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Muammar Al-Qaddafi

Muammar al-Qaddafi

Muammar Abu Minyar al-Qaddafi 1 (Arabic: معمر القذافي Mu`ammar al-Qadhdhāfī) (born circa 1942 near Sirte, Libya), has been the leader of Libya since 1969. Although he holds no public office or title, he is accorded the honorifics "Guide of the First of September Great Revolution of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya" or "Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution".

Early history

Qaddafi was the youngest child from a nomadic Bedouin peasant family in the desert region of Sirte. He was given a traditional religious primary education and attended the Sebha preparatory school in Fezzan from 1956 to 1961. Qaddafi and a small group of friends that he met in this school went on to form the core leadership of a militant revolutionary group that would eventually seize control of the country. Qaddafi's inspiration was Gamal Abdul Nasser, president of neighboring Egypt, who rose to the presidency by appealing to Arab unity and condemning the West. In 1961, Qaddafi was expelled from Sebha for his political activism. Qaddafi went on to attend the University of Libya, where he graduated with high grades. He then entered the Military Academy in Benghazi in 1963, where he and a few of his fellow militants organized a secretive group dedicated to overthrowing the pro-Western Libyan monarchy. After graduating in 1965, he was sent to Britain for further training, returning in 1966 as a commissioned officer in the Signal Corps.

Seizing power

On September 1, 1969, a small group of military officers led by Qaddafi staged a coup d'etat against King Idris, who was exiled to Egypt. The new regime, headed by the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC), abolished the monarchy and proclaimed the new Libyan Arab Republic. Qaddafi emerged as leader of the RCC and eventually as de facto chief of state, a political role he still plays, although he holds no official position. Qadhafi is referred to in government statements and the official press as the "Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution." Unlike other military dictators, Qaddafi did not promote himself to the highest rank of general upon seizing power, but rather accepted a ceremonial promotion from captain to colonel and has remained at this rank for the last thirty-five years. This no doubt appears odd to western militaries, in that a colonel can rule a country and serve as Commander-in-Chief of its military, but in Qaddafi's own words Libya's utopian society is ruled by the people, so he needs no grandiose title or a supreme military rank. Qaddafi remaining a colonel, even while military ruler of an entire country, is a new concept among military dictatorships. Gamal Abdel Nasser remained a colonel after seizing power in Egypt while Jerry Rawlings, dictator of Ghana, held no military rank higher than head Flight Lieutenant.

Islamic Socialism and Pan Arabism

Qaddafi based his new regime on a blend of Arab nationalism, aspects of the welfare state and what Qaddafi termed "direct, popular democracy." He called this system "Islamic socialism" and while he permitted private control over small companies, the government controlled the larger ones. Welfare, liberation and education were emphasized. He also imposed a system of conservative morals, outlawing alcohol and gambling. To reinforce the ideals of this socialist state, Qaddafi outlined his political philosophy in his Green Book, published in 1976. In practice, however, Libya's political system is thought to be somewhat less idealistic and from time to time Qaddafi has responded to domestic and external opposition with violence. His revolutionary committees called for the assassination of Libyan dissidents living abroad in February 1980, with Libyan hit squads sent abroad to murder them. 1980 (blue uniform) and Qaddafi (brown uniform)]] With respect to Libya's neighbors, Qaddafi followed Abdul Nasser's ideas of pan-Arabism and became a fervent advocate of the unity of all Arab states into one Arab nation. He also supported pan-Islamism, the notion of a loose union of all Islamic countries and peoples. After Nasser's death on September 28 1970, Qaddafi attempted to take up the mantle of ideological leader of Arab nationalism. He proclaimed the "Federation of Arab Republics" (Libya, Egypt and Syria) in 1972, hoping to create a pan-Arab state, but the three countries disagreed on the specific terms of the merger. In 1974 he signed an agreement with Tunisia's Habib Bourguiba on a merger between the two countries, but this also failed to work in practice and ultimately differences between the two countries would deteriorate into strong animosity. Qaddafi also became a strong supporter of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which ultimately harmed Libya's relations with Egypt when in 1979 Egypt pursued a peace agreement with Israel. As Libya's relations with Egypt worsened, Qaddafi sought closer relations with the Soviet Union. Libya became the first country outside the Soviet bloc to receive the supersonic MiG-25 combat fighters, but their relations remained relatively distant. Qaddafi also sought to increase Libyan influence, especially in states with an Islamic population, by calling for the creation of a Saharan Islamic state and supporting anti-government forces in sub-Saharan Africa. Notable in his politics has been the support for liberation movements, in most cases Muslim groups. In the 1970s and the 1980s this support was sometimes so freely given that even the most unsympathetic groups could get Libyan support. Often the groups represented ideologies far away from Qaddafi's own. Through these politics, Qaddafi confused the world. Throughout the 1970s, his regime was implicated in subversion and terrorist activities in both Arab and non-Arab countries. By the mid-1980s, he was widely regarded in the West as the principal financier of international terrorism. Reportedly, Qaddafi was a major financier of the "Black September Movement" which perpetrated the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre, and is accused by the United States of being responsible for direct control of the 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing that killed 3 people and wounded more than 200 others, of which a substantial number were U.S. servicemen. He is also said to have paid "Carlos the Jackal" to kidnap and release several of the Saudi Arabian and Iranian oil ministers when it fit his purposes to do so.

External relations

Tensions between Libya and the West reached a peak during the Ronald Reagan administration, which tried to overthrow Qaddafi. In 1984 a British policewoman, PC Yvonne Fletcher, was shot outside the Libyan Embassy in London, while policing a demonstration against Muammar al-Qaddafi. A burst of machine-gun fire from within the building was always suspected of killing her, but the Libyan diplomats asserted their diplomatic immunity and were repatriated. The incident led to the breaking-off of diplomatic relations between the UK and Libya. The Reagan administration saw Libya as an unacceptable player on the international stage because of its uncompromising stance on Palestinian independence, its support for revolutionary Iran in its 1980–1988 war against Saddam Hussein's Iraq (see Iran-Iraq War), and its backing for "liberation movements" in the developing world. In March 1982 the U.S. declared a ban on the import of Libyan oil and the export to Libya of US oil industry technology; Europe did not follow suit. The U.S. attacked Libyan patrol boats from January to March 1986 during clashes over access to the Gulf of Sidra, which Libya claimed as territorial waters. Later, on April 15, 1986, Reagan ordered major bombing raids, dubbed Operation El Dorado Canyon, against Tripoli and Benghazi that killed 60 people following U.S. accusations of Libyan involvement in a bomb explosion in a German nightclub frequented by U.S. servicemen on April 5, which had killed 3. Among the victims of the April 15 attack was the adopted daughter of the Libyan leader. For most of the 1990s, Libya endured economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation as a result of Qaddafi's refusal to allow the extradition to the United States or Britain of two Libyans accused of planting a bomb on Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. With the intercession of South African President Nelson Mandela, who made a high-profile visit to Qaddafi in 1997, and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Qaddafi agreed in 1999 to a compromise that involved handing over the defendants to the Netherlands for trial under Scottish law. U.N.-sponsored sanctions were suspended, but U.S. sanctions against Libya remained in force. In October 1993 there was an unsuccessful attempt on Qaddafi's life by 2,000 members of the army; in May 1994 Libyan troops withdrew from Chad after a territorial dispute that began in 1973, returning to the original borders, and in July 1996 bloody riots followed a football match as a protest against Qaddafi.

A new Qaddafi?

