad al-Farghani) (Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Kathīr al-Farghānī)(Alfraganus) (9th century C.C.). Persian astronomer from Farghana who is known in the West as Alfraganus.
Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Kathīr al-Farghānī was a Persian astronomer and one of the famous astronomers in the 9th century of the Christian calendar. He was involved in the measurement of the diameter of the Earth together with a team of scientists under the patronage of al-Ma'mūn in Baghdad. His textbook Elements of astronomy on the celestial motions, written about 833, was a competent descriptive summary of Ptolemy's Almagest. It was translated into Latin in the twelfth century and remained very popular in Europe until the time of Regiomontanus. Dante Alighieri's knowledge of Ptolemaic astronomy, which is evident in his Divina Commedia (Divine Comedy) as well as other works such as the Convivio, seems to have been drawn from his reading of Alfraganus. In the seventeenth century the Dutch orientalist Jacob Golius published the Arabic text on the basis of a manuscript he had acquired in the Near East, with a new Latin translation and extensive notes.
Later al-Farghani moved to Cairo, where he composed a treatise on the astrolabe around 856. There he also supervised the construction of the large Nilometer on the island of al-Rawda (in Old Cairo) in the year 861.
The crater Alfraganus on the Moon is named after him.
Abu’l-‘Abbas Ahmad al-Farghani see Farghani
Alfraganus see Farghani
Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Kathīr al-Farghānī see Farghani
Farghani (Abu’l-‘Abbas Ahmad al-Farghani) (Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Kathīr al-Farghānī)(Alfraganus) (9th century C.C.). Persian astronomer from Farghana who is known in the West as Alfraganus.
Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Kathīr al-Farghānī was a Persian astronomer and one of the famous astronomers in the 9th century of the Christian calendar. He was involved in the measurement of the diameter of the Earth together with a team of scientists under the patronage of al-Ma'mūn in Baghdad. His textbook Elements of astronomy on the celestial motions, written about 833, was a competent descriptive summary of Ptolemy's Almagest. It was translated into Latin in the twelfth century and remained very popular in Europe until the time of Regiomontanus. Dante Alighieri's knowledge of Ptolemaic astronomy, which is evident in his Divina Commedia (Divine Comedy) as well as other works such as the Convivio, seems to have been drawn from his reading of Alfraganus. In the seventeenth century the Dutch orientalist Jacob Golius published the Arabic text on the basis of a manuscript he had acquired in the Near East, with a new Latin translation and extensive notes.
Later al-Farghani moved to Cairo, where he composed a treatise on the astrolabe around 856. There he also supervised the construction of the large Nilometer on the island of al-Rawda (in Old Cairo) in the year 861.
The crater Alfraganus on the Moon is named after him.
Abu’l-‘Abbas Ahmad al-Farghani see Farghani
Alfraganus see Farghani
Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Kathīr al-Farghānī see Farghani
Farhad and Shirin
Farhad and Shirin. Shirin was the favorite Christian wife of the Sasanian king of Iran Khusraw (II) Parwiz. The love of the king and Shirin, as well as the latter’s love for the royal architect Farhad, became the subject of a series of romances in verse in Turkish and Kurdish, but above all for the Persian poets Nizami and Amir Khusraw Dihlawi.
Shirin (? – 628) was a wife of the Sassanid Persian Shahanshah (king of kings), Khosrau II. In the revolution after the death of Khosrau's father Hormizd IV, the General Bahram Chobin took power over the Persian empire. Shirin fled with Khosrau to Syria where they lived under the protection of Byzantine emperor Maurice. In 591, Khosrau returned to Persia to take control of the empire and Shirin was made queen. She used her new influence to support the Christian minority in Iran, but the political situation demanded that she do so discreetly. Initially, she belonged to the Church of the East, the so-named Nestorians, but later she joined the monophysitic western-Syrian church. After conquering Jerusalem in 614, the Persians supposedly captured the cross of Jesus and brought it to their capital Ctesiphon, where Shirin took the cross in her palace.
Farhad and Shirin. Shirin was the favorite Christian wife of the Sasanian king of Iran Khusraw (II) Parwiz. The love of the king and Shirin, as well as the latter’s love for the royal architect Farhad, became the subject of a series of romances in verse in Turkish and Kurdish, but above all for the Persian poets Nizami and Amir Khusraw Dihlawi.
Shirin (? – 628) was a wife of the Sassanid Persian Shahanshah (king of kings), Khosrau II. In the revolution after the death of Khosrau's father Hormizd IV, the General Bahram Chobin took power over the Persian empire. Shirin fled with Khosrau to Syria where they lived under the protection of Byzantine emperor Maurice. In 591, Khosrau returned to Persia to take control of the empire and Shirin was made queen. She used her new influence to support the Christian minority in Iran, but the political situation demanded that she do so discreetly. Initially, she belonged to the Church of the East, the so-named Nestorians, but later she joined the monophysitic western-Syrian church. After conquering Jerusalem in 614, the Persians supposedly captured the cross of Jesus and brought it to their capital Ctesiphon, where Shirin took the cross in her palace.
Farhat, Mariam
Farhat ran as a candidate of Hamas in the 2006 Palestinian legislative election. She was successfully elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council.
Maryam Mohammad Yousif Farhat (or Mariam Farahat, b.c. 1949 – d. March 17, 2013), popularly known as Umm Nidal, "the mother of Nidal", was one of the Hamas' candidates elected in the Palestinian legislative election, 2006. Three of her six sons performed Hamas suicide attacks against Israel. The word "Nidal" in the Arabic language is a secular term, meaning "struggle", "effort" or "work".
Farhat attracted public attention after being filmed advising her 17-year old son, Muhammad Farhat, for his March 2002 operation against Israeli settlers. After entering the Gaza Strip former settlement of Atzmona, opening fire on the Israeli students and throwing hand grenades at the school where they were studying, killing five students and wounding 23 others, he was shot dead. Upon hearing of her son's death, she proclaimed "Allahu Akbar!" and gave out boxes of halva and chocolates. Her eldest son, Nidal, was killed in February 2003 by bombs planted by Israeli intelligence. A third son, Rawad, died in 2005 in an Israeli airstrike on his car carrying a Qassam rocket.
