Algerian Reformist 'Ulama’ \u-la-'ma\, Association of Group of Muslim religious scholars founded in 1931 that worked to create an Algerian Muslim identity. The 'Ulama 5 opened schools and promoted the teaching of Arabic. It was opposed by the French-educated elite and the traditional Muslim establishment, which felt threatened by its religious purist tendencies. It joined the National Liberation Front during the war of independence (1954-62) and later had a seat in Algeria’s provisional government. See also Young Algerians.
Algerian War or Algerian War of Independence (1954-62) War for Algerian independence from France. The movement for indepen¬ dence began during World War I (1914-18) and gained momentum after French promises of greater self-rule in Algeria went unfulfilled after World War II (1939-45). In 1954 the National Liberation Front (FLN) began a guerrilla war against France and sought diplomatic recognition at the UN to establish a sovereign Algerian state. Although Algerian fighters operated in the countryside—particularly along the country’s borders— the most serious fighting took place in and around Algiers, where FLN fighters launched a series of violent urban attacks that came to be known as the Battle of Algiers (1956-57). French forces (that increased to 500,000 troops) managed to regain control but only through brutal mea¬ sures, and the ferocity of the fighting sapped the political will of the French to continue the conflict. In 1959 Charles de Gaulle declared that the Algerians had the right to determine their own future. Despite terrorist acts by French Algerians opposed to independence and an attempted coup in France by elements of the French army, an agreement was signed in 1962, and Algeria became independent. See also Raoul Salan.
Algiers Arabic Al-Jaza’ir French Alger \al-'zha\ City (pop., 1998: 1,519,570), chief seaport and capital of Algeria. Located along the Bay of Algiers and first settled by Phoenicians, it was later ruled by the Romans. It was destroyed by the Vandals in the 5th century ad but revived under a Berber dynasty in the 10th century. When the Spanish threatened it in the early 16th century, the local emir appealed to the Ottoman corsair Bar-
barossa, who expelled the Spanish and placed Algiers under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Algiers became the major base for the Barbary Coast pirates for 300 years; their activities were finally curtailed in 1818 by an American force led by Stephen Decatur. The French took the city in 1830 and made it headquarters for their African colonial empire. In World War II (1939-45), it became the Allied headquarters in northern Africa and for a time the provisional capital of France. In the 1950s it was the focal point in the drive for Algeria’s independence; after independence, Algiers grew as the country’s political, economic, and cultural centre.
ALGOL Val-,g61\ High-level algebraic computer programming language developed in the late 1950s as an international language for the expres¬ sion of algorithms (its name is derived from ALGOrithmic Language) between humans as well as between humans and machines. Used espe¬ cially in mathematical and scientific applications, ALGOL was more popular in Europe than in the U.S., but it was an important precursor of Pascal and it influenced the development of C language.
Algonquian \al-'gan-kwe-on\ languages or Algonkian
\al-'gaq-ke-3n\ languages Family of 25-30 North American Indian languages spoken or formerly spoken across a broad area of eastern and central North America. They are divided conventionally into three geo¬ graphic groups. Eastern Algonquian languages, spoken from the Gulf of St. Lawrence south to coastal North Carolina, include Micmac, East and West Abenaki, Delaware, Massachusett, and Powhatan (or Virginia Algonquian)—the latter two now long extinct. Central Algonquian lan¬ guages include Shawnee, Miami-lllinois, Sauk, Kickapoo, Potawatomi, Menominee (all spoken around the Great Lakes), Ojibwa (around the upper Great Lakes and north from eastern Quebec through Manitoba), and Cree-Montagnais-Naskapi (spoken from Labrador west to Hudson Bay and Alberta). Plains Algonquian includes the languages of the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Atsina (Gros Ventres), and Blackfoot (spoken in the central and northern Great Plains).
algorithm \ , al-g9- l ri-th3m\ Procedure that produces the answer to a question or the solution to a problem in a finite number of steps. An algo¬ rithm that produces a yes or no answer is called a decision procedure; one that leads to a solution is a computation procedure. A mathematical for¬ mula and the instructions in a computer program are examples of algo¬ rithms. Euclid’s Elements (c. 300 bc) contained an algorithm for finding the greatest common divisor of two integers. Manipulation of lists (search¬ ing for, inserting, and removing items) can be done efficiently by using algorithms.
algorithms, analysis of Basic computer-science discipline that aids in the development of effective programs. Analysis of algorithms provides proof of the correctness of algorithms, allows for the accurate prediction of program performance, and can be used as a measure of computational complexity. See also Donald Knuth.
Algren \'ol-gron. Nelson orig. Nelson Ahlgren Abraham (b.
March 28, 1909, Detroit, Mich., U.S.—d. May 9, 1981, Sag Harbor, N.Y.) U.S. writer. The son of a machinist, Algren grew up in Chicago and worked his way through the University of Illinois during the Great Depression. His novels of the poor skillfully capture the mood of the city’s underside and are lifted from routine naturalism by his vision of his char¬ acters’ pride, humour, and unquenchable yearnings. Among his popular successes were The Man with the Golden Arm (1949; film, 1956) and A Walk on the Wild Side (1956; film, 1962). He also published an admired short-story collection, The Neon Wilderness (1947).
Alhambra \al-'am-br3\ Palace of the Moorish monarchs of Granada, Spain, built (1238-1358) on a plateau above the city. Its name (Arabic: “the red”) may refer to the colour of the sun-dried bricks used in its outer walls. The Alhambra, only three parts of which remain intact, is made up of a series of rooms and gardens clustered around three principal courts, with extensive use of fountains and water basins. Its surfaces are astound- ingly ornate and varied, with outstanding examples of stalactite work.
'All (ibn Abl Talib) (b. c. 600, Mecca—d. January 661, Al-Kufah, Iraq) Cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad and fourth caliph (656- 661). 'All was a ward of Muhammad, just as Muhammad himself had been a ward of 'All’s father, Abu Talib. An early convert to Islam, he helped foil an assassination plot against Muhammad and, following the Hijrah to Medina (622), fought beside him against his enemies, gaining renown as a soldier. Since some in the early Muslim community claimed that Muhammad did not name any successor and others claimed that he
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48 I Ali ► alkali metal
named 'All, the controversy over 'All’s claim to the caliphate resulted in the fundamental schism in Islam that eventually led to the creation of the Shl'ite (from shfat 'All, “party of 'All”) and Sunnite branches of the reli¬ gion. His willingness to compromise with his adversaries during the first fitnah led some of his troops to desert and form the Kharijite sect, one of whose members later assassinated 'All. In later Islamic hagiography, 'All was held up as the paradigm of youthful chivalry and virtue by both Shl'ites and Sunnites. See also al-HusAYN ibn 'Ali; Battle of Karbala’; Mu'awiyah.
Ali, Muhammad orig. Cassius (Marcellus) Clay (b. Jan. 17, 1942, Louisville, Ken., U.S.) U.S. boxer. Cassius Clay took up boxing at the age of 12 and rose through the amateur ranks to win the Olympic light heavyweight crown in 1960.