Area Handbook for the Peripheral States of the Arabian Peninsula: Prepared for the American UniversityU.S. Government Printing Office, 1971 - 201 pages |
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Abu Dhabi agricultural Ahmad al-Shaabi Amir Arab Arabian Peninsula army Bahrain Britain British Buraimi century coastal Council currency desert Dhufar Dubai Eastern economic Egypt Egyptian established export Federation force foreign Hadhramaut Hajar Historical Background Hodeida Ibadi important independence industry interior internal Iraq Islam island Kuwait City leaders major Matrah ment Middle East miles military modern Muhammad Muscat and Oman Muslim National Liberation Front nationalist Nizwa nomadic officers Oil Company Omanis Ottoman percent Peripheral Persian Gulf political population port production Protectorate Qatar Ras al-Khaimah region religious Republic Republican Rub al-Khali rulers Sallal Saudi Arabia Sayids schools Shafi sharia Sharjah shaykhdoms shaykhs Shiites social South Arabia Southern Yemen Soviet Sultan of Muscat territory tion towns trade traditional Treaty tribal tribesmen Trucial Coast Umm al-Qaiwain United Nations Wadi Wahhabi Western Yahya Zeidi imams Zeidi tribes
Popular passages
Page iii - Studies (FAS) of The American University, designed to be useful to military and other personnel who need a convenient compilation of basic facts about the social, economic, political, and military institutions and practices of various countries. The emphasis is on objective description of the nation's present society and the kinds of possible or probable changes that might be expected in the future. The handbook seeks to present as full and as balanced an integrated exposition as limitations on space...
Page iii - The emphasis is on objective description of the nation's present society and the kinds of possible or probable changes that might be expected in the future. The handbook seeks to present as full and as balanced an integrated exposition as limitations on space and research time permit. It was compiled from information available in openly published material. Extensive bibliographies are provided to permit recourse to other published sources for more detailed information. There has been no attempt to...
Page 173 - bound himself, his heirs and successors, never to cede, to sell, to mortgage or otherwise give for occupation, save to the British Government...
Page iii - It was compiled from information available in openly published material. Extensive bibliographies are provided to permit recourse to other published sources for more detailed information. There has been no attempt to express any specific point of view or to make policy recommendations. The contents of the handbook represent the work of the authors and FAS and do not represent the official view of the United States Government. An effort has been made to make the handbook as comprehensive as possible....
Page 96 - Located at the northwestern corner of the Persian Gulf, Kuwait is bounded on the east by the Gulf, on the north and west by Iraq, and on the southwest by Saudi Arabia. To the south...
Page 12 - ... the Kaaba but neglecting some of the other ritual which takes place during the twelfth month, is acceptable if the greater pilgrimage is not possible. Historically, jihad — permanent struggle to make the Word of God supreme among men — was an important further obligation upon Moslems. Mohammed urged the feuding Arab tribes of his day to compose their differences and devote their energies to converting the world. After the dramatic conquests and conversions of the first century of Islam, jihad...
Page 11 - ... were permitted to worship in the Kaaba, where according to local legend, people had worshiped since the time of Abraham and Ishmael. Mecca became the religious center of Islam; the Kaaba became Islam's holiest shrine; and the flight (hegira) to Medina marked the beginning of the Islamic calendar. The universality of Islam joined the isolated tribes of the peninsula through a spiritual bond and a common interest. By the time of Mohammed's death in AD 632, most of the peninsula had been won to...
Page 13 - ... reinterpretation and consensus emphasized by the scholars permitted mutual adaptation between Islamic and local codes. Four major schools of jurisprudence, named for their founders and known as Hanifite, Malekite, Shafiite, and Hanbalite, grew up in the second and third Islamic centuries (ninth and tenth centuries AD). These had significantly widespread influences and have persisted to modern times. The differences among them were not fundamental, but stemmed from the degree of emphasis laid...
Page 66 - The ships went greatly out of their course, having sighted the island of Socotra at the entrance to the Gulf of Aden, and did not arrive at Goa until October 24, 202 days from Lisbon without calling anywhere. The first of the long English voyages beyond the Line was Sir Francis Drake's famous circumnavigation from November 15, 1577, to September 26, 1580'.
Page 96 - Failaka at the mouth of Kuwait Bay is inhabited. This island is believed to have been a center of civilization in antiquity and is the site of an ancient Greek temple built by the forces of Alexander the Great. The...