Farhat died on March 17, 2013, from multiple organ failure, in Gaza. Her funeral was attended by 4000 Palestinians and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
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Maryam Mohammad Yousif Farhat, or Mariam Farahat (b. 1949, Shuja'iyya, Gaza City, Gaza Strip – d. March 17, 2013, Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Palestinian Territories), more commonly known as Umm Nidal was a Palestinian activist popularly known by Palestinians as the "Mother of Martyrs" for her support for her sons' involvement in attacks against Israel. Three of her sons were members of Hamas killed killed by Israel after participating in terrorist activities and she was a close associate of the Hamas leadership for over 2 decades. She also was a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council for Hamas. Farhat was one of the most prominent Islamist female leaders in Palestine and became an icon of the Second Intifada.
Farhat was born in the Shuja'iyya neighborhood in Gaza City in 1949. She had six sons and a total of ten children. Her eldest son, Nidal, was one of the first manufacturers of the Qassam rocket and helped to make rockets for Hamas and was killed in February 2003 while preparing to conduct an attack. A third son Rawad died in 2005 in an Israeli airstrike on his car carrying Qassam rocket. Another son Wisam did time in an Israeli prison for attempting to kill Jews and was the mastermind behind various terrorist acts such as Atzmona Massacre and the Nahal Oz attack. Wisam was killed by the IDF.
In the 1990s, Farhat sheltered Hamas military leaders such as Emad Akel.
She came to public attention in 2002 after being filmed carrying a gun and advising her 17-year-old son Muhammad Farhat before his March 2002 suicide attack against Israeli civilians. Muhammad entered the Gaza Strip former settlement of Atzmona and opened fire and threw hand grenades at Israeli students enrolled in a pre-military school where they were studying to become army officers, killing five and wounding 23 others. After the attack, he was shot dead. After Muhammad's death, Farhat said she "wished [she] had 100 boys like Muhammad."
Farhat became known as "Khansa of Palestine", a reference to Al-Khansa (one of the companions of Muhammad), all four of whose sons were killed in the Battle of Qadisiyah. Umm Nidal got this title because of her great sacrifices - as in the Palestinian and Islamic culture - during the Second Intifada and before that, where her house was home to many prominent leaders of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, especially Emad Akel, who was assassinated in her home in 1993 by the Israel Defense Forces.
In an interview published in both the Israeli Arab weekly Kul al-Arab and the London-based Arabic-language daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi, Farhat (Umm Nidal) said she was proud of her sons. In her December 2005 interview, Farhat (Umm Nidal) said:
- "I protect my sons from defying Allah, or from choosing a path that would not please Allah. This is what I fear, when it comes to my sons. But as for sacrifice, Jihad for the sake of Allah, or performing the duty they were charged with - this makes me happy."
- (Referring to Israelis) "They are all occupiers. Besides, don't forget that they all serve in the army. They are all considered soldiers. They are all reserve soldiers."
- "They are all occupiers, and we must fight them by any legitimate means."
- "All means are legitimate as long as the occupation continues."
- "There is no difference. This is Islamic religious law. I don't invent anything. I follow Islamic religious law in this. A Muslim is very careful not to kill an innocent person, because he knows he would be destined to eternal Hell. So the issue is not at all simple. We rely on Islamic religious law when we say there is no prohibition on killing these people."
- "The word 'peace' does not mean the kind of peace we are experiencing. This peace is, in fact, surrender and a shameful disgrace. Peace means the liberation of all of Palestine, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. When this is accomplished - if they want peace, we will be ready. They may live under the banner of the Islamic state. That is the future of Palestine that we are striving towards."
Farhat died on March 17, 2013, from multiple organ failure, in Gaza City. Her death was announced by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing. Her funeral was attended by 4,000 Palestinians, including top Hamas leaders such as Ismail Haniyeh.
Farid al-Din Mas‘ud
Farid al-Din Mas‘ud (“Ganj-i-Shakar”) (Hazrat Bābā Farīduddīn Mas'ūd Ganjshakar) (1173-1266) or (1175-1265) or (1188 - May 7, 1280). One of the most distinguished of the Indian mystics. He was a member of the Cishtiyya order, which he transformed into a powerful movement.
Hazrat Bābā Farīduddīn Mas'ūd Ganjshakar, commonly known as Baba Farid, was a 12th century Sufi preacher and saint of the Chishti Order of South Asia. A seminal personality in the medieval Indian mystical tradition, the Sufi saint and poet consolidated the Chishti order, and his verses elevated Punjabi to a literary status. Numerous Punjabi tribes attribute their conversion to him, and his shrine in Ajodhan (presently Pakpattan, Pakistan) is a major pilgrimage center.
Hazrat Baba Fariduddin Ganjshakar, a Muslim Sufi, is generally recognized as the first major poet of the Punjabi language and is considered one of the pivotal saints of the Punjab region. Revered by Muslims and Hindus, he is also considered one of the fifteen Sikh Bhagats within Sikhism and his selected works form part of the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh sacred scripture.
“Ganj-i-Shakar” see Farid al-Din Mas‘ud
Hazrat Bābā Farīduddīn Mas'ūd Ganjshakar see Farid al-Din Mas‘ud
Baba Farid see Farid al-Din Mas‘ud
Mas'ud, Farid al-Din see Farid al-Din Mas‘ud
Ganjshakar, Hazrat Baba Fariduddin Mas'ud see Farid al-Din Mas‘ud
Farid al-Din Mas‘ud (“Ganj-i-Shakar”) (Hazrat Bābā Farīduddīn Mas'ūd Ganjshakar) (1173-1266) or (1175-1265) or (1188 - May 7, 1280). One of the most distinguished of the Indian mystics. He was a member of the Cishtiyya order, which he transformed into a powerful movement.
Hazrat Bābā Farīduddīn Mas'ūd Ganjshakar, commonly known as Baba Farid, was a 12th century Sufi preacher and saint of the Chishti Order of South Asia. A seminal personality in the medieval Indian mystical tradition, the Sufi saint and poet consolidated the Chishti order, and his verses elevated Punjabi to a literary status. Numerous Punjabi tribes attribute their conversion to him, and his shrine in Ajodhan (presently Pakpattan, Pakistan) is a major pilgrimage center.
Hazrat Baba Fariduddin Ganjshakar, a Muslim Sufi, is generally recognized as the first major poet of the Punjabi language and is considered one of the pivotal saints of the Punjab region. Revered by Muslims and Hindus, he is also considered one of the fifteen Sikh Bhagats within Sikhism and his selected works form part of the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh sacred scripture.
