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Abdi is an Arabic male name or compound word, that is related to Abdul.

Abdi is often used as part of a Muslim name meaning servant. Abdi is then followed by one of the Names of God in Islam, signifying servant of God. Each of the names of Allah are adjectives describing Him. For example, Abdi-Fatah would mean the Servant of the Opener. The name is especially common in Somalia, India and Iran. Its also used by Arab Christians, for example using names such as Abdul Masih, meaning servant of the messiah.

Given name[link]

• Abdi Behravanfar (born 1975), Iranian Singer-songwriter
• Abdi İpekçi, Turkish journalist
• Mohamed Abdi Mohamed, Somali Minister of Defense
• Abdi Toptani, Albanian politician
• Abdi Bile, Somalian Olympic Gold winner

Surname[link]

• Abbas Abdi (born c.1956), Iranian politician
• Abdi Sheik Abdi (born 1942), Somali author
• Akbar Abdi (born 1960), Iranian actor and comedian
• Almen Abdi (born 1986), Swiss footballer
• Bahador Abdi (born 1984), Iranian footballer
• Dekha Ibrahim Abdi, Kenyan peace practitioner based
• Youcef Abdi (born 1977), Australian runner

See also[link]

• Abidi, a surname which refers to the descendants of Zayn al-Abidin
• Obadiah

Other uses[link]

Abdi is also the name of three men in the Hebrew Bible

• In 1 Chronicles 6:44 Abdi is a Levite of the family of Merari.
• In 2 Chronicles 29:12 Abdi is a Levite in the time of King Hezekiah of Judah. This may be the same man as in 1 Chronicles 6:44.
• In Ezra 10:26 Abdi is the son of Elam, and one of a long list of men who had married foreign wives, and who then sent them away together with their children.

This page or section lists people that share the same given name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.

This page or section lists people with the surname Abdi. If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.

Abdi İpekçi (9 August 1929 – 1 February 1979) was a Turkish journalist, intellectual and an activist for human rights. He was murdered while editor-in-chief of the Turkish daily newspaper Milliyet.

Biography[link]

İpekçi was born in Istanbul, Turkey. After finishing high school at Galatasaray High School in 1948, he attended law school at Istanbul University for a while. He started his professional career as a sports reporter for the newspaper Yeni Sabah, and transferred later to Yeni İstanbul. In 1954, he joined the newspaper Milliyet as its publishing manager, and was promoted to editor-in-chief in 1959.

A respected journalist, he was a proponent of the separation of religion and state, and an advocate of dialogue and conciliation with Greece, as well as of human rights for the various minorities in Turkey.

Murder[link]

On 1 February 1979, two members of the ultra-nationalist Grey Wolves, Oral Çelik and Mehmet Ali Ağca (who later shot pope John Paul II), murdered Abdi İpekçi in his car on the way back home from his office in front of his apartment building in Istanbul.^[1] Ağca was caught due to an informant and was sentenced to life in prison. After serving six months in a military prison in Istanbul, Ağca escaped with the help of the Grey Wolves and fled to Bulgaria, which was then a base of operation for the Turkish mafia.

According to reporter Lucy Komisar, Mehmet Ali Ağca had worked with Abdullah Çatlı in this 1979 murder, who "then reportedly helped organize Ağca's escape from the prison, and some have suggested Çatlı was even involved in the Pope's assassination attempt". Ağca later became famous for his failed assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II on May 13, 1981. According to Reuters, Ağca had "escaped with suspected help from sympathizers in the security services".^[2]

Writer Çetin Altan said a journalist colleague who was a former admiral intelligence officer of the chiefs of staff, Sezai Orkunt, had informed him that the clandestine Counter-Guerrilla murdered İpekçi at the behest of the CIA's station chief in Turkey. İpekçi had learned that the counter-guerrilla were inducting civilians into a clandestine anti-communist organization without the knowledge of the Turkish chief of staff. He knew that the counter-guerrilla were subordinate to the CIA, whose station chief at the time was Paul Henze. İpekçi thus asked Henze to stop the CIA's illegal activities.^[3][4][5] Other sources also name Henze as the instigator.^[6]

Abdi İpekçi was interred at the Zincirlikuyu Cemetery. He is survived by his wife Sibel, daughter Nükhet and son Sedat.

