Qutb Vku-tub\, Sayyid in full Ibrahim Husayn ShadhilT Sayyid Qutb (b. Oct. 9, 1906, near Asyut, Egypt—d. Aug. 29, 1966, Cairo) Egyptian writer who was one of the foremost figures in modern Sunnite Islamic revivalism. He was from a family of impoverished rural notables. For most of his early life he was a schoolteacher. Originally an ardent secularist, he came, over time, to adopt many Islamist views. Fol¬ lowing a brief period studying in the U.S. (1948-50), he became con¬ vinced of the corruption of Western secularism and on his return to Egypt joined the Muslim Brotherhood. He was at first on good terms with the revolutionary regime of Gamal Abdel Nasser but was imprisoned (1954- 64) along with other Brotherhood leaders on charges of sedition. His prison years were his most productive. The brutal treatment he received convinced him that Egypt, like the West, was corrupt, and, drawing (often freely) on the work of early Muslim scholars such as I bn Taymiyyah, he argued that much of modern Muslim society had fallen in apostasy and was, therefore, a legitimate target of jihad. He penned these ideas in sev¬ eral books, including Signposts in the Road (1964), which became a tem¬ plate for modern Sunnite militancy. Released from prison in 1964, he was soon rearrested, tried for treason, and executed.
Qwaqwa Vkwa-,kwa\ Former black enclave, South Africa. It bordered Lesotho and the province of Natal. With an area of 253 sq mi (655 sq km), it was the smallest of South Africa’s black states. Established in 1974, it had industries that included brickworks, gravel quarries, and fur¬ niture making. In 1994 it was incorporated into Orange Free State prov¬ ince, which was called Free State province after 1995.
Qyzylqum See Kyzylkum
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
1580 I Ra ► raccoon
Ra See Re
Rabanus Maurus or Hrabanus Maurus Xra-'ba-nus-'mau-rusN (b. c. 780, Mainz, Franconia—d. Feb. 4, 856, Winkel) Frankish abbot, arch¬ bishop, and theologian whose encyclopaedic knowledge and numerous writings brought him the title Praeceptor Germaniae (“Teacher of Ger¬ many”). A Benedictine monk, he became director of the school at the Fulda monastery near Frankfurt am Main in 803, and he built Fulda into a leading European centre of learning. He was elected abbot in 822 and used the monastery as a base for Christian missions throughout Europe. He was named archbishop of Mainz in 847. His many writings include On the Nature of Things (842-847), an encyclopaedia synthesizing intel¬ lectual history until the 9th century. He also wrote treatises on education and grammar and commen¬ taries on the Bible. As abbot and archbishop, he was involved in the disciplinary and theological contro¬ versies associated with Gottschalk of Orbais.
Rabat \r9-'bat\ Arabic Ribat \ri-'bat\ City (pop., 1994: city, 623,457; Rabat-Sale metro, area, 1,385,872), capi¬ tal of Morocco. It is situated on the Atlantic coast at the mouth of the Bou Regreg River, opposite Sale. One of Morocco’s four imperial cities, it was founded in the 12th century by a ruler of the Almohad dynasty, 'Abd al-Mu’min, as a ribat (camp) quartering troops for his holy war against Spain. After 1609 the unified community of Rabat-Sale became the home of large numbers of Andalusian Moors who had been driven from Spain and, later, of the Sallee Corsairs, the most dreaded of Barbary Coast pirates. Under the French, it was made the administrative capital of a French protec¬ torate after 1912. Now a centre of the textile industry, it is noted for its carpets, blankets, and leather handicrafts.