“Ganj-i-Shakar” see Farid al-Din Mas‘ud
Hazrat Bābā Farīduddīn Mas'ūd Ganjshakar see Farid al-Din Mas‘ud
Baba Farid see Farid al-Din Mas‘ud
Mas'ud, Farid al-Din see Farid al-Din Mas‘ud
Ganjshakar, Hazrat Baba Fariduddin Mas'ud see Farid al-Din Mas‘ud
Farighunids
Farighunids. Dynasty which ruled Juzjan in eastern Khurasan, now in northwest Afghanistan, during the tenth century.
The Farighunids were an Iranian dynasty of Guzgan (modern-day northern Afghanistan) in the late 9th, 10th and early 11th centuries.
The first Farighunid amir mentioned is Ahmad bin Farighun. Ahmad, together with the Banijurid Abu Dawud Muhammad bin Ahmad, was compelled to recognize the Saffarid Amr bin Laith as his suzerain. Only a short time afterwards, Amr was defeated and captured by the Samanids. Ahmad transferred his allegiance to them around this time. The Farighunids would remain Samanid vassals until the overthrow of the latter at the end of the 10th century. Ahmad was succeeded by his son Abu'l Haret Muhammad who expanded the influence of the Farighunids, collecting tribute from certain parts of Ghor.
Abu'l Haret died probably some time after 982 and his son Abu'l Haret Ahmad was drawn into the conflicts that took place within the Samanid amirate during its decline. He was ordered by his suzerain Nuh bin Mansur to attack the rebel Fa'iq, but was defeated by him. The Farighunids developed marriage alliances with the Ghaznavids. Abu'l Haret's daughter married Sebük Tigin's son Mahmud, while Mahmud's sister married Abu'l Haret's son Abu Nasr Muhammad. Abu'l Haret assisted Sebük Tigin's forces at Herat against Fa'iq and the Simjurid Abu 'Ali, a battle in which the Ghaznavids and Farighunids were victorious. The Ghaznavids soon afterwards supplanted the Samanids in Khurasan, and the Farighunids become Ghaznavid vassals.
Abu'l Haret died around 1000 C.C. and Abu Nasr Muhammad succeeded him. Abu Nasr enjoyed the confidence of Mahmud of Ghazna. In 1008, he fought in the center of the Ghaznavid line against the Karakhanids outside Balkh and in the following year escorted Mahmud during his campaign in India. He also married off a daughter to Mahmud's son Muhammad of Ghazna. When Abu Nasr died in around 1010 Muhammad took over the rule of Guzgan, even though Abu Nasr had left a son, Hasan. This marked the end of Farighunid rule.
Farighunids. Dynasty which ruled Juzjan in eastern Khurasan, now in northwest Afghanistan, during the tenth century.
The Farighunids were an Iranian dynasty of Guzgan (modern-day northern Afghanistan) in the late 9th, 10th and early 11th centuries.
The first Farighunid amir mentioned is Ahmad bin Farighun. Ahmad, together with the Banijurid Abu Dawud Muhammad bin Ahmad, was compelled to recognize the Saffarid Amr bin Laith as his suzerain. Only a short time afterwards, Amr was defeated and captured by the Samanids. Ahmad transferred his allegiance to them around this time. The Farighunids would remain Samanid vassals until the overthrow of the latter at the end of the 10th century. Ahmad was succeeded by his son Abu'l Haret Muhammad who expanded the influence of the Farighunids, collecting tribute from certain parts of Ghor.
Abu'l Haret died probably some time after 982 and his son Abu'l Haret Ahmad was drawn into the conflicts that took place within the Samanid amirate during its decline. He was ordered by his suzerain Nuh bin Mansur to attack the rebel Fa'iq, but was defeated by him. The Farighunids developed marriage alliances with the Ghaznavids. Abu'l Haret's daughter married Sebük Tigin's son Mahmud, while Mahmud's sister married Abu'l Haret's son Abu Nasr Muhammad. Abu'l Haret assisted Sebük Tigin's forces at Herat against Fa'iq and the Simjurid Abu 'Ali, a battle in which the Ghaznavids and Farighunids were victorious. The Ghaznavids soon afterwards supplanted the Samanids in Khurasan, and the Farighunids become Ghaznavid vassals.
Abu'l Haret died around 1000 C.C. and Abu Nasr Muhammad succeeded him. Abu Nasr enjoyed the confidence of Mahmud of Ghazna. In 1008, he fought in the center of the Ghaznavid line against the Karakhanids outside Balkh and in the following year escorted Mahmud during his campaign in India. He also married off a daughter to Mahmud's son Muhammad of Ghazna. When Abu Nasr died in around 1010 Muhammad took over the rule of Guzgan, even though Abu Nasr had left a son, Hasan. This marked the end of Farighunid rule.
Farisi
Farisi (al-Farisi) (Kamal al-Din Abu'l-Hasan Muhammad Al-Farisi) (1267-ca.1319/1320). Persian Muslim physicist, mathematician, and scientist born in Tabriz, Iran. He made two major contributions to science, one on optics, the other on number theory. Al-Farisi was a pupil of the great astronomer and mathematician Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi, who in turn was a pupil of Nasir al-Din Tusi.
Al-Farisi's work on optics was prompted by a question put to him concerning the refraction of light. Shirazi advised him to consult the Book of Optics of Ibn al-Haytham (Alhacen), and al-Farisi made such a deep study of this treatise that Shirazi suggested that he write what is essentially a revision of that major work. The revision came to be called the Tanqih. Qutb al-Din Al-Shirazi himself was writing a commentary on works of Avicenna at the time.
Al-Farisi is known for giving the first mathematically satisfactory explanation of the rainbow. He proposed a model where the ray of light from the sun was refracted twice by a water droplet, one or more reflections occurring between the two refractions. He verified this through extensive experimentation using a transparent sphere filled with water and a camera obscura.
His research in this regard was based on theoretical investigations in dioptrics conducted on the so-called Burning Sphere (al-Kura al-muhriqa) in the tradition of Ibn Sahl (d. ca. 1000) and Ibn al-Haytham (d. ca. 1041) after him. As he noted in his Kitab Tanqih al-Manazir (The Revision of the Optics), al-Farisi used a large clear vessel of glass in the shape of a sphere, which was filled with water, in order to have an experimental large-scale model of a rain drop. He then placed this model within a camera obscura that has a controlled aperture for the introduction of light. He projected light unto the sphere and ultimately deducted through several trials and detailed observations of reflections and refractions of light that the colors of the rainbow are phenomena of the decomposition of light. His research had resonances with the studies of his contemporary Theodoric of Freiberg (without any contacts between them, even though they both relied on Ibn al-Haytham's legacy), and later with the experiments of Descartes and Newton in dioptrics (for instance, Newton conducted a similar experiment at Trinity College, though using a prism rather than a sphere).