From the mid-1990s, Qaddafi managed to improve his connections among Middle Eastern nations and is today considered a much more moderate and responsible leader in the Arab world than he had been. Regarding the Palestinians, he has begun pushing the concept of a binational single-state solution, called "Isratine", a combination of the words Israel and Palestine. Palestine Simultaneously, Qaddafi has also emerged as a popular African leader. As one of the continent's longest-serving, post-colonial head of state, the Libyan leader enjoys a reputation among many Africans as an experienced and wise statesman who has been at the forefront of many struggles over the years. Qaddafi has earned the praise of Nelson Mandela and others, and is always a prominent figure in various pan-African organizations, such as the Organization of African Unity. He is also seen by many Africans as a humanitarian, pouring large amounts of money into sub-Saharan states. Large numbers of Africans have come to Libya to take advantage of the availablility of jobs there. In addition, many more, primarily from Somalia and Ghana move through Libya as a means to reach Italy and other European countries. Qaddafi also appears to be struggling to improve his image in the West. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Qaddafi offered one of the first, and firmest denunciations of the Al-Qaida bombers by any Muslim leader. In 2002, he publicly apologized for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, and offered to pay compensation to the victims' families. Qaddafi also appeared on ABC for an open interview with George Stephanopoulos, a move that would have seemed unthinkable less than a decade ago. There are many explanations for the change of Qaddafi's politics. The most obvious is that the once very rich Libya became much less wealthy as oil prices dropped significantly during the 1990's. Since then, Qaddafi has tended to need other countries more than before, and hasn't been able to dole out generous foreign aid as he once did. Another possibility is that strong Western reactions have forced Qaddafi into changing his politics. But more important is that realpolitik changed Qaddafi. His ideals and aims did not materialize: there never was any Arab unity, the various armed revolutionary organizations he supported did not achieve their goals, and the demise of the Soviet Union left Qaddafi's main symbolic target, the United States, stronger than ever. Following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein by US forces in 2003, Qaddafi announced that his nation had an active weapons of mass destruction program, but was willing to allow international inspectors into his country to observe and dismantle them. The threat posed by WMD programs violating non-proliferation treaty responsibilities had been cited by US President George W. Bush as one of his leading reasons for invading Iraq, and it is believed that after Saddam's downfall Qaddafi feared for the future of his own regime if he continued to keep and conceal the weapons. Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi was quoted as saying that Qaddafi had privately phoned him, admitting as much. International inspectors turned up several thousand tons of chemical weaponry in Libya, as well as an active nuclear weapons program. The process of destroying the weapons continues, and Libya has improved its cooperation with international monitoring regimes. In March 2004, British prime minister Tony Blair became one of the first western leaders in decades to visit Libya and publicly meet Qaddafi. Blair praised Qaddafi's recent acts, and stated that he hoped Libya could now be a strong ally in the international War on Terrorism. A major obstacle to improving relations is now the trial of Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor, who were arrested and eventually sentenced to death after an HIV outbreak in Benghazi. The international view is that Libya has used the medics as scapegoats for poor hygiene conditions, and Bulgaria and other countries including the European Union and the United States have repeatedly called on Tripoli to release them. As of August 18, 2005 the case remains unresolved, and is the source of increasing tensions with Bulgaria, as well as an obstacle to continuing the process of improved relations with the West. (It should also be noted that Bulgaria is as of 2004 a member of NATO.)

Personal

Qaddafi has eight children, seven of them sons. His oldest son, Muhammad Qaddafi, is by a wife now in disfavor, but runs the Libyan Olympic Committee. The next eldest Al-Saadi Qaddafi, runs the Libyan Football Federation, plays for Italian Serie A team Udinese Calcio, and produces films. The third eldest, Saif al-Islam Qaddafi, a painter, runs a charity which has been involved in negotiating freedom for hostages taken by Islamic militants, especially in the Philippines. His only daughter is Ayesha Qaddafi, a lawyer who has joined the defense team of Saddam Hussein. All are seen as possible successors. Three more sons, Al Moatassim, Hannbil, and Khamees, are less prominent. (In September 2004, Hannbil was involved in a police chase in Paris.) One adopted daughter was killed in the 1986 US air raid. In January 2002, Qaddafi purchased a 7.5% share of Italian football club Juventus for USD 21 million, through Lafico ("Libyan Arab Foreign Investment Company"). Though Quaddafi is an avid football fan, this more importantly continued a longstanding association with the late Gianni Agnelli, the primary investor in Fiat. Qaddafi has also become involved in chess: in March 2004, FIDE, the game's world governing body, announced that he would be providing prize money for their next World Championship, to be held in June–July 2004 in Tripoli. In November 2002, he hosted the first Miss Net World beauty pageant, a first for Libya and as far as is known, the world's first to be held on the internet.

Quotation

"Ronald Reagan plays with fire! He sees the world like the theater". "Irrespective of the conflict with America, it is a human duty to show sympathy with the American people and be with them at these horrifying and awesome events which are bound to awaken human conscience." — September 11, 2001

Spelling

Qaddafi's name has been transliterated in a wide variety of ways. For example, an article published in the London Evening Standard on March 29, 2004 lists a total of 37 spellings; a 1986 column by The Straight Dope counted 32. [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_264b.html]

Authority preferences

The Associated Press and affiliates (such as CNN and FOX News) use the spelling Moammar Gadhafi. Al Jazeera uses Muammar al-Qadhafi. The U.S. State Department uses Mu'ammar Al-Qadhafi.

Personal preferences

In 1986, responding to a Minnesota school's letter in English, he used the spelling Moammar El-Gadhafi. According to his personal website, he prefers the spelling Muammar Gadafi, although the domain name gives yet another version, al-Gathafi.

Lists

The list below includes the alternatives listed on the Library of Congress name authority record:

- Qaddafi, Muammar (preferred)
- Al-Gathafi, Muammar
- al-Qadhafi, Muammar
- Al Qathafi, Mu'ammar
- Al Qathafi, Muammar
- El Gaddafi, Moamar
- El Kadhafi, Moammar
- El Kazzafi, Moamer
- El Qathafi, Mu'Ammar
- Gadafi, Muammar
- Gaddafi, Moamar
- Gadhafi, Mo'ammar
- Gathafi, Muammar
- Ghadafi, Muammar
- Ghaddafi, Muammar
- Ghaddafy, Muammar
- Gheddafi, Muammar
- Gheddafi, Muhammar
- Kadaffi, Momar
- Kad'afi, Mu`amar al-
- Kaddafi, Muamar
- Kaddafi, Muammar
- Kadhafi, Moammar
- Kadhafi, Mouammar
- Kazzafi, Moammar

- Khadafy, Moammar
- Khaddafi, Muammar
- Moamar al-Gaddafi
- Moamar el Gaddafi
- Moamar El Kadhafi
- Moamar Gaddafi
- Moamer El Kazzafi
- Mo'ammar el-Gadhafi
- Moammar El Kadhafi
- Mo'ammar Gadhafi
- Moammar Kadhafi
- Moammar Khadafy
- Moammar Qudhafi
- Mu`amar al-Kad'afi
- Mu'amar al-Kadafi
- Muamar Al-Kaddafi
- Muamar Kaddafi
- Muamer Gadafi
- Muammar Al-Gathafi
- Muammar al-Khaddafi
- Mu'ammar al-Qadafi
- Mu'ammar al-Qaddafi
- Muammar al-Qadhafi
- Mu'ammar al-Qadhdhafi
- Mu`ammar al-Qadhdhāfī

- Mu'ammar Al Qathafi
- Muammar Al Qathafi
- Muammar Gadafi
- Muammar Gaddafi
- Muammar Ghadafi
- Muammar Ghaddafi
- Muammar Ghaddafy
- Muammar Gheddafi
- Muammar Kaddafi
- Muammar Khaddafi
- Mu'ammar Qadafi
- Muammar Qaddafi
- Muammar Qadhafi
- Mu'ammar Qadhdhafi
- Muammar Quathafi
- Mulazim Awwal Mu'ammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Qadhafi
- Qadafi, Mu'ammar
- Qadhafi, Muammar
- Qadhdhāfī, Mu`ammar
- Qathafi, Mu'Ammar el
- Quathafi, Muammar
- Qudhafi, Moammar

