title: Quran

text: In Islam, most intellectual disciplines, including Islamic theology, philosophy, mysticism and jurisprudence, have been concerned with the Quran or have their foundation in its teachings. Muslims believe that the preaching or reading of the Quran is rewarded with divine rewards variously called , "thawab", or .


title: Quran

text: The Quran also inspired Islamic arts and specifically the so-called Quranic arts of calligraphy and illumination. The Quran is never decorated with figurative images, but many Qurans have been highly decorated with decorative patterns in the margins of the page, or between the lines or at the start of suras. Islamic verses appear in many other media, on buildings and on objects of all sizes, such as mosque lamps, metal work, pottery and single pages of calligraphy for muraqqas or albums.


title: Quran

text: The Quran consists of 114 chapters of varying lengths, each known as a "sūrah". Chapters are classified as Meccan or Medinan, depending on whether the verses were revealed before or after the migration of Muhammad to the city of Medina. However, a sūrah classified as Medinan may contain Meccan verses in it and vice versa. Sūrah titles are derived from a name or quality discussed in the text, or from the first letters or words of the sūrah. Chapters are not arranged in chronological order, rather the chapters appear to be arranged roughly in order of decreasing size. Some scholars argue the sūrahs are arranged according to a certain pattern. Each sūrah except the ninth starts with the "Bismillah" (), an Arabic phrase meaning 'In the name of God.' There are, however, still 114 occurrences of the "Bismillah" in the Quran, due to its presence in Quran as the opening of Solomon's letter to the Queen of Sheba.


title: Quran

text: Each sūrah consists of several verses, known as "āyāt", which originally means a 'sign' or 'evidence' sent by God. The number of verses differs from sūrah to sūrah. An individual verse may be just a few letters or several lines. The total number of verses in the most popular Hafs Quran is 6,236; however, the number varies if the "bismillahs" are counted separately.


title: Quran

text: In addition to and independent of the division into chapters, there are various ways of dividing the Quran into parts of approximately equal length for convenience in reading. The 30 "juz'" (plural ) can be used to read through the entire Quran in a month. Some of these parts are known by names—which are the first few words by which the begins. A is sometimes further divided into two "ḥizb" (plural ), and each subdivided into four . The Quran is also divided into seven approximately equal parts, "manzil" (plural ), for it to be recited in a week.


title: Quran

text: A different structure is provided by semantic units resembling paragraphs and comprising roughly ten each. Such a section is called a "rukū`".


title: Quran

text: The "Muqattaʿat" (Arabic: , , 'disjoined letters, disconnected letters'; also 'mysterious letters') are combinations of between one and five Arabic letters figuring at the beginning of 29 out of the 114 chapters of the Quran just after the basmala. The letters are also known as "fawātih" (), or 'openers', as they form the opening verse of their respective suras. Four surahs are named for their : "Ṭāʾ-Hāʾ", "Yāʾ-Sīn", "Ṣād", and " Qāf". The original significance of the letters is unknown. "Tafsir" (exegesis) has interpreted them as abbreviations for either names or qualities of God or for the names or content of the respective surahs. According to Rashad Khalifa, those letters are Quranic initials for a hypothetical mathematical code in the Quran, namely the Quran code or known as Code 19.


title: Quran

text: According to one estimate the Quran consists of 77,430 words, 18,994 unique words, 12,183 stems, 3,382 lemmas and 1,685 roots.


title: Quran

text: The Quranic content is concerned with basic Islamic beliefs including the existence of God and the resurrection. Narratives of the early prophets, ethical and legal subjects, historical events of Muhammad's time, charity and prayer also appear in the Quran. The Quranic verses contain general exhortations regarding right and wrong and historical events are related to outline general moral lessons. Verses pertaining to natural phenomena have been interpreted by Muslims as an indication of the authenticity of the Quranic message. The style of the Quran has been called "allusive," with commentaries needed to explain what is being referred to—"events are referred to, but not narrated; disagreements are debated without being explained; people and places are mentioned, but rarely named."


title: Quran

text: The central theme of the Quran is monotheism. God is depicted as living, eternal, omniscient and omnipotent (see, e.g., Quran , , ). God's omnipotence appears above all in his power to create. He is the creator of everything, of the heavens and the earth and what is between them (see, e.g., Quran , , , etc.). All human beings are equal in their utter dependence upon God, and their well-being depends upon their acknowledging that fact and living accordingly.


title: Quran

text: The Quran uses cosmological and contingency arguments in various verses without referring to the terms to prove the existence of God. Therefore, the universe is originated and needs an originator, and whatever exists must have a sufficient cause for its existence. Besides, the design of the universe is frequently referred to as a point of contemplation: "It is He who has created seven heavens in harmony. You cannot see any fault in God's creation; then look again: Can you see any flaw?"