Al-Farisi made a number of important contributions to number theory. His most impressive work in number theory is on amicable numbers. In Tadhkira al-ahbab fi bayan al-tahabb (Memorandum for friends on the proof of amicability), al-Farisi introduced a major new approach to a whole area of number theory, introducing ideas concerning factorization and combinatorial methods. In fact al-Farisi's approach is based on the unique factorization of an integer into powers of prime numbers.
al-Farisi see Farisi
Kamal al-Din Abu'l-Hasan Muhammad Al-Farisi see Farisi
Farisi (al-Farisi) (Kamal al-Din Abu'l-Hasan Muhammad Al-Farisi) (1267-ca.1319/1320). Persian Muslim physicist, mathematician, and scientist born in Tabriz, Iran. He made two major contributions to science, one on optics, the other on number theory. Al-Farisi was a pupil of the great astronomer and mathematician Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi, who in turn was a pupil of Nasir al-Din Tusi.
Al-Farisi's work on optics was prompted by a question put to him concerning the refraction of light. Shirazi advised him to consult the Book of Optics of Ibn al-Haytham (Alhacen), and al-Farisi made such a deep study of this treatise that Shirazi suggested that he write what is essentially a revision of that major work. The revision came to be called the Tanqih. Qutb al-Din Al-Shirazi himself was writing a commentary on works of Avicenna at the time.
Al-Farisi is known for giving the first mathematically satisfactory explanation of the rainbow. He proposed a model where the ray of light from the sun was refracted twice by a water droplet, one or more reflections occurring between the two refractions. He verified this through extensive experimentation using a transparent sphere filled with water and a camera obscura.
His research in this regard was based on theoretical investigations in dioptrics conducted on the so-called Burning Sphere (al-Kura al-muhriqa) in the tradition of Ibn Sahl (d. ca. 1000) and Ibn al-Haytham (d. ca. 1041) after him. As he noted in his Kitab Tanqih al-Manazir (The Revision of the Optics), al-Farisi used a large clear vessel of glass in the shape of a sphere, which was filled with water, in order to have an experimental large-scale model of a rain drop. He then placed this model within a camera obscura that has a controlled aperture for the introduction of light. He projected light unto the sphere and ultimately deducted through several trials and detailed observations of reflections and refractions of light that the colors of the rainbow are phenomena of the decomposition of light. His research had resonances with the studies of his contemporary Theodoric of Freiberg (without any contacts between them, even though they both relied on Ibn al-Haytham's legacy), and later with the experiments of Descartes and Newton in dioptrics (for instance, Newton conducted a similar experiment at Trinity College, though using a prism rather than a sphere).
Al-Farisi made a number of important contributions to number theory. His most impressive work in number theory is on amicable numbers. In Tadhkira al-ahbab fi bayan al-tahabb (Memorandum for friends on the proof of amicability), al-Farisi introduced a major new approach to a whole area of number theory, introducing ideas concerning factorization and combinatorial methods. In fact al-Farisi's approach is based on the unique factorization of an integer into powers of prime numbers.
al-Farisi see Farisi
Kamal al-Din Abu'l-Hasan Muhammad Al-Farisi see Farisi
Farocki, Harun
Harun Farocki (January 9, 1944 – July 30, 2014) was a German filmmaker.
Farocki was born as Harun El Usman Faroqhi in Neutitschein, Sudetenland. His father, Abdul Qudus Faroqhi, had immigrated to Germany from India in the 1920s; his German mother had been evacuated from Berlin due to the Allied bombing of Germany. Farockii simplified the spelling of his surname as a young man. After World War II, Farocki grew up in India and Indonesia before resettling in West Germany.
Farocki, who was deeply influenced by Bertolt Brecht and Jean-Luc Godard, studied at the German Film and Television Academy in West Berlin. He began making films — from the very beginning, they were non-narrative essays on the politics of imagery — in the mid-1960s.
From 1993 to 1999, Farocki taught at the University of California, Berkeley. He later was a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.
Farocki made over 90 films, the vast majority of them short experimental documentaries. Farocki attended the Deutsche Film-und Fernsehakademie Berlin from 1966 to 1968.
Farocki's work was included in the 2004-05 Carnegie International at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The filmography of Harun Farocki includes the following:
(D = Director, E = Editor, S = Screenplay, P = Production)
- 1969: Die Worte des Vorsitzenden (The Words of The Chairman)
- 1969: Nicht löschbares Feuer (Inextinguishable Fire) (D)
- 1970: Die Teilung aller Tage (The Division of All Days) (D, E, S)
- 1971: Eine Sache, die sich versteht (D, S, P)
- 1975: Auf Biegen oder Brechen (S)
- 1978: Zwischen zwei Kriegen (Between Two Wars) (D, E, S, P)
- 1981: Etwas wird sichtbar (Before Your Eyes Vietnam) (D, S, P)
- 1983: Ein Bild (An Image)
- 1983: Jean-Marie Straub and Daniele Huillet at work on Franz Kafka's "Amerika"
- 1985: Betrogen (Betrayed) (D, S)
- 1986: Wie man sieht (As You See) (D, S, P)
- 1987: Bilderkrieg (D)
- 1987: Die Schulung
- 1989: Bilder der Welt und Inschrift des Krieges (Images of the World and the Inscription of War) (D, S, P)
- 1990: Leben: BRD (How to live in the Federal Republic of Germany) (D, S, P)
- 1991: Videogramme einer Revolution (Videograms of a Revolution) (D, S, P)
- 1993: Was ist los? (What's up?) (D, S)
- 1994: Die Umschulung
- 1995: Arbeiter verlassen die Fabrik (Workers Leaving the Factory)
- 1995: Schnittstelle
- 1996: Die Bewerbung (The Interview) (TV) (D, S)
- 1996: Der Auftritt (The Appearance)
- 1997: Stilleben (Still Life) (D, S)
- 1997: Nach dem Spiel (P)
- 1998: Worte und Spiele
- 2000: Die innere Sicherheit
- 2000: Gefängnisbilder (Prison Images) (D, S)
- 2001: Auge/Maschine
- 2001: Die Schöpfer der Einkaufswelten (The Creators of the Shopping Worlds) (D, S)
- 2003: Erkennen und Verfolgen (D, S, P)
- 2004: Nicht ohne Risiko (D, S, P)
- 2005: Die Hochzeitsfabrik (P)
- 2005: Ghosts (S)
- 2006: Am Rand der Städte (P)
- 2007: Aufschub
- 2007: Respite - first episode of Memories (Jeonju Digital Project 2007)
- 2009: Zum Vergleich (D, S)
- 2009/2010: Serious Games I-IV, Video series
- 2012 Barbara (S)
- 2014: Phoenix (S)
Farocki's first wife, Ursula Lefkes, whom he married in 1966, died in 1996. His survivors included his second wife, Antje Ehmann, whom he married in 2001; his twin daughters from his first marriage, Annabel Lee and Larissa Lu; and eight grandchildren.