These further alternate spellings may be found in New York Times, Associated Press Wire, and Xinhua English News sources between 1998 and 2000:

- Maummar Gaddafi
- Moamar AI Kadafi
- Moamar Gadhafi
- Moamer Gaddafi
- Moamer Kadhafi
- Moamma Gaddafi
- Moammar Gaddafi
- Moammar Gadhafi
- Moammar Ghadafi
- Moammar Khadaffy
- Moammar Khaddafi
- Moammar el Gadhafi
- Moammer Gaddafi
- Mouammer al Gaddafi

- Muamar Gaddafi
- Muammar Al Ghaddafi
- Muammar Al Qaddafi
- Muammar Al Qaddafi
- Muammar El Qaddafi
- Muammar Gadaffi
- Muammar Gadafy
- Muammar Gadafy
- Muammar Gaddhafi
- Muammar Gadhafi
- Muammar Ghadaffi
- Muammar Qadthafi
- Muammar al Gaddafi
- Muammar el Gaddafy

- Muammar el Gaddafi
- Muammar el Qaddafi
- Muammer Gadaffi
- Muammer Gaddafi
- Mummar Gaddafi
- Omar Al Qathafi
- Omar Mouammer Al Gaddafi
- Omar Muammar Al Ghaddafi
- Omar Muammar Al Qaddafi
- Omar Muammar Al Qathafi
- Omar Muammar Gaddafi
- Omar Muammar Ghaddafi
- Omar al Ghaddafi

Qaddafi is also the inspiration for name of the rap artist, Yaki Kadafi.

References

"Second-Graders Get Letter From Khadafy." The Associated Press 16 May 1986: Domestic News.

See also


- List of national leaders

External links


- [http://www.algathafi.org/index-en.htm Official web site]
- http://www.qadhafi.org/ ----
- [http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050704/wl_nm/group_africa_gaddafi_dc_3&printer=1;_ylt=Asq1qg_.nDreuyr7dPlUR4Zn.3QA;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE- Reuters article on Gaddafi's Unified Africa - during G8 summit meetings on relieving African debt] 4 July 2005 22:08 (UTC)
- [http://slate.msn.com/id/2111135/ "Meeting Muammar"] by Vivienne Walt, Slate.com, Dec. 16, 2004 ----
- [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_264b.html Straight Dope article on the many spellings of Moammar's name]
- [http://www.geocities.com/Athens/8744/mylinks1.htm Find Out More About Libya] Qaddafi Qaddafi Qaddafi Qaddafi Qadaffi Qaddafi, Muammar al- Qaddafi ja:ムアンマル・アル＝カッザーフィー

Arabic language

The Arabic language (; , less formally, ) is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. It is spoken throughout the Arab world and is widely studied and known throughout the Islamic world. Arabic has been a literary language since at least the 6th century and is the liturgical language of Islam.

Literary and Modern Standard Arabic

The term "Arabic" may refer either to literary Arabic, which no Arab speaks as a mother tongue, or Modern Standard Arabic or to the many spoken varieties of Arabic commonly called "colloquial Arabic." Arabs consider literary Arabic as the standard language and tend to view everything else as mere dialects. Literary Arabic, (Literally: "the most eloquent Arabic language" — ) refers both to the language of present-day media across North Africa and the Middle East and to the more archaic language of the Qur'an. (The expression media here includes most television and radio, and all written matter, including all books, newspapers, magazines, documents of every kind, and reading primers for small children.) "Colloquial" or "dialectal" Arabic refers to the many national or regional dialects/languages derived from Classical Arabic, spoken daily across North Africa and the Middle East, which constitute the everyday spoken language. These sometimes differ enough to be mutually incomprehensible. These dialects are not typically written, although a certain amount of literature (particularly plays and poetry) exists in many of them. They are often used to varying degrees in informal spoken media, such as soap operas and talk shows. Literary Arabic or classical Arabic, is the official language of all Arab countries and is the only form of Arabic taught in schools at all stages. The sociolinguistic situation of Arabic in modern times provides a prime example of the linguistic phenomenon of Diglossia -the normal use of two separate varieties of the same language, usually in different social situations. In the case of Arabic, educated Arabs of whatever nationality can be assumed to speak both their local dialect and their school-taught literary Arabic (to an equal or lesser degree). This diglossic situation facilitates code switching in which a speaker switches back and forth unaware between the two varieties of the language, sometimes even within the same sentence. In instances in which Arabs of different nationalities engage in conversation only to find their dialects mutually unintelligible (e.g. a Moroccan speaking with a Lebanese), both should be able to code switch into Literary Arabic for the sake of communication. Since the written Arabic of today differs from the written Arabic of the Qur'anic era, it has become customary in western scholarship and among non-Arab scholars of Arabic to refer to the language of the Qur'an as Classical Arabic and the modern language of the media and of formal speeches as Modern Standard Arabic. Arabs, on the other hand, often use the term to refer to both forms, thus placing greater emphasis on the similarities between the two. The difference between Arabic of the Qur'anic era and today's Classical Arabic is only in the degree of eloquance. The vocabulary, the syntatic and grammatical rules are the same. Quite a few English words are ultimately derived from Arabic, often through other European languages, especially Spanish, among them every-day vocabulary like sugar (sukkar), cotton (qutn) or magazine (). More recognizable are words like algorithm, algebra, alchemy, alcohol, azimuth, nadir, and zenith (see List of English words of Arabic origin). The Maltese language spoken on the Mediterranean island of Malta is the only surviving European language to derive primarily from Arabic (a North African dialect), though it contains a large number of Italian and English borrowings.

Arabic and Islam

It is sometimes difficult to translate Islamic concepts, and concepts specific to Arab culture, without using the original Arabic terminology. The Qur'an is expressed in Arabic and traditionally Muslims deem it impossible to translate in a way that would adequately reflect its exact meaning—indeed, until recently, some schools of thought maintained that it should not be translated at all. A list of Islamic terms in Arabic covers those terms which are too specific to translate in one phrase. While Arabic is strongly associated with Islam (and is the language of salah), it is also spoken by Arab Christians, Oriental (Sephardic) Jews, and smaller sects such as Iraqi Mandaeans. Even so, a majority of the world's Muslims do not actually speak Arabic, but only know some fixed phrases of Arabic, such as those used in Islamic prayer. However, to counteract this, there is great encouragement for non-Arabic-speaking Muslims to learn the language.

Dialects

See Varieties of Arabic for a fuller overview. "Colloquial Arabic" is a collective term for the spoken languages or dialects of people throughout the Arab world, which, as mentioned, differ radically from the literary language. The main dialectal division is between the Maghreb dialects and those of the Middle East, followed by that between sedentary dialects and the much more conservative Bedouin dialects. Maltese, though descended from Arabic, is considered a separate language. Speakers of some of these dialects are unable to converse with speakers of another dialect of Arabic; in particular, while Middle Easterners can generally understand one another, they often have trouble understanding Maghrebis (although the converse is not true, due to the popularity of Middle Eastern—especially Egyptian—films and other media). One factor in the differentiation of the dialects is influence from the languages previously spoken in the areas, which have typically provided a significant number of new words, and have sometimes also influenced pronunciation or word order; however, a much more significant factor for most dialects is, as among Romance languages, retention (or change of meaning) of different classical forms. Thus Iraqi aku, Levantine fiih, and North African kayen all mean "there is", and all come from Arabic (yakuun, fiihi, kaa'in respectively), but now sound very different. The major groups are:
- Egyptian Arabic (Egypt) Considered the most widely understood and used "second dialect"
- Maghreb Arabic (Algerian Arabic, Moroccan Arabic, Tunisian Arabic and western Libyan)
- Levantine Arabic (Western Syrian, Lebanese, Palestinian, and western Jordanian, Cypriot Maronite Arabic)
- Iraqi Arabic or Gulf Arabic (Iraqi, Eastern Syrian, Kuwaiti, Saudi Arabian, Persian Gulf coast from Iraq to Oman including much of Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, and minorities on the other side) Other varieties include:
- (in Mauritania and Western Sahara)
- Andalusi Arabic (extinct, but important role in literary history)
- Maltese
- Sudanese Arabic (with a dialect continuum into Chad)
- Hijazi Arabic (West Cost of Saudi Arabia, Northern Saudi Arabia, eastern Jordan, Western Iraq)
- Najdi Arabic (Najd region of central Saudi Arabia)
- Yemeni Arabic (Yemen to southern Saudi Arabia)

Phonology

The consonant phonemes below reflect the pronunciation of Standard Arabic, which has only three vowels, in short and long variants, namely and . Naturally, considerable allophony occurs.