title: Quran

text: The doctrine of the last day and eschatology (the final fate of the universe) may be considered the second great doctrine of the Quran. It is estimated that approximately one-third of the Quran is eschatological, dealing with the afterlife in the next world and with the day of judgment at the end of time. There is a reference to the afterlife on most pages of the Quran and belief in the afterlife is often referred to in conjunction with belief in God as in the common expression: "Believe in God and the last day." A number of suras such as 44, 56, 75, 78, 81 and 101 are directly related to the afterlife and its preparations. Some suras indicate the closeness of the event and warn people to be prepared for the imminent day. For instance, the first verses of Sura 22, which deal with the mighty earthquake and the situations of people on that day, represent this style of divine address: "O People! Be respectful to your Lord. The earthquake of the Hour is a mighty thing."


title: Quran

text: The Quran is often vivid in its depiction of what will happen at the end time. Watt describes the Quranic view of End Time:The climax of history, when the present world comes to an end, is referred to in various ways. It is 'the Day of Judgment,' 'the Last Day,' 'the Day of Resurrection,' or simply 'the Hour.' Less frequently it is 'the Day of Distinction' (when the good are separated from the evil), 'the Day of the Gathering' (of men to the presence of God) or 'the Day of the Meeting' (of men with God). The Hour comes suddenly. It is heralded by a shout, by a thunderclap, or by the blast of a trumpet. A cosmic upheaval then takes place. The mountains dissolve into dust, the seas boil up, the sun is darkened, the stars fall and the sky is rolled up. God appears as Judge, but his presence is hinted at rather than described.… The central interest, of course, is in the gathering of all mankind before the Judge. Human beings of all ages, restored to life, join the throng. To the scoffing objection of the unbelievers that former generations had been dead a long time and were now dust and mouldering bones, the reply is that God is nevertheless able to restore them to life.The Quran does not assert a natural immortality of the human soul, since man's existence is dependent on the will of God: when he wills, he causes man to die; and when he wills, he raises him to life again in a bodily resurrection.


title: Quran

text: According to the Quran, God communicated with man and made his will known through signs and revelations. Prophets, or 'Messengers of God', received revelations and delivered them to humanity. The message has been identical and for all humankind. "Nothing is said to you that was not said to the messengers before you, that your lord has at his Command forgiveness as well as a most Grievous Penalty." The revelation does not come directly from God to the prophets. Angels acting as God's messengers deliver the divine revelation to them. This comes out in Quran , in which it is stated: "It is not for any mortal that God should speak to them, except by revelation, or from behind a veil, or by sending a messenger to reveal by his permission whatsoever He will."


title: Quran

text: Belief is a fundamental aspect of morality in the Quran, and scholars have tried to determine the semantic contents of "belief" and "believer" in the Quran. The ethico-legal concepts and exhortations dealing with righteous conduct are linked to a profound awareness of God, thereby emphasizing the importance of faith, accountability, and the belief in each human's ultimate encounter with God. People are invited to perform acts of charity, especially for the needy. Believers who "spend of their wealth by night and by day, in secret and in public" are promised that they "shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve." It also affirms family life by legislating on matters of marriage, divorce, and inheritance. A number of practices, such as usury and gambling, are prohibited. The Quran is one of the fundamental sources of Islamic law ("sharia"). Some formal religious practices receive significant attention in the Quran including the formal prayers ("salat") and fasting in the month of Ramadan. As for the manner in which the prayer is to be conducted, the Quran refers to prostration. The term for charity, "zakat", literally means purification. Charity, according to the Quran, is a means of self-purification.


title: Quran

text: The astrophysicist Nidhal Guessoum, while being highly critical of pseudo-scientific claims made about the Quran, has highlighted the encouragement for sciences that the Quran provides by developing "the concept of knowledge." He writes:The Qur'an draws attention to the danger of conjecturing without evidence ("And follow not that of which you have not the (certain) knowledge of..." 17:36) and in several different verses asks Muslims to require proofs ("Say: Bring your proof if you are truthful" 2:111), both in matters of theological belief and in natural science.Guessoum cites Ghaleb Hasan on the definition of "proof" according to the Quran being "clear and strong... convincing evidence or argument." Also, such a proof cannot rely on an argument from authority, citing verse 5:104. Lastly, both assertions and rejections require a proof, according to verse 4:174. Ismail al-Faruqi and Taha Jabir Alalwani are of the view that any reawakening of the Muslim civilization must start with the Quran; however, the biggest obstacle on this route is the "centuries old heritage of tafseer (exegesis) and other classical disciplines" which inhibit a "universal, epidemiological and systematic conception" of the Quran's message. The philosopher Muhammad Iqbal, considered the Quran's methodology and epistemology to be empirical and rational.