Farouk
Farouk (in Arabic, Faruq) (Fārūq al-Awwal) (February 11, 1920 – March 18, 1965). Pleasure loving king of Egypt (r.1936-1952). The last ruler of the Muhammad ‘Ali dynasty, he was deposed by the Free Officers, led by Muhammad Neguib.
Farouk I of Egypt was the tenth ruler from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 1936. He was considered the first native Egyptian monarch for millennia despite his mixed roots. His full title was "His Majesty Farouk I, by the grace of God, King of Egypt and Sudan, Sovereign of Nubia, of Kordofan, and of Darfur." He was overthrown in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, and was forced to abdicate in favor of his infant son Ahmed Fuad, who succeeded him as King Fuad II. He died in exile in Italy. His sister was Fawzia Shirin, first wife and Queen Consort of the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
The great-great-grandson of Muhammad Ali Pasha, Farouk was of Albanian descent as well as native Egyptian descent through his mother the Queen. Before his father's death, he was educated at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, England. Upon his coronation, the hugely popular 16-year-old King Farouk made a public radio address to the nation, the first time a sovereign of Egypt had ever spoken directly to his people in such a way.
Farouk was enamored of the glamorous royal lifestyle. Although he already had thousands of acres of land, dozens of palaces, and hundreds of cars, the youthful king would often travel to Europe for grand shopping sprees, earning the ire of many of his subjects.
He was most popular in his early years and the nobility largely celebrated him. Farouk's accession initially was encouraging for the populace and nobility, due to his youth and Egyptian roots through his mother Nazli Sabri. However, the situation was not the same with some politicians and elected governments, with whom Farouk quarreled a lot despite their loyalty in principle to his throne.
During the hardships of World War II, criticism was leveled at Farouk for his lavish lifestyle. His decision to keep all the lights burning at his palace in Alexandria, during a time when the city was blacked-out because of German and Italian bombing, was deemed particularly offensive by some. Due to the continuing British occupation of Egypt, many Egyptians, Farouk included, were positively disposed towards Germany and Italy, and despite the presence of British troops, Egypt remained officially neutral until the final year of the war. Indeed, Farouk only declared war on the Axis Powers under heavy British pressure in 1945, long after the fighting in Egypt's Western Desert had ceased.
Widely condemned for his corrupt and ineffectual governance, the continued British occupation, and the Egyptian army's failure to prevent the loss of 78% of Palestine to the newly formed State of Israel in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, public discontent against Farouk rose to new levels. Finally, on July 23, 1952, the Free Officers Movement under Muhammad Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser staged a military coup that launched the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. Farouk was forced to abdicate, and went into exile in Monaco and Italy where he lived for the rest of his life. Immediately following his abdication, Farouk's baby son, Ahmed Fuad was proclaimed King Fuad II, but for all intents and purposes Egypt was now governed by Naguib, Nasser and the Free Officers. On June 18, 1953, The revolutionary government formally abolished the monarchy, ending 150 years of the Muhammad Ali dynasty's rule, and Egypt was declared a republic.
The revolutionary government quickly moved to auction off the King's vast collection of trinkets and treasures Among the more famous of his possessions was one of the rare 1933 Double Eagle coins, though the coin disappeared before it could be returned to the United States.
On his exile from Egypt, Farouk settled first in Monaco, and later in Rome, Italy. In 1959, he became a citizen of Monaco.
The blue-eyed Farouk was thin early in his reign, but later gained enormous weight. His taste for fine cuisine made him dangerously obese, weighing nearly 300 pounds (136 kg). He died in the Ile de France restaurant in Rome, Italy on March 18, 1965. He collapsed and died at his dinner table following a characteristically heavy meal. While some claim he was poisoned by Egyptian Intelligence, no official autopsy was conducted on his body. His will stated that his burial place should be in the Al Rifa'i Mosque in Cairo, but the request was denied by the Egyptian government under Gamal Abdel Nasser, and he was going to be buried in Italy. King Faisal of Saudi Arabia stated he would be willing to have King Farouk buried in Saudi Arabia, upon which President Nasser agreed for the former monarch to be buried in Egypt, not in the Mosque of Al Rifai' but in the Ibrahim Pasha Burial Site.
In addition to an affair with the British writer and siren Barbara Skelton, among numerous others, Farouk was married twice, with a claim of a third marriage (see below). His first wife was Safinaz Zulficar (1921–1988), a pasha's daughter who was renamed Farida upon her marriage. They were married in 1938, and divorced in 1948, producing three daughters.
Farouk's second wife was a commoner, Narriman Sadek (1934–2005). They were married in 1951, and divorced in 1954, having only one child, the future King Fuad II.
Whilst in exile in Italy, Farouk met Irma Capece Minutolo, an opera singer, who became his companion. In 2005, she claimed that she married the former King in 1957.
Farouk had the following children:
* Farial (1938-)
* Fawzia (1940- 2005)
* Fadia (1943-2002)
* Fuad II (1952-)
Faruq see Farouk
Faruk see Farouk
Faruq al-Awwal see Farouk
Awwal, Faruq al- see Farouk
Farouk (in Arabic, Faruq) (Fārūq al-Awwal) (February 11, 1920 – March 18, 1965). Pleasure loving king of Egypt (r.1936-1952). The last ruler of the Muhammad ‘Ali dynasty, he was deposed by the Free Officers, led by Muhammad Neguib.
Farouk I of Egypt was the tenth ruler from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 1936. He was considered the first native Egyptian monarch for millennia despite his mixed roots. His full title was "His Majesty Farouk I, by the grace of God, King of Egypt and Sudan, Sovereign of Nubia, of Kordofan, and of Darfur." He was overthrown in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, and was forced to abdicate in favor of his infant son Ahmed Fuad, who succeeded him as King Fuad II. He died in exile in Italy. His sister was Fawzia Shirin, first wife and Queen Consort of the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
The great-great-grandson of Muhammad Ali Pasha, Farouk was of Albanian descent as well as native Egyptian descent through his mother the Queen. Before his father's death, he was educated at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, England. Upon his coronation, the hugely popular 16-year-old King Farouk made a public radio address to the nation, the first time a sovereign of Egypt had ever spoken directly to his people in such a way.