Consonants

Standard Arabic has 28 consonants: See Arabic alphabet for explanations on the IPA phonetic symbols found in this chart. # is pronounced as by some speakers. This is especially characteristic of the Egyptian and southern Yemeni dialects. In many parts of North Africa and in the Levant, it is pronounced as . # is pronounced only in , the name of God, i.e. Allah. # is usually a phonetic approximant. # In many varieties (if not most), are actually epiglottal (despite what is reported in many earlier works).

Emphatic Consonants

The consonants traditionally known as "emphatic" are either velarised or pharyngealised . In some transcription systems, emphasis is shown by capitalizing the letter e.g. is written ‹D›; in others the letter is underlined or has a dot below it e.g. ‹ḍ›.

Long Consonants

Vowels and consonants can be (phonologically) short or long. Long (geminate) consonants are normally written doubled in Latin transcription (i.e. bb, dd, etc.), reflecting the presence of the Arabic diacritic mark shaddah, which marks lengthened consonants. Such consonants are held twice as long as short consonants. This consonant lengthening is phonemically contrastive: e.g. qabala "he received" and qabbala "he kissed".

Syllable Shape

Arabic has two kinds of syllable: open syllables (CV) and (CVV) - and closed syllables (CVC), (CVVC) and (CVCC). Every syllable begins with a consonant - or else a consonant is borrowed from a previous word through elision – especially in the case of the definite article THE, al (used when starting an utterance) or _l (when following a word), e.g. baytu –l mudiir “house (of) the director”, which becomes bay-tul-mu-diir when divided syllabically. By itself, definite mudiir would be pronounced .

Word Stress

Although word stress is not phonemically contrastive in Standard Arabic, it does bear a strong relationship to vowel length and syllable shape, and correct word stress aids intelligibility. In general, "heavy" syllables attract stress (i.e. syllables of longer duration - a closed syllable or a syllable with a long vowel). In a word with a syllable with one long vowel, the long vowel attracts the stress (e.g. ki-'taab and ‘kaa-tib). In a word with two long vowels, the second long vowel attracts stress (e.g.ma-kaa-'tiib). In a word with a "heavy" syllable where two consonants occur together or the same consonant is doubled, the (last) heavy syllable attracts stress (e.g. ya-ma-’niyy, ka-'tabt, ka-‘tab-na, ma-‘jal-lah, ‘mad-ra-sah, yur-‘sil-na). This last rule trumps the first two: ja-zaa-i-‘riyy. Otherwise, word stress typically falls on the first syllable: ‘ya-man, ‘ka-ta-bat, etc. The Cairo (Egyptian Arabic) dialect, however, has some idiosyncrasies in that a heavy syllable may not carry stress more than two syllables from the end of a word, so that mad-‘ra-sah carries the stress on the second-to-last syllable, as does qaa-‘hi-rah.

Dialectical Phonologies

In some dialects, there may be more or fewer phonemes than those listed in the chart above. For example, non-Arabic is used in the Maghreb dialects as well in the written language mostly for foreign names. Semitic became extremely early on in Arabic before it was written down; a few modern Arabic dialects, such as Iraqi (influenced by Persian) distinguish between and . Interdental fricatives ( and ) are rendered as stops and in some dialects (principally Levantine and Egyptian) and as and in "learned" words from the Standard language. Early in the expansion of Arabic, the separate emphatic phonemes and coallesced into a single phoneme, becoming one or the other. Predictably, dialects without interdental fricatives use exclusively, while those with such fricatives use . Again, in "learned" words from the Standard language, is rendered as in dialects without interdental fricatives. Another key distinguishing mark of Arabic dialects is how they render Standard (a voiceless uvular stop): it retains its original pronunciation in widely scattered regions such as Yemen and Morocco (and among the Druze), while it is rendered in Gulf Arabic, Iraqi Arabic, Upper Egypt and less urban parts of the Levant (e.g. Jordan) and as a glottal stop in many prestige dialects, such as those spoken in Cairo, Beirut and Damascus. Thus, Arabs instantly give away their geographical (and class) origin by their pronunciation of a word such as qamar "moon": , or .

Grammar

See Arabic grammar

Alphabet

Arabic alphabet

Main article: Arabic alphabet The Arabic alphabet derives from the Aramaic script (which variety - Nabataean or Syriac - is a matter of scholarly dispute), to which it bears a loose resemblance like that of Coptic or Cyrillic script to Greek script. Traditionally, there were several differences between the Western (Maghrebi) and Eastern version of the alphabet—in particular, the fa and qaf had a dot underneath and a single dot above respectively in the Maghreb, and the order of the letters was slightly different (at least when they were used as numerals). However, the old Maghrebi variant has been abandoned except for calligraphic purposes in the Maghreb itself, and remains in use mainly in the Quranic schools (zaouias) of West Africa. Arabic, like other Semitic languages, is written from right to left.

Calligraphy

See Arabic calligraphy for a fuller overview. After the definitive fixing of the Arabic script around 786, by Khalil ibn Ahmad al Farahidi, many styles were developed, both for the writing down of the Qur'an and other books, and for inscriptions on monuments as decoration.
Kufic font
Arabic calligraphy has not fallen out of use as in the Western world, and is still considered by Arabs as a major art form; calligraphers are held in great esteem. Being cursive by nature, unlike the Latin alphabet, Arabic script is used to write down a verse of the Qur'an, a Hadith, or simply a proverb, in a spectacular composition. The composition is often abstract, but sometimes the writing is shaped into an actual form such as that of an animal. Two of the current masters of the genre are Hassan Massoudy and [http://arabworld.nitle.org/gallery.php?module_id=7 Khaled Al Saa’i].

Arabic using the Latin alphabet

See Arabic transliteration and Arabic Chat Alphabet for more information. There are a number of different standards of Arabic transliteration: methods of accurately and efficently representing Arabic with the Latin alphabet. The more scientific standards allow the reader to recreate the exact word using the Arabic alphabet. However, these systems are heavily reliant on diacritical marks, which may be difficult to pronounce at first sight. Other, less scientific, systems often use digraphs (like sh and kh), which are usually more simple to read, but sacrifice the definiteness of the scientific systems. During the last few decades and especially since the 1990s, Western-invented text communication technologies have become prevalent in the Arab world, such as personal computers, the World Wide Web, email, Bulletin board systems, IRC, instant messaging and mobile phone text messaging. Most of these technologies originally had the ability to communicate using the Latin alphabet only, and some of them still do not have the Arabic alphabet as an optional feature. As a result, Arabic speaking users communicated in these technologies by transliterating the Arabic text using the Latin script. To handle those Arabic letters that do not have an approximate equivalent in the Latin script, numerals and other characters were appropriated. E.g., the Latin numeral "3" is used to represent the Arabic letter "ع" ("ayn"). There is no universal name for this type of transliteration, but some have named it Arabic Chat Alphabet.