title: Quran

text: There are around 750 verses in the Quran dealing with natural phenomena. In many of these verses the study of nature is ""encouraged and highly recommended"", and historical Islamic scientists like Al-Biruni and Al-Battani derived their inspiration from verses of the Quran. Mohammad Hashim Kamali has stated that "scientific observation, experimental knowledge and rationality" are the primary tools with which humanity can achieve the goals laid out for it in the Quran. Ziauddin Sardar built a case for Muslims having developed the foundations of modern science, by highlighting the repeated calls of the Quran to observe and reflect upon natural phenomenon.


title: Quran

text: The physicist Abdus Salam, in his Nobel Prize banquet address, quoted a well known verse from the Quran (67:3–4) and then stated: "This in effect is the faith of all physicists: the deeper we seek, the more is our wonder excited, the more is the dazzlement of our gaze." One of Salam's core beliefs was that there is no contradiction between Islam and the discoveries that science allows humanity to make about nature and the universe. Salam also held the opinion that the Quran and the Islamic spirit of study and rational reflection was the source of extraordinary civilizational development. Salam highlights, in particular, the work of Ibn al-Haytham and Al-Biruni as the pioneers of empiricism who introduced the experimental approach, breaking with Aristotle's influence and thus giving birth to modern science. Salam was also careful to differentiate between metaphysics and physics, and advised against empirically probing certain matters on which "physics is silent and will remain so," such as the doctrine of "creation from nothing" which in Salam's view is outside the limits of science and thus "gives way" to religious considerations.


title: Quran

text: The Quran's message is conveyed with various literary structures and devices. In the original Arabic, the suras and verses employ phonetic and thematic structures that assist the audience's efforts to recall the message of the text. Muslims assert (according to the Quran itself) that the Quranic content and style is inimitable.


title: Quran

text: The language of the Quran has been described as "rhymed prose" as it partakes of both poetry and prose; however, this description runs the risk of failing to convey the rhythmic quality of Quranic language, which is more poetic in some parts and more prose-like in others. Rhyme, while found throughout the Quran, is conspicuous in many of the earlier Meccan suras, in which relatively short verses throw the rhyming words into prominence. The effectiveness of such a form is evident for instance in Sura 81, and there can be no doubt that these passages impressed the conscience of the hearers. Frequently a change of rhyme from one set of verses to another signals a change in the subject of discussion. Later sections also preserve this form but the style is more expository.


title: Quran

text: The Quranic text seems to have no beginning, middle, or end, its nonlinear structure being akin to a web or net. The textual arrangement is sometimes considered to exhibit lack of continuity, absence of any chronological or thematic order and repetitiousness. Michael Sells, citing the work of the critic Norman O. Brown, acknowledges Brown's observation that the seeming disorganization of Quranic literary expression—its scattered or fragmented mode of composition in Sells's phrase—is in fact a literary device capable of delivering profound effects as if the intensity of the prophetic message were shattering the vehicle of human language in which it was being communicated. Sells also addresses the much-discussed repetitiveness of the Quran, seeing this, too, as a literary device.


title: Quran

text: A text is self-referential when it speaks about itself and makes reference to itself. According to Stefan Wild, the Quran demonstrates this metatextuality by explaining, classifying, interpreting and justifying the words to be transmitted. Self-referentiality is evident in those passages where the Quran refers to itself as revelation (), remembrance ("dhikr"), news (), criterion () in a self-designating manner (explicitly asserting its Divinity, "And this is a blessed Remembrance that We have sent down; so are you now denying it?"), or in the frequent appearance of the "Say" tags, when Muhammad is commanded to speak (e.g., "Say: 'God's guidance is the true guidance'," "Say: 'Would you then dispute with us concerning God?'"). According to Wild the Quran is highly self-referential. The feature is more evident in early Meccan suras.


title: Quran

text: The Quran has sparked much commentary and explication (), aimed at explaining the "meanings of the Quranic verses, clarifying their import and finding out their significance."


title: Quran

text: Tafsir is one of the earliest academic activities of Muslims. According to the Quran, Muhammad was the first person who described the meanings of verses for early Muslims. Other early exegetes included a few Companions of Muhammad, such as Abu Bakr, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, 'Uthman ibn 'Affan, ʻAli ibn Abi Talib, 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ood, ʻAbdullah ibn Abbas, Ubayy ibn Kaʻb, Zayd ibn Thaabit, Abu Moosaa al-Ash’ari, and ‘Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr. Exegesis in those days was confined to the explanation of literary aspects of the verse, the background of its revelation and, occasionally, interpretation of one verse with the help of the other. If the verse was about a historical event, then sometimes a few traditions ("hadith") of Muhammad were narrated to make its meaning clear.