Legacy[link]

Memorial for Abdi İpekçi near the place where he was murdered

The street on which he lived and was murdered was renamed Abdi İpekçi Avenue. On 1 February, 2000, a statue erected by the Municipality of Şişli near the place where he was murdered was unveiled in his commemoration. It was designed by the architect Erhan İşözen, and the 3.5 m high bronze sculpture created by Güdal Duyar stands on a 0.70 m high granite base. The memorial depicts İpekçi's bust held by one male and one female student with a dove atop symbolizing peace.^[7]

Turkey's second largest multi-purpose indoor sports arena, located in Zeytinburnu, Istanbul, is also named after him.

The Ipekci Peace and Friendship Prize was established in 1981 to honor people who improved the relations between Greece and Turkey. The award is presented every two years on a rotational basis in Athens and Istanbul. Recipients have included the photographer Nikos Economopoulos.^[8]

In 2000, İpekçi was named as one of the International Press Institute's 50 World Press Freedom Heroes of the past 50 years.^[9]

See also[link]

• List of assassinated people from Turkey

References[link]

Abadin Tadia Tjoessoep (1626–1699), more commonly known as Sheikh Yusuf, was an Indonesian muslim of noble descent. In 1693 he was exiled to the Cape of Good Hope which resulted in his establishing Islam in the Cape.^[1]

Early and middle life (Indonesia)[link]

Yusuf was born in Makassar, Indonesia, the nephew of King Biset of Gowa.^[2] In 1644 he embarked on the Hajj to Mecca and spent several years in Arabia learning under various pious scholars. During this period the Dutch and British East India Companies were fighting for control of the region due to its lucrative trade in spices and gold. When Yusuf left Arabia in 1664, Makassar had been captured by the Dutch, and he was unable to return home.^[3] Instead, he headed for Bantam on the island of Java, where he was welcomed by Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa. Ageng gave Yusuf the hand of one of his daughters in marriage, and made him his chief religious judge and personal advisor. Yusuf stayed in Bantam for 16 years until 1680, when Ageng's son, Pangeran Hajji, rose against his father, possibly at the urgings of the Dutch East India Company. Ageng rallied his forces, including Yusuf, and in 1683 besieged Hajji in his fortress at Soerdesoeang. Ageng was defeated but managed to escape capture, along with an entourage of about 5,000, among them the 57-year-old Yusuf. Ageng was captured later that year but Yusuf managed to escape a second time and continued the resistance.^[2][3]

Exile to the Cape and establishment of Islam[link]

In 1684 Yusuf was persuaded to surrender on the promise of a pardon, but the Dutch reneged on their promise and instead imprisoned him at the castle of Batavia. Suspecting that he would attempt escape, the Dutch transferred him to Ceylon in September that year, before exiling him to the Cape on 27 June 1693 on the ship Voetboeg. Yusuf, along with 49 followers including two wives and twelve children, were received in the Cape on 2 April 1694 by governor Simon van der Stel. They were housed on the farm Zandvliet, far outside of Cape Town, in an attempt to minimise his influence on the DEIC's slaves.^[1] The plan failed however; Yusuf's settlement soon became a sanctuary for slaves and it was here that the first cohesive Islamic community in South Africa was established. From here the message of Islam was disseminated to the slave community of Cape Town.^[2]

Sheikh Yusuf died at Zandvliet on 23 May 1699.

Legacy and honours[link]

The area surrounding Zandvliet farm was renamed Macassar in honour of Yusuf's place of birth.^[3] Yusuf was buried on the hills of Faure, overlooking Macassar. A shrine was erected over his grave and to this day Muslims in the area visit it to pay their respects.

