Nathan Gonzalez
H
Hadith: Oral traditions of the Prophet Muhammad; a source of in Islam second only to the Qur'an.
Haeri, Kazem: Iranian-based Iraqi grand ayatollah. Kazem is a spiritual mentor of Iraqi militia leader Muqtada al-Sadr.
Hajj: Annual pilgrimage to Mecca, considered one of the Five Pillars of Islam. Every able-bodied Muslim who can afford the trip is expected to make pilgrimage at least once in a lifetime.
Hakim, Abdul Aziz (1950-2009): Iraqi Shia cleric, political leader and prominent member of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council). Son of Muhsim al-Hakim and brother of Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim.
Hakim, Muhammad Baqir (1939-2003): Iraqi Shia cleric, political leader and prominent member of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council). He was killed in a bomb attack against a Shia mosque, which the U.S. government has attributed to al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia. Son of Muhsin al-Hakim and older brother of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim.
Hakim, Muhsin (1889-1970): Prominent Iraqi grand ayatollah, whose blessing led to the foundation of the Shia opposition Dawa Party in Iraq (1958). His son Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim came to lead the Iranian-funded opposition group Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI).
Hamas: Islamist Palestinian organization, currently in control over the Gaza Strip. A hardline, anti-Israeli organization, Hamas began using the tactic of suicide terrorism to attack Israelis following the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), a Hamas rival.
Hanafi: One of the four recognized schools of Sunni Islam, named after Abu Hanifa (699-765). Considered one of the most permissive, the Hanafi school is also the oldest of the surviving four schools.
ibn Hanbal, Ahmad (780-855): Traditionalist Muslim jurist, after whom the conservative Hanbali school of Sunni Islam is named. He was a target of the Rationalist inquisition (mihna) prosecuted by Abbasid Caliph al-Ma'mun.
Hanbali: One of the four recognized schools of Sunni Islam, named after Ibn Hanbal. The newest of the four schools, it is considered the most conservative, acting as a source of inspiration for many fundamentalist thinkers today.
Hariri, Rafik (1944-2005): Late Sunni prime minister of Lebanon, victim of a car bomb attributed to the Syrian regime.
Hariri, Saad (b. 1970): Saudi-born son of Sunni Lebanese leader Rafik Hariri and heir to his father's pro-Western, secular political legacy, embodied in Lebanon's anti-Syrian "March 14" coalition.
Hashemite: A term referring to the Banu Hashim tribe, the family line of the Prophet Muhammad. The king of Jordan, as well as the former king of Iraq are of Hashemite lineage.
Hezbollah (generic): lit. "Party of God," Hezbollah is a generic term for pro-government hardliners in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The organization Ansar-e Hezbollah ("Helpers of Hezbollah") is a militia-like group affiliated with the Islamic regime in Iran.
Hezbollah (Lebanon): lit. "Party of God," the Lebanese Hezbollah was founded by Iran in 1982 as a way to assert Shia, and by extension Iranian, influence during the Lebanese Civil War. It is currently the strongest, single political/military faction in Lebanon.
Hijaz: Region of western Arabia, home to the two of the three holiest cities in Islam: Mecca and Medina.
Hilla: City in southcentral Iraq.
hujjatu al-Islam (rank): mid-level rank in Shia Islam.
Husayn ibn Ali (626-680): Third Shia Imam; son of Ali ibn Abi Talib and brother of Hasan ibn Ali. His death during the Battle of Karbala (680) is remembered by Shias in the ritual mourning of Ashoura.
I
Ibn Taymiyya (1263-1328): Muslim scholar of the Mamluk Empire, alive during the Crusades and Mongol presence in the Middle East. He advocated the use of offensive jihad against occupiers, and as such has been the source of inspiration for contemporary radical Muslims.
ijtihad: Source of Islamic law that utilizes the independent reasoning of a highly qualified individual.
Il-Khan ("Subservient to the Khan"): The title granted to the ruler of Mongol-ruled Iran during the Il-Khanate Empire (1256-1335).
Imam (lit. "leader"): In Shia Islam, an Imam is an infallible leader of the community of the faithful. Different sects of Shiism recognize different Imams, but all are descendants of Ali and his wife Fatima, who was the Prophet Muhammad's daughter. Some early, quasi-Shia sects, such as the Abbasids, did not revere the Imams from the House of Ali, but instead looked to the House of Abbas, the Prophet's uncle.
Iraq (region): A Semitic term, 'iraq refers to a river shore, and it is one traditional name given to the Tigris-Euphrates River Valley.
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC): A praetorian, all-volunteer armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran that serves parallel to the conventional, conscripted military branches. Among its command responsibilities as the Basij and the Qods Force.
Ismaili: A branch of Shiism that believes in the line of Imams descendant from Ismail, son of Jafar al-Sadiq.