SULTAN

SULTAN. The Arabic word sultan is used to denote power, might, and authority, or the possessor of such power, a ruler. In the Qur’an it […]

SUICIDE

SUICIDE. Qatl al-nafs, literally “self-murder,” is the term used to denote suicide in classical Islamic texts. Intihar, originally meaning “cutting of the throat,” is the […]

SUFISM AND POLITICS

SUFISM AND POLITICS. Traditional Sufism is an interiorization of Sunni quietism, articulating the pre-Islamic Pahlavi vision of monarchic government by religious principles, as echoed by […]

Sufi Shrine Culture

In many Muslim countries special shrines have been constructed honoring famous Sufi leaders or “saints” vho, it is believed, could work miracles during their ives […]

Sufi Orders

Sufi orders represent one of the most important forms of personal piety and social organization in the Islamic world. In most areas, an order is […]

SUFISM

SUFISM. [This entry comprises three articles: Sufi Thought and Practice Sufi Orders Sufi Shrine Culture The first provides an overview of the traditional themes, practices, […]

SUDAN

SUDAN. Islam entered the region of the Sudan, as it is known today, decisively in the sixteenth century CE. Today approximately 70 percent of Sudan’s […]

SUAVI, ALI

SUAVI, ALI (1839-1878), a popular reformist figure of the nineteenth-century Ottoman Empire. Suavi exemplifies the ideas of conservative Ottomans who were drawn into a struggle […]

STEREOTYPES IN MASS MEDIA

STEREOTYPES IN MASS MEDIA. Numerous Americans come to know approximately 250 million Arabs and more than one billion Muslims from mainstream mass media, in particular, […]

SOUTH AFRICA

SOUTH AFRICA. The 1993 South African apartheid census figures divided the population into four categories: Africans, 32 million; Coloureds, 5 million; Indians, I million; and […]