Rabban Gamaliel See Gamaliel I
rabbi Vra-,bl\ or rebbe Vre-ba\ In Judaism, a person qualified by study of the Hebrew scriptures and the Talmud to serve as spiritual leader of a Jewish community or congregation. Ordination can be conferred by any rabbi, but it usually depends on a written statement issued by the candi¬ date’s teacher. Though rabbis are considered teachers rather than priests, they conduct religious services, assist at Bar Mitzvahs, perform marriages, and are present at funerals. In questions of divorce, a rabbi’s role depends on an appointment to a special court of Jewish law. The rabbi also coun¬ sels and consoles members of his congregation and oversees the religious education of the young.
rabbinic Judaism \r9-'bi-nik\ Principal form of Judaism that devel¬ oped after the fall of the Second Temple of Jerusalem (ad 70). It originated in the teachings of the Pharisees, who emphasized the need for critical W interpretation of the Torah. Rabbinic Judaism is centered on study of the
Talmud and debate about the legal and theological issues it raises. Its mode of worship and life discipline continue to be practiced by Jews worldwide.
rabbit Any small, bounding, gnawing mammal of the family Leporidae. tm Rabbits have long ears, a short tail,
long hind legs, and continuously growing incisors. Most species are gray or brown and range in size from 10 to 18 in. (25 to 45 cm) long and 1 to 4 lb (0.5 to 2 kg). They feed pri¬ marily on grasses. Their reproduc¬ tive rate is very high; unlike hares, rabbits are born blind, hairless, and helpless. Most species are nocturnal and live alone in burrows. However, the European, or Old World, rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus ; of Europe and Asia) lives in warrens consisting of many burrows; this species is the ancestor to all domestic breeds. The 13 North American species called cottontails (genus Sylvilagus) have white on the underside of the tail.
Rabearivelo \ra-ba-a-re-'va-l6\, Jean-Joseph (b. March 4, 1901, Tananarive, Madag.—d. June 22, 1937, Tananarive) Malagasy writer. Largely self-educated, he earned his living as a proofreader for a pub¬ lishing concern. He wrote seven volumes of poetry in French, of which
Near-Dreams (1934) and Translation of the Night (1935) are considered the most important. The mythical and surrealistic world created in his poems is intensely personal and dominated by visions of death, catastro¬ phe, and alienation. Harassed by French authorities and addicted to drugs, he committed suicide. He is regarded as the father of modem literature in his native land.
Rabelais \ra-'ble,\ English Vra-bo-JaV Francois (b. c. 1494, Poitou, France—d. probably April 9, 1553, Paris) French writer and priest. After apparently studying law, he took holy orders as a Franciscan but later, because of a dispute, removed to a Benedictine house. In 1530 he left the Benedictines to study medicine, a profession he would follow the rest of his life. He became a significant humanist scholar, publishing translations of Hippocrates and Galen. His fame rests on the five comic novels (one of doubtful authenticity) known collectively as Gargantua and Pantagruel, including the masterpieces Pantagruel (1532) and Gargantua (1534) as well as Le Tiers Livre (1546; “The Third Book”), his most profound work. These works display a delight in words, a mastery of storytelling, and deep humanist learning in a mosaic of scholarly, literary, and scientific parody that is unlike any previous work in French. The books were banned by civil and church authorities for their satirical content and earthy humour, but they were neverthe¬ less read throughout Europe. Throughout his career, Rabe¬ lais owed his freedom to the protection of powerful patrons.
Rabi Yra-be\, l(sidor) l(saac) (b. July 29, 1898, Rymanow, Austria-Hungary—d. Jan. 11, 1988, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Polish-born U.S. physicist. He earned his Ph.D. at Columbia University, where he later taught physics (from 1929). In 1940-45 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology he led a group of scientists who helped develop radar, and he succeeded J. Robert Oppenheimer as chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission’s General Advisory Committee (1952-56). He was the first to propose the joint European laboratory CERN, and he helped found New York’s Brookhaven National Laboratory. His method for measuring the magnetic properties of atoms, atomic nuclei, and molecules (1937) led to the atomic clock, the maser, the laser, magnetic resonance imaging, and the central technique for molecular and atomic beam experimentation; it also won him a 1944 Nobel Prize.