See also


- Learn Standard Arabic WikiBook
- Arabist
- Arabic alphabet
- Arabic calligraphy
- Semitic languages
- Arabic literature
- The Maltese language is closely related to Arabic
- altahmam -- One of the ten non-English words that were voted hardest to translate in June 2004 by a British translation company
- Common phrases in various languages
- Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic

External links


- [http://arabic-media.com/ Arabic-Media] on-line access to Arabic newspapers, radio, and television
- [http://st-takla.org/Learn_Languages/01_Learn_Arabic-ta3leem-3araby/Learn-Arabic_00-index_El-Fehres.html Learn Arabic language online with audio pronunciation] from [http://St-Takla.org St. Takla Egyptian Church]
- [http://www.nicoweb.com/sirpus/learn%20arabic%20course%20mp3.htm Arabic Writing and Reading with MP3]. Arabic Writing and Reading Course Online with MP3 audio.
- [http://pince31.free.fr/lang/arabic/liens.htm Links to learn Arabic language with online course]
- [http://www.madinaharabic.com Arabic language learning course with audio]
- [http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=4&article_id=6173 "Antonyms in Arabic are a strange phenomenon" by Tamim al-Barghouti]
- [http://arabworld.nitle.org/texts.php?module_id=1&reading_id=17 "The Development of Classical Arabic" by Kees Versteegh]
- [http://arabworld.nitle.org/audiovisual.php?module_id=1&selected_feed=118 Wellesley College Professor of Arabic on the forms and dialects of the language]
- [http://www.uga.edu/islam/arabic_windows.html Multilingual Computing in Arabic with Windows, major word processors, web browsers, Arabic keyboards, and Arabic transliteration fonts]
- [http://www.gomideast.com/arabic/index.htm gomideast - Learning to Speak Arabic phrases]
- [http://language-directory.50webs.com/languages/arabic.htm List of online Arabic-related resources] Web references and examples:
- [http://transliteration.org/quran/Pronunciation/Letters/TashP.htm Arabic language pronunciation applet] with audio samples
- [http://www.sunna.info/teaching/ Learn Arabic]
- [http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1289272 E2 article]
- [http://www.sprachprofi.de.vu/english/ar.htm Sprachprofi]
- [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Arabic-english/ Arabic - English Dictionary]: from [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org Webster's Online Dictionary] - the Rosetta Edition.
- [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=arb SIL's Ethnologue]
- [http://www.nitle.org/arabworld/texts.php?module_id=1&reading_id=113 Dialects of Arabic]
- [http://www.muftah-alhuruf.com Muftah-Alhuruf.com]: Write and send Arabic emails without having an Arabic keyboard or operating system. Arabic languages samples:
- [http://www.language-museum.com/a/arabic.php Arabic]
- [http://www.language-museum.com/a/arabic-chadian-spoken.php Arabic Chadian Spoken]
- [http://www.language-museum.com/a/arabic-judeo-iraqi.php Arabic Judeo Iraqi]
- [http://www.language-museum.com/a/arabic-north-levantine-spoken.php Arabic North Levantine Spoken]
- [http://arabworld.nitle.org/texts.php?module_id=1&reading_id=17 "The Development of Classical Arabic" by Kees Versteegh]
- Category:Arab ko:아랍어 ms:Bahasa Arab ja:アラビア語 simple:Arabic language th:ภาษาอาหรับ

Libya

The Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya or Libya (Arabic: ليبيا, transliterated Lībiyyā) is a country in North Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, located between Egypt on the east, Sudan on the southeast, Chad and Niger on the south and Algeria and Tunisia to the west. Its capital city is Tripoli. The three traditional sections of the country are Tripolitania, the Fezzan and Cyrenaica. The name "Libya" derives from the ancient Egyptian term "Lebu", referring to Berber peoples living west of the Nile, and adopted into Greek as "Libya". In ancient Greece, the term had a broader meaning, encompassing all of North Africa west of Egypt, and sometimes referring to the entire continent of Africa.

History

Main article: History of Libya History of Libya Tripoli and Cyrenaica were Roman colonies until they were conquered by Arab Muslims in the 7th century. By the 19th century the area was an increasingly independent Ottoman province until it came under the control of Italy in 1912. After the Second World War Libya was granted independence as a condition of the Allied peace treaty with Italy. Since 1969 Libya has been ruled by Colonel Muammar al-Qaddafi, who came to power in a coup and deposed the Libyan monarchy of King Idris and declared the establishment of the Libyan Arab Republic. Qaddafi moved quickly to nationalize foreign assets, expel foreign troops, and close foreign libraries and cultural centers. At the time, Libya was the fourth largest oil producer in the non-communist world, surpassed only by Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Venezuela. The Qaddafi government rapidly began to nationalize Libya's oil companies, taking complete control of some while forcing others to surrender majority control to the government. Eventually, Qaddafi expelled all Western oil men from the country with the result that Libyan production dropped dramatically. According to [http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/jun2005/nf20050628_0863_db039.htm?chan=gb this] BusinessWeek article, because of the nationalization of its oil companies and the U.S. led sanctions, notably in 1992 by the United Nations, in 2005 Libyan production was still down by more than 50% from its peak in 1970. Qaddafi rejected both Soviet Communism and Western capitalism and claimed that he was charting an independent course, portraying himself as a champion of "oppressed peoples" and Third World nations seeking to assert their independence on the international stage. Despite this, he received mostly Soviet support until the USSR's collapse in 1991. U.S.-Libyan relations deteriorated when in December 2 1979, Libyan mobs sacked the United States embassy in Tripoli. Qaddafi referred to the incident as a "spontaneous demonstration" and denied any involvement. It is suspected that he ordered the attack to show sympathy to Ayatollah Khomeini and the new government of Iran. In May 1980, the United States withdrew all U.S. diplomats but did not break off diplomatic ties with Libya. In 1980, the Libyan government paid Jimmy Carter's brother, Billy Carter, $220,000 to lobby for better diplomatic relations between the United States and Libya. On May 6, 1981, four and a half months after Ronald Reagan became president of the United States, the United States government accused the Libyan government of sponsoring international terrorism. All Libyan diplomats were expelled and the United States officially broke diplomatic relations between the two nations. That same day, the US closed the Libyan "People's Bureau" (embassy) in Washington, D.C. On August 2, 1981, American jets shot down two attacking Libyan warplanes during US naval exercises in the Gulf of Sidra, which Libya claims as national waters. The Reagan administration saw Libya as an unacceptable player on the international stage because of its backing of Palestinian armed groups, its support for revolutionary Iran in its 1980-1988 war against Saddam Hussein's Iraq (see Iran-Iraq War), and its assistance to guerrilla movements in different parts of the world, many which were conducted by separatist groups such as the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). In March 1982 the U.S. declared a ban on the import of Libyan petroleum and the export to Libya of U.S. industrial technology items, most of which were used for oil; Europe did not follow suit. Relations between the UK and Libya became strained following the 1984 Libyan Embassy Siege, when shots were fired at a crowd of protesters, killing a policewoman, leading to a break in relations. The U.S. attacked Libyan patrol boats from January to March 1986 during clashes over access to the Gulf of Sidra, which Libya claimed as territorial waters but was not recognized internationally. Qaddafi had long referred to it as the "line of death". Later, on April 14, 1986, Reagan ordered major bombing raids against suspected terrorist sites in Tripoli and Benghazi that killed approximately 60 people. The bombings followed U.S. accusations of Libyan involvement in an explosion at the West Berlin La Belle nightclub frequented by U.S. servicemen on April 5, which had killed 3. Among the victims of the April 14 bombing raid was the adopted daughter of Qaddafi. However the raid appeared to have had its desired effect as Libyan attacks against Americans became more subtle, with the exception of the Lockerbie bombing. The United Nations imposed sanctions against Libya in 1992 following the Pan Am Flight 103 Lockerbie bombing. Elaborate diplomatic maneuvers in 1998 and 1999 led finally in April to Qaddafi's handing over two Libyans for trial of the Lockerbie bombing. In January 2001 the Pan Am 103 trial ended with one conviction (with life imprisonment) and one acquittal. Qaddafi denounced the conviction. The sanctions were lifted on September 12, 2003, after Libya agreed to accept responsibility and make payment of US $2.7 billion to the families of those who died in the bombing. In the same vein, on February 26, 2004, the United States lifted its 23-year travel ban to Libya, and on September 21 that year eliminated the remaining economic sanctions, lifting the prohibitions of the Libyan Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 550, and unblocking property and property interests previously restricted under those regulations.