title: Quran

text: Because the Quran is spoken in classical Arabic, many of the later converts to Islam (mostly non-Arabs) did not always understand the Quranic Arabic, they did not catch allusions that were clear to early Muslims fluent in Arabic and they were concerned with reconciling apparent conflict of themes in the Quran. Commentators erudite in Arabic explained the allusions, and perhaps most importantly, explained which Quranic verses had been revealed early in Muhammad's prophetic career, as being appropriate to the very earliest Muslim community, and which had been revealed later, canceling out or "abrogating" () the earlier text (). Other scholars, however, maintain that no abrogation has taken place in the Quran.


title: Quran

text: There have been several commentaries of the Quran by scholars of all denominations, popular ones include Tafsir ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Jalalayn, Tafsir Al Kabir, Tafsir al-Tabari. More modern works of Tafisr include Ma'ariful Qur'an written by Mufti Muhammad Shafi and Risale-i Nur by Bediüzzaman Said Nursi.


title: Quran

text: Esoteric or Sufi interpretation attempts to unveil the inner meanings of the Quran. Sufism moves beyond the apparent () point of the verses and instead relates Quranic verses to the inner or esoteric ("batin") and metaphysical dimensions of consciousness and existence. According to Sands, esoteric interpretations are more suggestive than declarative, they are allusions () rather than explanations ("tafsir"). They indicate possibilities as much as they demonstrate the insights of each writer.


title: Quran

text: Sufi interpretation, according to Annabel Keeler, also exemplifies the use of the theme of love, as for instance can be seen in Qushayri's interpretation of the Quran:


title: Quran

text: Moses, in 7:143, comes the way of those who are in love, he asks for a vision but his desire is denied, he is made to suffer by being commanded to look at other than the Beloved while the mountain is able to see God. The mountain crumbles and Moses faints at the sight of God's manifestation upon the mountain. In Qushayri's words, Moses came like thousands of men who traveled great distances, and there was nothing left to Moses of Moses. In that state of annihilation from himself, Moses was granted the unveiling of the realities. From the Sufi point of view, God is the always the beloved and the wayfarer's longing and suffering lead to realization of the truths.


title: Quran

text: Muhammad Husayn Tabatabaei says that according to the popular explanation among the later exegetes, indicates the particular meaning a verse is directed towards. The meaning of revelation ("tanzil"), as opposed to , is clear in its accordance to the obvious meaning of the words as they were revealed. But this explanation has become so widespread that, at present, it has become the primary meaning of , which originally meant 'to return' or 'the returning place'. In Tabatabaei's view, what has been rightly called , or hermeneutic interpretation of the Quran, is not concerned simply with the denotation of words. Rather, it is concerned with certain truths and realities that transcend the comprehension of the common run of men; yet it is from these truths and realities that the principles of doctrine and the practical injunctions of the Quran issue forth. Interpretation is not the meaning of the verse—rather it transpires through that meaning, in a special sort of transpiration. There is a spiritual reality—which is the main objective of ordaining a law, or the basic aim in describing a divine attribute—and then there is an actual significance that a Quranic story refers to.


title: Quran

text: According to Shia beliefs, those who are firmly rooted in knowledge like Muhammad and the imams know the secrets of the Quran. According to Tabatabaei, the statement "none knows its interpretation except God" remains valid, without any opposing or qualifying clause. Therefore, so far as this verse is concerned, the knowledge of the Quran's interpretation is reserved for God. But Tabatabaei uses other verses and concludes that those who are purified by God know the interpretation of the Quran to a certain extent.


title: Quran

text: According to Tabatabaei, there are acceptable and unacceptable esoteric interpretations. Acceptable "ta'wil" refers to the meaning of a verse beyond its literal meaning; rather the implicit meaning, which ultimately is known only to God and can't be comprehended directly through human thought alone. The verses in question here refer to the human qualities of coming, going, sitting, satisfaction, anger and sorrow, which are apparently attributed to God. Unacceptable is where one "transfers" the apparent meaning of a verse to a different meaning by means of a proof; this method is not without obvious inconsistencies. Although this unacceptable has gained considerable acceptance, it is incorrect and cannot be applied to the Quranic verses. The correct interpretation is that reality a verse refers to. It is found in all verses, the decisive and the ambiguous alike; it is not a sort of a meaning of the word; it is a fact that is too sublime for words. God has dressed them with words to bring them a bit nearer to our minds; in this respect they are like proverbs that are used to create a picture in the mind, and thus help the hearer to clearly grasp the intended idea.