On 27 September 2005 Sheikh Yusuf was posthumously awarded the The Order of the Companions of OR Tambo in Gold for his contribution to the struggle against colonialism.^[3]

References[link]

Abdi Bile

Personal information
Full name	عبدالله بله عبدالله
Nationality	Somalia
Born	(1962-12-28) December 28, 1962 (age 49) Las Anod, Sool
Height	1.85 metres (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	75 kilograms (170 lb)
Sport
Sport	Running
Event(s)	800 metres 1500 metres

Abdi Bile (Somali: عبدالله بله عبدالله, Cabdi Bille Cabdi, born December 28, 1962) is a former middle distance runner. He was born in Las Anod, Somalia. In 1987 he became world champion in the 1500 metres, the first Somali to do so.

Career[link]

Bile won the 1500 m World Championship in 1987, running the final 800 m of the race in 1:46.0, the fastest final 800 m of any 1,500 meter race in history. He was a two-time Olympian (1984 and 1996) and dominated the event in the late 1980s. Bile was ranked first in the world at the mile distance in 1989. He was World Cup champion in the 1500 m in 1989 and two-time world Grand Prix final champion.

Bile graduated from George Mason University with a BS in marketing management. At George Mason, Bile was team captain and a two-time NCAA Division I 1,500 meter champion, winning his first title in 1985 (3:41.2) and the second in 1987 (3:35.79). He also won many conference titles and held the inter-collegiate 1500 m record for more than ten years. He was coached by John Cook, the former coach of 2008 Olympic 10,000 meter bronze medalist Shalane Flanagan. His career was riddled with injuries, and he missed the 1991 World Championships as well as the 1988 and 1992 Olympics because of such problems. In 1996 he finished 6th in the Olympic 1500 m final.

Bile has traveled widely and has inspired many young people and helped several humanitarian organizations. He is married, with a son named Ahmed, born in 1993. As a senior in high school, Ahmed won the Virginia state cross country title, the 1000m title and 1600m title along with being a two-time New Balance All-American in the 800m.

Personal bests[link]

• 800 metres - 1:43.60 (1989)
• 1000 metres - 2:14.50 (1989)
• 1500 metres - 3:30.55 (1989)
• One mile - 3:49.40 (1988)
• 3000 metres - 7:42.18 (1994)

Achievements[link]

References[link]

• IAAF profile for Abdi Bile

Liban Abdi

Abdi with Ferencváros
Personal information
Full name	Liban Abdi
Date of birth	(1988-10-05) 5 October 1988 (age 23)
Place of birth	Burao, Somalia
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Left winger Striker
Youth career
2004–2007	Sheffield United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2007–2010	Sheffield United	0	(0)
2008–2010	→ Ferencváros (loan)	10	(1)
2010–2012	Ferencváros	29	(2)
2010–2012	Ferencváros II	14	(7)
National team‡
	Somalia	3	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 26 May 2012. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 26 May 2012

Liban Abdi (Somali: Liibaan Cabdi, Arabic: لبان عبدي‎) (born 5 October 1988) is a Somali footballer who is currently a free agent.

Playing career[link]

Sheffield United[link]

Abdi was born in Burao, Somalia in 1988. He spent most of his childhood in Oslo, Norway, where he attended both primary and secondary school. He lived in Stovner, an eastern borough in Oslo.

Abdi was the first Somali to be awarded a professional football contract at Sheffield United after impressing with the club's Academy. Following spells with Newport Pagnell and Buckingham Town, he was picked up by United when he subsequently moved to Sheffield with the assistance of the Football Unites, Racism Divides program.

Having signed a two year contract in the summer of 2008, Abdi was loaned out to the Blades' sister club, Ferencváros, for the following season to gain first team experience.^[1] On his return, and after failing to break into the first team at Bramall Lane, he was released by Sheffield United in July 2010.^[2]

References[link]

Infobox statistics

• Profile at HLSZ (Hungarian)

General

External links[link]

• Profile at Sheffield United F.C. website
• Ferencvárosi TC profile (Hungarian)

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