Politics

2004 Main article: Politics of Libya The Libyan system of government is quite unusual. Qaddafi claims that Libya is a "pure socialist state", and as such the formal institutions of government are purposely quite vague. Qaddafi himself is not even technically the "President" or "Prime Minister" of the country, and instead describes himself as a sort of "guide" or a "leader" to help the Libyan people in socialism. To most people around the world, he is simply referred to as "Colonel Qaddafi". Qaddafi assumes full dictatorial powers under a political system that gives equal weight to Islamic law, and Qaddafi's own Green Book of political philosophy. Popular participation in elections is mandatory, although no government organization outside Qaddafi and his circle of advisers exerts any real authority. The government is called a "jamahiriya", a modification of the Arabic word "jumhuriya" (republic) that translates loosely as "people's state." In practice, however, Libya is essentially a military dictatorship, with Qaddafi ruling by decree, assisted by a small clique of military and political officials. Libya has been accused of widespread human rights abuses and state sponsored terrorism. Libya has given strong political and financial aid to various radical Palestinian groups and other enemies of Israel, sponsoring terrorist activities throughout Europe and the Middle East in support of the Palestinian cause. Numerous anti-Qaddafi Libyan exiles were assassinated in Europe. Libya also engaged in sporadic military campaigns against Egypt and the Sudan. On 19 December 2003, Libya admitted having had weapons of mass destruction (WMD) program and simultaneously announced its intention to end it and dismantle all existing WMDs, to be verified by unconditional inspections. Libya also agreed to limit its long range missiles to 300 km. Some of the WMD included mustard gas, which was hidden in a turkey farm. The announcement came after clandestine diplomatic negotiations with the United Kingdom and United States since March 2003. About that same time, Libya was also caught secretly passing nuclear technology, originally from North Korea, to other countries. Furthermore, Pakistan and China were mentioned as contributors to the programs. Egypt previously had obtained technology directly from Pyongyang, officials said, but the U.S. blocked a shipment of missiles in 2001. Nevertheless, as the House subcommittee on terrorism learned a year later, Egypt had received 24 No-Dong missile engines from North Korea. "We are still trying to understand the network, to see if other countries have received the [weapons-related] technology, the weapons designs," IAEA director-general Mohamed El Baradei, who did not cite Egypt, said during a visit to Libya February 23, 2004. "This is of course an important and urgent concern for us." On March 7, 2004, the White House confirmed that the last of Libya's nuclear weapons-related equipment had been sent to the United States.

See also


- Foreign relations of Libya

Municipalities

Geography

Foreign relations of Libya Foreign relations of Libya Foreign relations of Libya Foreign relations of Libya Foreign relations of Libya Foreign relations of Libya Foreign relations of Libya Main article: Geography of Libya Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia Climate: Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, gypsum Geographic regions: Cyrenaica, Tripolitania, and Fezzan. Natural hazards: hot, dry, dust-laden sirocco (known in Libya as the ghibli) is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms. Oases: Ghadames, Kufra, many others. The Great Manmade River project is a large engineering project Libya has undertaken to supply "fossil" water from the Sahara desert, laid down millions of years ago, to the population centers in the north. http://www.gecol.ly/

Economy

Main article: Economy of Libya Libya's economy under the current Prime Minister (Ghanem) is undergoing an incredible business boom. Many socialist-era government-run industries are being privatized. UN sanctions have been mostly lifted (2004) and US sanctions are too. For example, Continental Airlines now offers code-share travel to Libya.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Libya Libya has a small population within its large territory, with population density of about 50 persons per km² (80/sq. mi.) in the two northern regions of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, and less than one person per km² (1.6/sq. mi.) elsewhere. Ninety percent of the people live in less than 10% of the area, primarily along the coast. More than half the population is urban, mostly concentrated in the two largest cities, Tripoli and Benghazi. 50% of the population is estimated to be under age 15. Native Libyans are primarily a mixture of Berbers and Arabs. Small Tuareg and Tebu tribal groups in southern Libya are nomadic or seminomadic. Among foreign residents, the largest groups are citizens of other African nations, including North Africans (primarily Egyptians and Tunisians), West Africans and Sub-Saharan Africans.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Libya
- Islam in Libya
- Music of Libya

Miscellaneous topics


- Communications in Libya
- Libya's wars against other Arab states are discussed in the entry Middle East conflict
- Military of Libya
- Transportation in Libya
- Trial against the Bulgarian medics and a Palestinian doctor in Libya

External links

Government


- [http://www.libya-canada.org/index-eng.html People's Bureau of the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in Ottawa, Canada] government information and links

News


- [http://www.afrol.com/countries/libya afrol News - Libya] independent news agency
- [http://allafrica.com/libya/ AllAfrica.com - Libya] news headline links
- [http://www.libya1.com/ Libya: News & Views] news headline links
- [http://en.ljbc.net/ Libyan Jamahiriya Broadcasting Corporation (LJBC)]
- [http://story.news.yahoo.com/fc/World/Libya Yahoo! News Full Coverage - Libya] news
- [http://www.libyen-news.de Libyen-News] news and history (in German)

Overviews


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/middle_east/country_profiles/819291.stm BBC News Country Profile - Libya]
- [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ly.html CIA World Factbook - Libya]
- [http://www.state.gov/p/nea/ci/c2415.htm US State Department - Libya] includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports

Directories


- [http://www.al-bab.com/arab/countries/libya.htm al-Bab - Libya] directory category
- [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/mideast/cuvlm/Libya.html Columbia University Libraries - Libya] directory category of the WWW-VL
- [http://dmoz.org/Regional/Africa/Libya/ Open Directory Project - Libya] directory category
- [http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Libya/ Yahoo! - Libya] directory category

Tourism


-

Other


- [http://www.photos-libye.com/ Photos of Libya] Category:African Union member states Category:Peace and Security Council Category:Middle Eastern countries zh-min-nan:Libya ko:리비아 ms:Libya ja:リビア th:ประเทศลิเบีย

Jamahiriya

Jamahiriya (Arabic جماهيرية) is an Arabic term generally translated as "state of the masses." The term, coined by Muammar al-Qaddafi, is intended to be a generic term describing a type of state, like "republic" or "kingdom." In practice, the only state to which the term has ever been applied is Libya, of which Qaddafi is the de facto ruler. It is often left untranslated in English, with Libya's long-form name thus rendered as Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. The word was derived from jumhuriya, which is the usual Arabic translation of the English republic. It was coined by changing the component jumhur — "public" — to its plural form, jamahir — "the masses". The Libyan government states that Libya is a direct democracy without political parties, governed by its populace through local councils. Because this system is ostensibly unique to Libya, the term jamahiriya was coined to describe it. Nevertheless, most observers consider the country a military dictatorship under the rule of Col. Qaddafi.