title: Quran

text: One of the notable authors of esoteric interpretation prior to the 12th century is Sulami (d. 1021) without whose work the majority of very early Sufi commentaries would not have been preserved. Sulami's major commentary is a book named ('Truths of Exegesis') which is a compilation of commentaries of earlier Sufis. From the 11th century onwards several other works appear, including commentaries by Qushayri (d. 1074), Daylami (d. 1193), Shirazi (d. 1209) and Suhrawardi (d. 1234). These works include material from Sulami's books plus the author's contributions. Many works are written in Persian such as the works of Maybudi (d. 1135) ('the unveiling of the secrets'). Rumi (d. 1273) wrote a vast amount of mystical poetry in his book "Mathnawi". Rumi makes heavy use of the Quran in his poetry, a feature that is sometimes omitted in translations of Rumi's work. A large number of Quranic passages can be found in , which some consider a kind of Sufi interpretation of the Quran. Rumi's book is not exceptional for containing citations from and elaboration on the Quran, however, Rumi does mention Quran more frequently. Simnani (d. 1336) wrote two influential works of esoteric exegesis on the Quran. He reconciled notions of God's manifestation through and in the physical world with the sentiments of Sunni Islam. Comprehensive Sufi commentaries appear in the 18th century such as the work of Ismail Hakki Bursevi (d. 1725). His work ('the Spirit of Elucidation') is a voluminous exegesis. Written in Arabic, it combines the author's own ideas with those of his predecessors (notably Ibn Arabi and Ghazali).


title: Quran

text: Unlike the Salafis and Zahiri, Shias and Sufis as well as some other Muslim philosophers believe the meaning of the Quran is not restricted to the literal aspect. For them, it is an essential idea that the Quran also has inward aspects. Henry Corbin narrates a "hadith" that goes back to Muhammad:


title: Quran

text: The Quran possesses an external appearance and a hidden depth, an exoteric meaning and an esoteric meaning. This esoteric meaning in turn conceals an esoteric meaning (this depth possesses a depth, after the image of the celestial Spheres, which are enclosed within each other). So it goes on for seven esoteric meanings (seven depths of hidden depth).


title: Quran

text: According to this view, it has also become evident that the inner meaning of the Quran does not eradicate or invalidate its outward meaning. Rather, it is like the soul, which gives life to the body. Corbin considers the Quran to play a part in Islamic philosophy, because gnosiology itself goes hand in hand with prophetology.


title: Quran

text: Commentaries dealing with the "zahir" ('outward aspects') of the text are called , and hermeneutic and esoteric commentaries dealing with the "batin" are called "ta'wil" ('interpretation' or 'explanation'), which involves taking the text back to its beginning. Commentators with an esoteric slant believe that the ultimate meaning of the Quran is known only to God. In contrast, Quranic literalism, followed by Salafis and Zahiris, is the belief that the Quran should only be taken at its apparent meaning.


title: Quran

text: Reappropriation is the name of the hermeneutical style of some ex-Muslims who have converted to Christianity. Their style or reinterpretation can sometimes be geared towards apologetics, with less reference to the Islamic scholarly tradition that contextualizes and systematizes the reading (e.g., by identifying some verses as abrogated). This tradition of interpretation draws on the following practices: grammatical renegotiation, renegotiation of textual preference, retrieval, and concession.


title: Quran

text: Translating the Quran has always been problematic and difficult. Many argue that the Quranic text cannot be reproduced in another language or form. Furthermore, an Arabic word may have a range of meanings depending on the context, making an accurate translation even more difficult.


title: Quran

text: Nevertheless, the Quran has been translated into most African, Asian, and European languages. The first translator of the Quran was Salman the Persian, who translated surat "al-Fatiha" into Persian during the seventh century. Another translation of the Quran was completed in 884 in Alwar (Sindh, India, now Pakistan) by the orders of Abdullah bin Umar bin Abdul Aziz on the request of the Hindu Raja Mehruk.


title: Quran

text: The first fully attested complete translations of the Quran were done between the 10th and 12th centuries in Persian. The Samanid king, Mansur I (961–976), ordered a group of scholars from Khorasan to translate the Tafsir al-Tabari, originally in Arabic, into Persian. Later in the 11th century, one of the students of Abu Mansur Abdullah al-Ansari wrote a complete "tafsir" of the Quran in Persian. In the 12th century, Najm al-Din Abu Hafs al-Nasafi translated the Quran into Persian. The manuscripts of all three books have survived and have been published several times.


