Qal'at Najm (Arabic: قلعة نجم‎) is a castle located on the right bank of the Euphrates, near the town of Manbij (Syria). The castle probably stood on the site of an earlier Roman site and is known from Arabic texts since the 7th century CE. Reconstruction works were carried out in the castle by Nur ad-Din Zangi and Az-Zahir Ghazi during the 12th and early 13th centuries. The castle sits on a mound that is protected by a glacis and houses a palace-bath complex and a mosque.

The castle probably stood on the location of an earlier Roman site, the name of which has not yet been identified, although Caeciliana has been suggested. The oldest reference to Qal'at Najm in Arabic texts is Djisr Manbidj, while the current name came only into popular use in the 12th century CE. According to one text, Caliph Uthman had a bridge constructed over the Euphrates at Djisr Manbidj. Following the conquest of the region by the Umayyads, the castle was controlled by the Hamdanids and the Mirdasid dynasty, before passing into the hands of the nomadic tribe of the Banu Numayr. The castle served as a stronghold for the Banu Numayr, who also controlled Qal'at Ja'bar. Control then shifted to the Zengid dynasty under Nur ad-Din, ruler of Aleppo and the son of Zengi. Nur ad-Din had the castle restored. In 1202, Az-Zahir Ghazi, the Ayyubid governor of Aleppo from 1186 to 1216, attacked the Jezirah and conquered Manbij, Qal'at Najm and Qal'at Ja'bar, pushing on to Ra's al-'Ayn on the Khabur in northeast Syria. After this campaign, Az-Zahir refortified many of the places he had conquered, including Qal'at Najm. In 1820, an Arab warlord sought refuge in the castle, which was subsequently besieged and damaged by Ottoman forces.

Nancy Nabil Ajram (Arabic: نانسي نبيل عجرم‎), (born May 16, 1983) is a multi-platinum recording artist and Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. With the support of her father, Nancy began performing as a child and released her first studio album by the age of 15. Her breakthrough occurred with the start of her collaboration with well-known producer Jiji Lamara, when she released her smash-hit "Akhasmak Ah" and 3rd studio album, Ya Salam. In 2004, she released her second international best-seller "Ah w Noss", which spawned several smash-hits, "Ah w Noss", "Lawn Ouyounak", and "Inta Eih" at which point Nancy had established pop icon status in the Middle East.

Her 2008 album "Bitfakkar Fi Eih" spawned seven singles and won Nancy's first World Music Award as Best-selling Middle Eastern Artist, the youngest Arab WMA winner to date. She has released seven studio albums to date and numerous other chart-topping singles such as "Sehr Ouyouno", "Atabtab", "Moegaba", "Ehsas Jdeed", "El Donya Helwa", "Mashi Haddi", and "Fi Hagat".

Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah (Kashmiri: शेख़ मुहम्मद अब्‍दुल्‍ला (Devanagari), شيخ محمد عبدالله (Nastaleeq)), Sher-e-Kashmir (the Lion of Kashmir) (December 5, 1905, Soura, Kashmir – September 8, 1982, Srinagar), was the leader of the National Conference, Kashmir's largest political party, and one of the most important political figures in the modern history of Jammu and Kashmir. In 1933 he married Akbar Jahan, the daughter of Michael Harry Nedou, the eldest son of the European proprietor of a chain of hotels in India including Nedous Hotel in Srinagar, and his Kashmiri wife Mirjan. Michael Harry Nedou was himself the proprietor of a hotel at the tourist resort of Gulmarg (The writer Tariq Ali claims that Akbar Jehan was previously married in 1928 to an Arab Karam Shah who disappeared after a Calcutta newspaper Liberty reported that he was actually T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) a British Intelligence officer. He claims that Akbar Jehan was divorced by her first husband in 1929.) He agitated against the rule of the Maharaja Hari Singh, and urged self-rule for Kashmir. He was the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir State after its provisional accession to India in 1947, and was later jailed and exiled. He again became the Chief Minister of the state following the 1974 Indira-Sheikh accord and remained in the top slot till his death on September 8, 1982.

Mustafa Ruhi Efendi (born 1800, Gökçeada, Ottoman Empire - 1893, Istanbul, Ottoman Empire) was a religious (Naqshbandi) and political leader in the Balkans during the Ottoman period. He was based in the city of Kalkandelen, (Tetovo in today's Macedonia). Being one of the main members of the League of Prizren, he was the President of the central committee of Prizren called the "close committee".

Shaykh Mustafa Ismael is one of the most well known Qaris (Quran reciter).^{[citation needed]} He was born in a village called Mit Gazal, a village near Tanta in Egypt on 17 June 1905 and his parents named him Mustafa, he was raised by his grandfather.

Shaykh Mustafa Ismael focused on Quran at an early age and when he became 10 years old he became a Hafiz (memorized the Quran). He went to Ahmadi Institution at Tanta and learned Tafsir (exegises), Qiraat (science of recitation) and Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). After that he devoted his life to the service of the Quran and. It is noted that once he recited the Quran at a very large gathering and thus became very popular among the people. His son Wahid Mustafa said:

"Somebody pointed at my father and said that this young man recites the Quran well. My father was to recite for 10 minutes with Shaykh Rifat but since Shaykh Rifat liked it so much, my father recited for an hour and a half."^{[citation needed]}

The Qari who recited the Quran from Egypt radio became ill and instead Shaykh Mustafa Ismael was put on the radio chair to recite. King Faruq was one of the audience. King Faruq liked Shaykh Mustafa Ismael so much that he requested him to recite Quran during the Ramadan for himself. He was now King’s Qari.