External links


- [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ly.html CIA World Factbook entry for Libya] Category:Libya Category:Arabic words

Nomad

:For other senses of this word, see nomad (disambiguation). nomad (disambiguation)] nomad (disambiguation) Communities of nomadic people move from place to place, rather than settling down in one location. Many cultures have been traditionally nomadic, but nomadic behaviour is increasingly rare in industrialised countries. Typically there are two kinds of nomads, pastoral nomads and peripatetic nomads. Pastoralists raise herds and move with them so as not to deplete pasture beyond recovery in any one area. Peripatetic nomads are more common in industrialised nations travelling from place to place offering a trade wherever they go. Nomadism is suggested to have originated throughout three stages that accompany population growth and an increase in the density of social organization. Sadr has suggested the following stages:
- Pastoralism This is a mixed economy with a symbiosis within the family.
- Agropastoralism This is when symbiosis is between segments or clans within an ethnic group.
- True Nomadism This is when sybiosis is at the regional level, mostly it starts between specialized nomadic and agricultural populations.

Nomadic people in industrialized nations


- Roma and Sinti
  - Kalderash
  - Gitano (AKA Cale)
  - Manush (AKA Sinti)
  - Romnichal
- Irish Travellers
- Some sami communities

Modern nomads in industrialized nations


- Freetekno soundsystems
- RV Lifestyle
- Technomads

Indigenous nomadic peoples


- Pygmies
- Ababdeh
- Bakhtiari of Iran
- Bedouins
- Innu
- Kuchis (Kochai)
- Tuaregs
- Somalis (certain clans)
- Nenetses
- Moken

Historic nomadic peoples


- Eurasian Avars
- Hephthalites
- Khazars
- Magyars
- Moors
- Mongols
- Wu Hu
- Some Sami communities Also note that many Native Americans and Indigenous Australians were nomadic prior to Western contact.

See also


- Eurasian nomad
- Equestrian nomad

Further reading


- Sadr, Karim. The Development of Nomadism in Ancient Northeast Africa, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1991. ISBN 0812230663 Category:Anthropology

Bedouin

] Bedouin, derived from the Arabic badawi بدوي, a generic name for a desert-dweller, is a term generally applied to Arab nomadic groups, who are found throughout most of the desert belt extending from the Atlantic coast of the Sahara via the Western Desert, Sinai, and Negev to the eastern coast of the Arabian desert. It is occasionally used to refer to non-Arab groups as well, notably the Beja of the African coast of the Red Sea.

Changing ways of life

Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, many Bedouin started to leave the traditional, nomadic life to work and live in the cities of the Middle East, especially as grazing ranges have shrunk and population levels have grown. In Syria, for example, the Bedouin way of life effectively ended during a severe drought from 1958 to 1961, which forced many Bedouin to give up herding for standard jobs. Similarly, government policies in Egypt, oil production in Libya and the Gulf, and a desire for improved standards of living have had the effect that most Bedouin are now settled citizens of various nations, rather than nomadic herders and farmers.

Traditional Bedouin culture

The Bedouins were traditionally divided into related tribes, each led by a Sheikh. Traditionally they would herd camels, sheep, and goats, while riding on highly prized horses, moving according to the seasons for grazing lands. For centuries and into the early 20th century the Bedouin were known for their fierce resistance to outside government and influence.

Bedouin tribes and populations

There are a number of Bedouin tribes, but the total population is often difficult to determine, especially as many Bedouin have ceased to lead nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyles (see above) and joined the general population. Some of the tribes and their historical population:
- Rwala live in Saudi Arabia, but extend through Jordan into Syria and Iraq, in the 1970s, according to Lancaster, there were 250,000-500,000 Rwala
- Awlad Ali live in Egypt and Cyrenica, in 1971 Mohsen estimated that there were 100,000 or so members of the tribe in the desert.
- Bdul Bedouin live around Petra in Jordan.
- Ammarin North of Petra
- Howeitat in Wadi Araba, Jordan
- Beni Sakhr in Syria and Jordan
- Al Murrah in Saudi Arabia
- Sardiyyah in Jordan
- Beni Khalid in Jordan, Israel, Palestinian Territories, and Syria
- Anayzah
- Shammar
- Baggara of Sudan and Chad
- Qadhdhafa in central Libya
- Chaamba of Algeria
- Beni Hassan of Mauritania. See also: Bedouin music

Sources and references


- Cole, Donald P. "Where have the Bedouin gone?". Anthropological Quarterly. Washington: Spring 2003.Vol.76, Iss. 2; pg. 235
- Dawn Chatty "From Camel to Truck. The Bedouin in the Modern World." New York: Vantage Press. 1986
- William Lancaster "The Rwala Bedouin Today" 1981
- Mohsen, Safia K. The quest for order among Awlad Ali of the Western Desert of Egypt.
- Thesiger, Wilfred (1959). Arabian Sands. ISBN 0140095144 (Penguin paperback). British adventurer lives as and with the Bedu of the Empty Quarter for 5 years.

External links


- [http://www.geographia.com/egypt/sinai/bedouin.htm The Bedouin: Culture In Transition]
- [http://www.nyazi.com.jo/Bedouin/bedouin.htm Bedouin Culture & Folklore]
- [http://www.bgu.ac.il/bedouin/ Center for Bedouin Studies and Development of Ben-Gurion University]
- [http://medic.bgu.ac.il/bedouin/ The Negev Bedouin, A Photographic Exhibit]
- [http://www.labeduinatours.com/BedouinTraditoins.htm Bedouin Traditions]
- [http://www.angelfire.com/az/rescon/mgcbedu.html The Beduin of Arabia]
- [http://www.hernan.ameijeiras.com/bedouins-beduinos.html Bedouin's photographys] Category:Arab Category:Arabic words Category:Nomads

Sirte

This article is about the municipality of Libya. For the figure in Icelandic legend, see Surtur. Surtur Surt (or Sirte) is one of the municipalities of Libya, which lies in the north of the country and borders the Gulf of Sidra. Its capital is the city of Surt. Category:Municipalities of Libya

1956

1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.

Events

January-April


- January 1 - End of Anglo-Egyptian Codominium in Sudan.
- January 16 - President Gamal Abdal Nasser of Egypt vows to reconquer Palestine.
- January 26 - 1956 Winter Olympic Games open in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.
- January 26 - The United Kingdom bans heroin.
- January 25-January 26 - Finnish troops reoccupy Porkkala after Soviet troops vacate its military base. Civilians can return February 4.
- February 6 - Paul Harvey arrested for trying to break into Argonne National Laboratory.
- February 15 - Urho Kekkonen is elected President of Finland.
- February 22 - Elvis Presley enters the music charts for the first time, with "Heartbreak Hotel."
- February 23 - Nikita Khrushchev attacks the veneration of Joseph Stalin as a "cult of personality."
- March 1 - the International Air Transport Association finalises a draft of the Radiotelephony spelling alphabet for the International Civil Aviation Organization.
- March 2 - Morocco declares its independence from France.
- March 9 - British deport Archbishop Makarios from Cyprusto Seychelles.
- March 12 - United Kingdom abolishes death penalty for murder
- March 15 - The Broadway musical My Fair Lady opens in New York City.
- March 20 - Tunisia gains independence from France.
- March 23 - Pakistan becomes the first Islamic republic.
- April 7 - Spain relinquishes its protectorate in Morocco.
- April 9 - Habib Bouirgiba is elected prime minister of Tunisia.
- April 19 - British diver Lionel Crabb dives into the Portsmouth harbor to investigate visiting Soviet cruiser and vanishes.
- April 19 - Actress Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier III of Monaco.