title: Quran

text: Islamic tradition also holds that translations were made for Emperor Negus of Abyssinia and Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, as both received letters by Muhammad containing verses from the Quran. In early centuries, the permissibility of translations was not an issue, but whether one could use translations in prayer.


title: Quran

text: In 1936, translations in 102 languages were known. In 2010, the "Hürriyet Daily News and Economic Review" reported that the Quran was presented in 112 languages at the 18th International Quran Exhibition in Tehran.


title: Quran

text: Robert of Ketton's 1143 translation of the Quran for Peter the Venerable, "Lex Mahumet pseudoprophete", was the first into a Western language (Latin).


title: Quran

text: Alexander Ross offered the first English version in 1649, from the French translation of "L'Alcoran de Mahomet" (1647) by Andre du Ryer. In 1734, George Sale produced the first scholarly translation of the Quran into English; another was produced by Richard Bell in 1937, and yet another by Arthur John Arberry in 1955. All these translators were non-Muslims. There have been numerous translations by Muslims. Popular modern English translations by Muslims include The Oxford World Classic's translation by Muhammad Abdel Haleem, The Clear Quran by Dr Mustafa Khattab, Sahih International's translation, among various others.


title: Quran

text: As with translations of the Bible, the English translators have sometimes favored archaic English words and constructions over their more modern or conventional equivalents; for example, two widely read translators, Abdullah Yusuf Ali and Marmaduke Pickthall, use the plural and singular "ye" and "thou" instead of the more common "you".


title: Quran

text: The oldest Gurmukhi translation of the Quran Sharif has been found in village Lande of Moga district of Punjab which was printed in 1911.


title: Quran

text: The proper recitation of the Quran is the subject of a separate discipline named "tajwid" which determines in detail how the Quran should be recited, how each individual syllable is to be pronounced, the need to pay attention to the places where there should be a pause, to elisions, where the pronunciation should be long or short, where letters should be sounded together and where they should be kept separate, etc. It may be said that this discipline studies the laws and methods of the proper recitation of the Quran and covers three main areas: the proper pronunciation of consonants and vowels (the articulation of the Quranic phonemes), the rules of pause in recitation and of resumption of recitation, and the musical and melodious features of recitation.


title: Quran

text: In order to avoid incorrect pronunciation, reciters follow a program of training with a qualified teacher. The two most popular texts used as references for rules are Matn al-Jazariyyah by Ibn al-Jazari and Tuhfat al-Atfal by Sulayman al-Jamzuri.


title: Quran

text: The recitations of a few Egyptian reciters, like El Minshawy, Al-Hussary, Abdul Basit, Mustafa Ismail, were highly influential in the development of current styles of recitation. Southeast Asia is well known for world-class recitation, evidenced in the popularity of the woman reciters such as Maria Ulfah of Jakarta. Today, crowds fill auditoriums for public Quran recitation competitions.


title: Quran

text: Vocalization markers indicating specific vowel sounds ("tashkeel") were introduced into the text of the Qur'an during the lifetimes of the last Sahabah. The first Quranic manuscripts lacked these marks, enabling multiple possible recitations to be conveyed by the same written text. The 10th-century Muslim scholar from Baghdad, Ibn Mujāhid, is famous for establishing seven acceptable textual readings of the Quran. He studied various readings and their trustworthiness and chose seven 8th-century readers from the cities of Mecca, Medina, Kufa, Basra and Damascus. Ibn Mujahid did not explain why he chose seven readers, rather than six or ten, but this may be related to a prophetic tradition (Muhammad's saying) reporting that the Quran had been revealed in seven "ahruf" (meaning seven letters or modes). Today, the most popular readings are those transmitted by Ḥafṣ (d. 796) and Warsh (d. 812) which are according to two of Ibn Mujahid's reciters, Aasim ibn Abi al-Najud (Kufa, d. 745) and Nafi‘ al-Madani (Medina, d. 785), respectively. The influential standard Quran of Cairo uses an elaborate system of modified vowel-signs and a set of additional symbols for minute details and is based on ʻAsim's recitation, the 8th-century recitation of Kufa. This edition has become the standard for modern printings of the Quran.


title: Quran

text: The variant readings of the Quran are one type of textual variant. According to Melchert (2008), the majority of disagreements have to do with vowels to supply, most of them in turn not conceivably reflecting dialectal differences and about one in eight disagreements has to do with whether to place dots above or below the line.


title: Quran

text: Nasser categorizes variant readings into various subtypes, including internal vowels, long vowels, gemination ("shaddah"), assimilation and alternation.


title: Quran

text: Occasionally, an early Quran shows compatibility with a particular reading. A Syrian manuscript from the 8th century is shown to have been written according to the reading of Ibn Amir ad-Dimashqi. Another study suggests that this manuscript bears the vocalization of himsi region.