Farouk was enamored of the glamorous royal lifestyle. Although he already had thousands of acres of land, dozens of palaces, and hundreds of cars, the youthful king would often travel to Europe for grand shopping sprees, earning the ire of many of his subjects.
He was most popular in his early years and the nobility largely celebrated him. Farouk's accession initially was encouraging for the populace and nobility, due to his youth and Egyptian roots through his mother Nazli Sabri. However, the situation was not the same with some politicians and elected governments, with whom Farouk quarreled a lot despite their loyalty in principle to his throne.
During the hardships of World War II, criticism was leveled at Farouk for his lavish lifestyle. His decision to keep all the lights burning at his palace in Alexandria, during a time when the city was blacked-out because of German and Italian bombing, was deemed particularly offensive by some. Due to the continuing British occupation of Egypt, many Egyptians, Farouk included, were positively disposed towards Germany and Italy, and despite the presence of British troops, Egypt remained officially neutral until the final year of the war. Indeed, Farouk only declared war on the Axis Powers under heavy British pressure in 1945, long after the fighting in Egypt's Western Desert had ceased.
Widely condemned for his corrupt and ineffectual governance, the continued British occupation, and the Egyptian army's failure to prevent the loss of 78% of Palestine to the newly formed State of Israel in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, public discontent against Farouk rose to new levels. Finally, on July 23, 1952, the Free Officers Movement under Muhammad Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser staged a military coup that launched the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. Farouk was forced to abdicate, and went into exile in Monaco and Italy where he lived for the rest of his life. Immediately following his abdication, Farouk's baby son, Ahmed Fuad was proclaimed King Fuad II, but for all intents and purposes Egypt was now governed by Naguib, Nasser and the Free Officers. On June 18, 1953, The revolutionary government formally abolished the monarchy, ending 150 years of the Muhammad Ali dynasty's rule, and Egypt was declared a republic.
The revolutionary government quickly moved to auction off the King's vast collection of trinkets and treasures Among the more famous of his possessions was one of the rare 1933 Double Eagle coins, though the coin disappeared before it could be returned to the United States.
On his exile from Egypt, Farouk settled first in Monaco, and later in Rome, Italy. In 1959, he became a citizen of Monaco.
The blue-eyed Farouk was thin early in his reign, but later gained enormous weight. His taste for fine cuisine made him dangerously obese, weighing nearly 300 pounds (136 kg). He died in the Ile de France restaurant in Rome, Italy on March 18, 1965. He collapsed and died at his dinner table following a characteristically heavy meal. While some claim he was poisoned by Egyptian Intelligence, no official autopsy was conducted on his body. His will stated that his burial place should be in the Al Rifa'i Mosque in Cairo, but the request was denied by the Egyptian government under Gamal Abdel Nasser, and he was going to be buried in Italy. King Faisal of Saudi Arabia stated he would be willing to have King Farouk buried in Saudi Arabia, upon which President Nasser agreed for the former monarch to be buried in Egypt, not in the Mosque of Al Rifai' but in the Ibrahim Pasha Burial Site.
In addition to an affair with the British writer and siren Barbara Skelton, among numerous others, Farouk was married twice, with a claim of a third marriage (see below). His first wife was Safinaz Zulficar (1921–1988), a pasha's daughter who was renamed Farida upon her marriage. They were married in 1938, and divorced in 1948, producing three daughters.
Farouk's second wife was a commoner, Narriman Sadek (1934–2005). They were married in 1951, and divorced in 1954, having only one child, the future King Fuad II.
Whilst in exile in Italy, Farouk met Irma Capece Minutolo, an opera singer, who became his companion. In 2005, she claimed that she married the former King in 1957.
Farouk had the following children:
* Farial (1938-)
* Fawzia (1940- 2005)
* Fadia (1943-2002)
* Fuad II (1952-)
Faruq see Farouk
Faruk see Farouk
Faruq al-Awwal see Farouk
Awwal, Faruq al- see Farouk
Farrakhan, Louis
Farrakhan (Louis Farrakhan) (Louis Eugene Walcott) (b. May 11, 1933). Nation of Islam national leader. Born in New York City, the son of a schoolteacher and a domestic worker. His birth name was Louis Eugene Walcott. Farrakhan was an outstanding student at Boston English High School and then attended Winston-Salem Teacher’s College in North Carolina, but the rhetorical skills he honed there would take him to the pulpit rather than the classroom.
Farrakhan was an excellent musician. He played the violin and was a calypso singer. Indeed, while living in Boston, Farrakhan performed a nightclub act under the name of Calypso Gene. In this act, Farrakhan would sing political lyrics to Caribbean style music.
It was as a singer that Walcott earned his livelihood prior to converting to Elijah Muhammad’s Nation of Islam in the 1950s. It was his talents as an entertainer which caught the eye of Malcolm X, the renowned black activist who was then the most powerful and charismatic of Elijah Muhammad’s ministers. Louis Walcott was recruited into the organization and began calling himself Louis X, preaching impressively and receiving the name “Farrakhan” from Elijah Muhammad himself.
Louis Farrakhan quickly worked his way up to a leadership position, becoming the minister of the Boston mosque. He grew close to Elijah Muhammad and began to be groomed for prominence in the organization. In 1963, Malcolm X left the organization in favor of a more inclusive and secular black activism.
Malcolm’s departure angered Elijah Muhammad prompting Elijah Muhammad to initiate a campaign designed to undermine the activities of Malcolm X. Louis Farrakhan, Elijah Muhammad’s then new protégé, loudly denounced Malcolm X after the latter split with Elijah Muhammad. Farrakhan then replaced Malcolm X as the chief minister of the Harlem mosque. Eventually (in 1972), Farrakhan would take over as the Nation’s press spokesman -- a position which was also previously held by Malcolm.
The Nation of Islam advocated religious and political militancy, proclaiming that civilization had begun with black men who were God’s chosen people. Whites, according to this doctrine, were devils, the subhuman creation of an evil magician named Yakub. These malevolent beings were said to be committed to the destruction of the black race, as evidenced by centuries of oppression and slavery. Allah would punish Allah’s enemies, and Nation of Islam literature brims with reference to Armageddon.