May-June


- early May - The Methodist Church in America decides at its General Conference to grant women full ordained clergy status.
- May 8 - Austria and Israel form diplomatic relations.
- May 8 - Constitutional union between Indonesia and Netherlands is dissolved.
- May 9 - First ascent of Manaslu, eighth highest mountain in the world.
- May 18 - First ascent of Lhotse (main), fourth highest mountain.
- May 21 - Nuclear testing: In the Pacific Ocean, Bikini Atoll is nearly obliterated by the first airborne explosion of a hydrogen bomb.
- May 23 - French minister Pierre Mendes-France resigns due to government's policy on Algeria.
- June 1 - Vyacheslav Molotov resigns as a foreign minister of Soviet Union; he later becomes ambassador in Mongolia.
- June 6 - In Singapore, chief minister David Marshall resigns after breakdown of talks about internal self government in London.
- June 10 - 1956 Summer Olympics: Equestrian events open in Stockholm, Sweden.
- June 14 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorizes the phrase "under God" should be added to the Pledge of Allegiance
- June 18 - Last foreign troops leave Egypt.
- June 23 - Gamal Abdel Nasser becomes the second president of Egypt.
- June 28 - MP Sydney Silverman's bill for abolition of death penalty passes the British House of Commons.
- June 28 - Labour riots at Poznan, Poland, are crushed with heavy loss of life. Soviet troops fire at crowd that protests high prices - 53 dead.
- June 29 - Actress Marilyn Monroe marries the playwright Arthur Miller.
- June 30 - A TWA Lockheed Constellation and United Airlines Douglas DC-7 collide in mid-air over the Grand Canyon in Arizona and crash. All 128 people aboard the two aircraft are killed in the disaster. The accident prompts tighter air traffic control to be implemented in the United States.

July-August


- July 2 - Two passengers planes collide and fall into Grand Canyon - 127 dead
- July 8 - First ascent of Gasherbrum II.
- July 10 - British House of Lords defeats the abolition of death penalty.
- July 24 - At New York City's Copacabana Club, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis perform their last comedy show together which started on July 25, 1946.
- July 25 - 45 miles south of Nantucket Island, the Italian ocean liner SS Andrea Doria sinks after colliding with the Swedish ship SS Stockholm in heavy fog, killing 51.
- July 26 - Egyptian leader Gamal Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal sparking international condemnation.
- July 30 - A Joint Resolution of the U.S. Congress is signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, authorizing "In God We Trust" as the U.S. national motto.
- July 31 - Jim Laker sets extraordinary record at Old Trafford in the fourth Test of taking nineteen wickets in a first class match (the previous best was seventeen).
- August 8 - Fire and explosion kills 263 miners at Marcinelle, Belgium.
- August 17 - West Germany bans communist party

September-October


- September 25 - Submarine telephone cable across the Atlantic opened
- October 10 - Finland joins UNESCO
- October 14 - Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Indian Untouchable leader, converts to Buddhism along with 385,000 followers. See Neo-Buddhism.
- October 15 - RAF retires its last Lancaster bomber
- October 15 - Fidel Castro and Che Guevara depart from Tuxpan, Mexico enroute to Santiago de Cuba aboard ship Granma with 82 men. After the ship passes a storm, it lands on Belici, Cuba, December 2
- October 23 - Hungarian revolution against the pro-Soviet government. Soviet Union intervenes. Hungary attempts to leave the Warsaw Pact.
- October 26 - Warsaw Pact troops invade Hungary.
- October 29 - Suez Crisis begins: Israel invades the Sinai Peninsula and push Egyptian forces back toward the Suez Canal.
- October 29 - Tangier Protocol signed: The international city Tangier is reintegrated into Morocco.
- October 31 - Suez Crisis: The United Kingdom and France begin bombing Egypt to force the reopening of the Suez Canal.

November-December


- November 4 - 1956 Hungarian Revolution: Soviet troops invade Hungary to crush a revolt that started on October 23. Thousands are killed, more are wounded and nearly a quarter million leave the country.
- November 6 - U.S. presidential election, 1956: Republican incumbent Dwight D. Eisenhower is reelected by defeating Democrat challenger Adlai E. Stevenson in a rematch of their contest four years earlier.
- November 6 - Enoch A. Holtwick defeated as presidential candidate of Prohibition Party.
- November 7 - Suez Crisis: The United Nations General Assembly adopts a resolution calling for the United Kingdom, France and Israel to withdraw their troops from Egypt immediately.
- November 14 - Fighting ends in Hungary.
- November 16 - Suez canal blocked.
- November 20 - In Yugoslavia, former prime minister Milovan Sjilas is arrested after he critisized Josip Broz Tito
- November 22 - Beginning of the Summer Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia.
- November 23 - Suez Crisis causes petrol rationing in Britain.
- December 2 - Fidel Castro and his followers land on Cuba in the boat Granma.
- December 2 - A pipe bomb explodes at a movie theater in Brooklyn (work of George Metesky), injuring six people.
- December 5 - Rose Heilbron becomes Britain's first female judge
- December 12 - Japan becomes member of the United Nations.
- December 23 - British and French troops leave Suez Canal region

Unknown date


- Eindhoven University of Technology founded in Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- First hard disk (5MB) invented by IBM.
- Minamata disease discovered

Births

January-February


- January 3 - Mel Gibson, Australian actor and director
- January 4 - Bernard Sumner, British guitarist (Joy Division and New Order)
- January 5 - Chen Kenichi, Japanese chef
- January 7 - David Caruso, American actor
- January 10 - Shawn Colvin, American singer
- January 14 - Ben Heppner, Canadian tenor
- January 16 - Martin Jol, Dutch football manager
- January 17 - Paul Young, English musician
- January 20 - Bill Maher, American actor, comedian, and political analyst
- January 21 - Geena Davis, American actress
- January 27 - Mimi Rogers, American actress
- January 31 - Johnny Rotten, British singer (Sex Pistols)
- February 3 - Nathan Lane, American actor
- February 11 - Didier Lockwood, French jazz violinist
- February 13 - Peter Hook, British bassist (Joy Division and New Order)
- February 14 - Tom Burlinson, Australian actor
- February 14 - Ron Shore, American film and television composer and producer
- February 15 - Desmond Haynes, West Indian cricketer
- February 18 - Thomas Gradin, Swedish hockey player
- February 19 - Roderick MacKinnon, American biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- February 24 - Paula Zahn, American television journalist
- February 26 - Keisuke Kuwata, Japanese musician
- February 29 - Randy Jackson, American musician
- February 29 - Bob Speller, Canadian politician
- February 29 - Aileen Carol Wuornos, American serial killer (d. 2002)

March-April


- March 11 - Rob Paulsen, American voice actor
- March 21 - Ingrid Kristiansen, Norwegian runner
- April 3 - Ray Combs, American game show host and comedian
- April 4 - Kerry Chikarovski, Australian politician
- April 4 - David E. Kelley, American writer and television producer
- April 6 - Dilip Vengsarkar, Indian cricketer
- April 12 - Andy Garcia, American actor
- April 13 - Peter 'Possum' Bourne, Australian race car driver (d. 2003)
- April 13 - Alison Wheeler, British political activist
- April 14 - Barbara Bonney, American soprano
- April 16 - David M. Brown, United States Naval Captain, NASA astronaut (d. 2003)
- April 16 - Lise-Marie Morerod, Swiss skier
- April 19 - Sue Barker, British tennis player and television presenter
- April 23 - Judy Davis, Australian actress
- April 26 - Koo Stark, British actress
- April 28 - Jimmy Barnes, Australian musician
- April 30 - Jorge Chaminé, Portuguese baritone
- April 30 - Lars von Trier, Danish film director

May-June


- May 4 - David Guterson, American writer
- May 4 - Ulrike Meyfarth, German high jumper
- May 7 - Jan Peter Balkenende, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
- May 13 - Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Indian guru
- May 13 - Steve Blackwood, American actor and musician
- May 15 - Dan Patrick, American sportscaster
- May 16 - Olga Korbut, Russian gymnast
- May 17 - Sugar Ray Leonard, American boxer
- May 17 - Bob Saget, American actor
- May 19 - James Gosling, Canadian software engineer
- May 20 - Ingvar Ambjørnsen, Norwegian author
- May 21 -