title: Quran

text: Before printing was widely adopted in the 19th century, the Quran was transmitted in manuscripts made by calligraphers and copyists. The earliest manuscripts were written in "Ḥijāzī"-typescript. The "Hijazi" style manuscripts nevertheless confirm that transmission of the Quran in writing began at an early stage. Probably in the ninth century, scripts began to feature thicker strokes, which are traditionally known as "Kufic" scripts. Toward the end of the ninth century, new scripts began to appear in copies of the Quran and replace earlier scripts. The reason for discontinuation in the use of the earlier style was that it took too long to produce and the demand for copies was increasing. Copyists would therefore choose simpler writing styles. Beginning in the 11th century, the styles of writing employed were primarily the "naskh", "muhaqqaq", "rayḥānī" and, on rarer occasions, the "thuluth" script. "Naskh" was in very widespread use. In North Africa and Iberia, the "Maghribī" style was popular. More distinct is the "Bihari" script which was used solely in the north of India. "Nastaʻlīq" style was also rarely used in Persian world.


title: Quran

text: In the beginning, the Quran was not written with dots or tashkeel. These features were added to the text during the lifetimes of the last of the Sahabah. Since it would have been too costly for most Muslims to purchase a manuscript, copies of the Quran were held in mosques in order to make them accessible to people. These copies frequently took the form of a series of 30 parts or "juzʼ". In terms of productivity, the Ottoman copyists provide the best example. This was in response to widespread demand, unpopularity of printing methods and for aesthetic reasons.


title: Quran

text: Whilst the majority of Islamic scribes were men, some women also worked as scholars and copyists; one such woman who made a copy of this text was the Moroccan jurist, Amina, bint al-Hajj ʿAbd al-Latif.


title: Quran

text: Arabic movable type printing was ordered by Pope Julius II (r. 1503–1512) for distribution among Middle Eastern Christians. The first complete Quran printed with movable type was produced in Venice in 1537–1538 for the Ottoman market by Paganino Paganini and Alessandro Paganini. But this Quran was not used as it contained a large number of errors. Two more editions include those published by the pastor Abraham Hinckelmann in Hamburg in 1694, and by Italian priest Ludovico Maracci in Padua in 1698 with Latin translation and commentary.


title: Quran

text: Printed copies of the Quran during this period met with strong opposition from Muslim legal scholars: printing anything in Arabic was prohibited in the Ottoman empire between 1483 and 1726—initially, even on penalty of death. The Ottoman ban on printing in Arabic script was lifted in 1726 for non-religious texts only upon the request of Ibrahim Muteferrika, who printed his first book in 1729. Except for books in Hebrew and European languages, which were unrestricted, very few books, and no religious texts, were printed in the Ottoman Empire for another century.


title: Quran

text: In 1786, Catherine the Great of Russia, sponsored a printing press for "Tatar and Turkish orthography" in Saint Petersburg, with one Mullah Osman Ismail responsible for producing the Arabic types. A Quran was printed with this press in 1787, reprinted in 1790 and 1793 in Saint Petersburg, and in 1803 in Kazan. The first edition printed in Iran appeared in Tehran (1828), a translation in Turkish was printed in Cairo in 1842, and the first officially sanctioned Ottoman edition was finally printed in Constantinople between 1875 and 1877 as a two-volume set, during the First Constitutional Era.


title: Quran

text: Gustav Flügel published an edition of the Quran in 1834 in Leipzig, which remained authoritative in Europe for close to a century, until Cairo's Al-Azhar University published an edition of the Quran in 1924. This edition was the result of a long preparation, as it standardized Quranic orthography, and it remains the basis of later editions.


title: Quran

text: Regarding the claim of divine origin, critics refer to preexisting sources, not only taken from the Bible, supposed to be older revelations of God, but also from heretic, apocryphic and talmudic sources, such as The Syriac Infancy Gospel and Gospel of James. However the Bible was not translated into Arabic until after the completion of the Quran with other Judeo-Christian sources being translated even later. Due to rejection of Crucifixion of Jesus in the Quran, some scholars also suspect Manichaean, a dualistic religion believing in two eternal forces, influences on the Quran.


title: Quran

text: The believe the Quran predicts scientific knowledge, relating the author to non-human origin. Critics argue, verses which allegedly explain modern scientific facts, about subjects such as biology, evolution of the earth, and human life, contain fallacies and are unscientific. Most claims of predictions rely on the ambiguity of the Arabic language, another point of criticism. Despite calling itself a clear book, the Quranic language lacks clarity.