Upon close analysis, it is evident that the Nation of Islam’s doctrines differ significantly from those of orthodox Islam. The sermons of Elijah Muhammad, and later of Farrakhan, combine ideas and beliefs from the Muslim Qur’an (also known as the Koran, or book of sacred writings) with Christian principles and images. They reportedly even invent “scripture” at times. In fact, when Elijah Muhammad’s son Wallace Deen Muhammad traveled to the East to study Islam, he decided his father was a fake and renounced the Nation’s earlier teachings. Elijah, who died in 1975, willed the holdings of the organization to his sons -- mainly Wallace -- much to Farrakhan’s disappointment. But Wallace’s disavowal of his father’s philosophy eventually drove many of Elijah’s followers into Farrakhan’s derivative group.
Elijah Muhammad and Louis Farrakhan -- and Malcolm X while he was in the group -- were greatly influenced by the Black Nationalist movement. This movement has existed as long as the United States itself and argues that American blacks can only achieve freedom and independence by establishing their own nation. Some nationalists imagined this territory within the United States, others envisioned it in Africa. Elijah Muhammad wrote in his speech “What Do the Muslims Want?” that the black nation might be “either on this continent or elsewhere.” The Nation of Islam has long asked the United States government to provide reparations to black citizens -- like those paid to Japanese-American internees of United States detention camps during World War II -- to pay for a black nation.
After Elijah Muhammad’s death in 1975, he briefly supported Muhammad’s son and designated successor, Warith Muhammad (Wallace Deen Muhammad), as leader of the Nation of Islam. Shortly after Warith Muhammad began accepting European Americans as members within the Nation of Islam, now renamed the World Community of Al-Islam in the West, Farrakhan split from him and established a rival organization with about 10,000 members.
Farrakhan’s vigorous support for Jesse Jackson’s presidential candidacy in 1984 quickly became an issue after Farrakhan made several controversial statements, most notably calling Judaism a “gutter religion.” Farrakhan’s attacks on Judaism and Jews reflect a belief held by his constituency that Jews were an integral part of the American power elite and, therefore, an integral part of the systematic discrimination that blacks have historically encountered. Jews also receive condemnation for supporting Israel, a region which the Nation of Islam and many other analysts of world politics accuse of mistreating its Arab neighbors. Thus, for the members of the Nation of Islam, the many-sided conflicts of that region become a racial conflict -- a conflict of black versus white rather than a religious conflict.
Overshadowed in the controversy over Farrakhan’s anti-Jewish rhetoric was the involvement of the Nation of Islam in American electoral politics for the first time. Previously, Black Muslims had generally followed Elijah Muhammad’s counsel not to vote or to take part in political campaigns. But, in 1984 and 1988, the Nation of Islam supported Jackson as he ran for President.
In 1985, Farrakhan started the organization he called POWER (People Organized and Working for Economic Rebirth), a parent company for business endeavors like Clean ‘n Fresh. The principle underlying the venture maintains that black people in America needed to build their own economic base. This could best be accomplished by recruiting black salespeople to sell black produced products in black neighborhoods. To this end, Farrakhan secured a $5 million interest free loan from the nation of Libya. However, because of the negative publicity generated by Farrakhan’s anti-Jewish statements, Farrakhan’s manufacturers backed out.
In January of 1995, Qubilah Bahiyah Shabazz, daughter of the slain black nationalist leader Malcolm X, was arrested and charged with trying to hire an FBI informant to kill Farrakhan, who some believe was involved in the 1965 assassination of her father. Farrakhan publicly defended Shabazz, claiming that the charges were an FBI attempt to entrap her. On May 1, 1995, Shabazz avoided a trial and possible prison sentence by accepting responsibility for the plot. The court ordered her to seek psychiatric counseling, enter a drug and alcohol treatment program, and to obtain a steady job.
On October 16, 1995, African American men from across the United States convened in Washington, D. C. for the Million Man March, a rally masterminded by Farrakhan; organized by the Nation of Islam; and promoted by the National African Mexican Leadership Summit. Billed as a “holy day of atonement and reconciliation,” marchers were urged to make a commitment to improve themselves, their families, and their communities. Those who could not attend the march were urged to stay home from work and avoid spending money at businesses as a show of solidarity with the marchers. The march was deemed a success on many levels and did much to help shake the myth of all black men as convicts, hustlers, and pimps and replaced that image with one of responsible, self-confident, culturally aware men.
In early 1996, Farrakhan embarked on a controversial 18 nation tour of Africa and Southwest Asia. During the tour, he visited Iran and Libya, nations which the United States government believes support international terrorism. Although he claimed that the trip was designed to promote peace and reconciliation, Farrakhan was widely criticized by United States officials for several anti-American statements he made while overseas.
Louis Eugene Walcott see Farrakhan
Walcott, Louis Eugene see Farrakhan
Calypso Gene see Farrakhan
Louis X see Farrakhan
Farrakhan (Louis Farrakhan) (Louis Eugene Walcott) (b. May 11, 1933). Nation of Islam national leader. Born in New York City, the son of a schoolteacher and a domestic worker. His birth name was Louis Eugene Walcott. Farrakhan was an outstanding student at Boston English High School and then attended Winston-Salem Teacher’s College in North Carolina, but the rhetorical skills he honed there would take him to the pulpit rather than the classroom.
Farrakhan was an excellent musician. He played the violin and was a calypso singer. Indeed, while living in Boston, Farrakhan performed a nightclub act under the name of Calypso Gene. In this act, Farrakhan would sing political lyrics to Caribbean style music.
It was as a singer that Walcott earned his livelihood prior to converting to Elijah Muhammad’s Nation of Islam in the 1950s. It was his talents as an entertainer which caught the eye of Malcolm X, the renowned black activist who was then the most powerful and charismatic of Elijah Muhammad’s ministers. Louis Walcott was recruited into the organization and began calling himself Louis X, preaching impressively and receiving the name “Farrakhan” from Elijah Muhammad himself.
Louis Farrakhan quickly worked his way up to a leadership position, becoming the minister of the Boston mosque. He grew close to Elijah Muhammad and began to be groomed for prominence in the organization. In 1963, Malcolm X left the organization in favor of a more inclusive and secular black activism.
Malcolm’s departure angered Elijah Muhammad prompting Elijah Muhammad to initiate a campaign designed to undermine the activities of Malcolm X. Louis Farrakhan, Elijah Muhammad’s then new protégé, loudly denounced Malcolm X after the latter split with Elijah Muhammad. Farrakhan then replaced Malcolm X as the chief minister of the Harlem mosque. Eventually (in 1972), Farrakhan would take over as the Nation’s press spokesman -- a position which was also previously held by Malcolm.
The Nation of Islam advocated religious and political militancy, proclaiming that civilization had begun with black men who were God’s chosen people. Whites, according to this doctrine, were devils, the subhuman creation of an evil magician named Yakub. These malevolent beings were said to be committed to the destruction of the black race, as evidenced by centuries of oppression and slavery. Allah would punish Allah’s enemies, and Nation of Islam literature brims with reference to Armageddon.
Upon close analysis, it is evident that the Nation of Islam’s doctrines differ significantly from those of orthodox Islam. The sermons of Elijah Muhammad, and later of Farrakhan, combine ideas and beliefs from the Muslim Qur’an (also known as the Koran, or book of sacred writings) with Christian principles and images. They reportedly even invent “scripture” at times. In fact, when Elijah Muhammad’s son Wallace Deen Muhammad traveled to the East to study Islam, he decided his father was a fake and renounced the Nation’s earlier teachings. Elijah, who died in 1975, willed the holdings of the organization to his sons -- mainly Wallace -- much to Farrakhan’s disappointment. But Wallace’s disavowal of his father’s philosophy eventually drove many of Elijah’s followers into Farrakhan’s derivative group.
Elijah Muhammad and Louis Farrakhan -- and Malcolm X while he was in the group -- were greatly influenced by the Black Nationalist movement. This movement has existed as long as the United States itself and argues that American blacks can only achieve freedom and independence by establishing their own nation. Some nationalists imagined this territory within the United States, others envisioned it in Africa. Elijah Muhammad wrote in his speech “What Do the Muslims Want?” that the black nation might be “either on this continent or elsewhere.” The Nation of Islam has long asked the United States government to provide reparations to black citizens -- like those paid to Japanese-American internees of United States detention camps during World War II -- to pay for a black nation.
After Elijah Muhammad’s death in 1975, he briefly supported Muhammad’s son and designated successor, Warith Muhammad (Wallace Deen Muhammad), as leader of the Nation of Islam. Shortly after Warith Muhammad began accepting European Americans as members within the Nation of Islam, now renamed the World Community of Al-Islam in the West, Farrakhan split from him and established a rival organization with about 10,000 members.
Farrakhan’s vigorous support for Jesse Jackson’s presidential candidacy in 1984 quickly became an issue after Farrakhan made several controversial statements, most notably calling Judaism a “gutter religion.” Farrakhan’s attacks on Judaism and Jews reflect a belief held by his constituency that Jews were an integral part of the American power elite and, therefore, an integral part of the systematic discrimination that blacks have historically encountered. Jews also receive condemnation for supporting Israel, a region which the Nation of Islam and many other analysts of world politics accuse of mistreating its Arab neighbors. Thus, for the members of the Nation of Islam, the many-sided conflicts of that region become a racial conflict -- a conflict of black versus white rather than a religious conflict.
Overshadowed in the controversy over Farrakhan’s anti-Jewish rhetoric was the involvement of the Nation of Islam in American electoral politics for the first time. Previously, Black Muslims had generally followed Elijah Muhammad’s counsel not to vote or to take part in political campaigns. But, in 1984 and 1988, the Nation of Islam supported Jackson as he ran for President.
In 1985, Farrakhan started the organization he called POWER (People Organized and Working for Economic Rebirth), a parent company for business endeavors like Clean ‘n Fresh. The principle underlying the venture maintains that black people in America needed to build their own economic base. This could best be accomplished by recruiting black salespeople to sell black produced products in black neighborhoods. To this end, Farrakhan secured a $5 million interest free loan from the nation of Libya. However, because of the negative publicity generated by Farrakhan’s anti-Jewish statements, Farrakhan’s manufacturers backed out.
In January of 1995, Qubilah Bahiyah Shabazz, daughter of the slain black nationalist leader Malcolm X, was arrested and charged with trying to hire an FBI informant to kill Farrakhan, who some believe was involved in the 1965 assassination of her father. Farrakhan publicly defended Shabazz, claiming that the charges were an FBI attempt to entrap her. On May 1, 1995, Shabazz avoided a trial and possible prison sentence by accepting responsibility for the plot. The court ordered her to seek psychiatric counseling, enter a drug and alcohol treatment program, and to obtain a steady job.
On October 16, 1995, African American men from across the United States convened in Washington, D. C. for the Million Man March, a rally masterminded by Farrakhan; organized by the Nation of Islam; and promoted by the National African Mexican Leadership Summit. Billed as a “holy day of atonement and reconciliation,” marchers were urged to make a commitment to improve themselves, their families, and their communities. Those who could not attend the march were urged to stay home from work and avoid spending money at businesses as a show of solidarity with the marchers. The march was deemed a success on many levels and did much to help shake the myth of all black men as convicts, hustlers, and pimps and replaced that image with one of responsible, self-confident, culturally aware men.
In early 1996, Farrakhan embarked on a controversial 18 nation tour of Africa and Southwest Asia. During the tour, he visited Iran and Libya, nations which the United States government believes support international terrorism. Although he claimed that the trip was designed to promote peace and reconciliation, Farrakhan was widely criticized by United States officials for several anti-American statements he made while overseas.
In the early 21st century, the core membership of Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam was estimated at between 10,000 and 50,000—though in the same period Farrakhan was delivering speeches in large cities across the United States that regularly attracted crowds of more than 30,000. Under Farrakhan’s leadership, the Nation was one of the fastest growing of the various Muslim movements in the country. Foreign branches of the Nation were formed in Ghana, London, Paris, and the Caribbean islands. In order to strengthen the international influence of the Nation, Farrakhan established relations with Muslim countries, and in the late 1980s he cultivated a relationship with the Libyan dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi. After a near-death experience in 2000 resulting from complications from prostate cancer (he was diagnosed with cancer in 1991), Farrakhan toned down his racial rhetoric and attempted to strengthen relations with other minority communities, including Native Americans, Hispanics, and Asians. Farrakhan also moved his group closer to orthodox Sunni Islam in 2000, when he and Imam Warith Deen Mohmmed, the leading American orthodox Muslim, recognized each other as fellow Muslims.
In spite of his fiery pronouncements as a speaker, Farrakhan led a quiet and decidedly comfortable domestic life in an opulent mansion of marble and limestone in the Hyde Park section of Chicago in the house that Elijah Muhammad built. He was married to Khadijah and they had nine children.
Louis Eugene Walcott see Farrakhan
Walcott, Louis Eugene see Farrakhan
Calypso Gene see Farrakhan
Louis X see Farrakhan
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