title: Quran

text: Other criticisms point at the moral attitude asserted by the Quran. Examples include the Sword Verse, which some interpret as promoting violence against "pagans", and An-Nisa, 34, which some view as excusing domestic violence.


title: Quran

text: Some non-Muslim groups such as the Baháʼí Faith and Druze view the Quran as holy. In the Baháʼí Faith, the Quran is accepted as authentic revelation from God along with the revelations of the other world religions, Islam being a stage within in the divine process of progressive revelation. Bahá’u’lláh, the Prophet-Founder of the Baháʼí Faith, testified to the validity of the Quran, writing, "Say: Perused ye not the Qur’án? Read it, that haply ye may find the Truth, for this Book is verily the Straight Path. This is the Way of God unto all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth." Unitarian Universalists may also seek inspiration from the Quran. The Quran has been noted to have certain narratives similarities to the Diatessaron, Protoevangelium of James, Infancy Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew and the Arabic Infancy Gospel. One scholar has suggested that the Diatessaron, as a gospel harmony, may have led to the conception that the Christian Gospel is one text.


title: Quran

text: The Quran attributes its relationship with former books (the Torah and the Gospels) to their unique origin, saying all of them have been revealed by the one God.


title: Quran

text: According to Christoph Luxenberg (in "The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran") the Quran's language was similar to the Syriac language. The Quran recounts stories of many of the people and events recounted in Jewish and Christian sacred books (Tanakh, Bible) and devotional literature (Apocrypha, Midrash), although it differs in many details. Adam, Enoch, Noah, Eber, Shelah, Abraham, Lot, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Jethro, David, Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, Jonah, Aaron, Moses, Zechariah, John the Baptist and Jesus are mentioned in the Quran as prophets of God (see Prophets of Islam). In fact, Moses is mentioned more in the Quran than any other individual. Jesus is mentioned more often in the Quran than Muhammad (by name—Muhammad is often alluded to as "The Prophet" or "The Apostle"), while Mary is mentioned in the Quran more than in the New Testament.


title: Quran

text: After the Quran, and the general rise of Islam, the Arabic alphabet developed rapidly into an art form. The Arabic grammarian Sibawayh wrote one of the earliest books on Arabic grammar, referred to as "Al-Kitab", which relied heavily on the language in the Quran. Wadad Kadi, Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at University of Chicago, and Mustansir Mir, Professor of Islamic studies at Youngstown State University, state that the Quran exerted a particular influence on Arabic literature's diction, themes, metaphors, motifs and symbols and added new expressions and new meanings to old, pre-Islamic words that would become ubiquitous.


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is an American actor and producer. He gained notoriety and acclaim for his role as psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom "Cheers" (1984-1993) and its spin-off "Frasier" (1993-2004), for which he received four Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. The role remains one of the longest running in television history. For his role as the corrupt Mayor in the political series "Boss" (2011-2012) he received a Golden Globe Award. In 2000 was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: Grammer having trained as an actor at Juilliard and the Old Globe Theatre, made his professional acting debut as Lennox in the 1981 Broadway revival of "Macbeth". The following year he portrayed Cassio acting opposite Christopher Plummer and James Earl Jones in "Othello". In 1983, he acted alongside Mandy Patinkin in the original off-Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim's musical "Sunday in the Park with George". He's since starred in the leading roles in productions of both "" and "My Fair Lady".


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: On film he's known for his role as Dr. Hank McCoy / Beast in the superhero film "" (2007). His other roles include "Down Periscope" (1996), "The Pentagon Wars" (1998), and "Swing Vote" (2008). He's also known for his voice roles in "Anastasia" (1997), "Toy Story 2" (1999), and as Sideshow Bob in "The Simpsons". He's appeared in the sitcoms "30 Rock", "Modern Family", and "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt".


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: In 2010, Grammer returned to Broadway in musical revival of "La Cage aux Folles" where he received his a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. In 2016, Grammer won a Tony Award for Best Musical as a producer of musical revival of "The Color Purple". In 2019, he starred as Don Quixote in a production of "Man of La Mancha" at the London Coliseum.


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: Allen Kelsey Grammer was born on February 21, 1955, in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, the son of Sally (née Cranmer; 1928–2008), a singer and actress, and Frank Allen Grammer Jr. (d. 1968), a musician and owner of a coffee shop and a bar and grill called Greer's Place. He had one younger sister, Karen, and four half-siblings from his father's second marriage.


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: Grammer's personal life has been surrounded by many family tragedies. Following his parents' divorce, Grammer was raised by his mother and maternal grandparents, Gordon and Evangeline Cranmer, in New Jersey. The family later moved to Pompano Beach, Florida, and shortly afterwards, when Kelsey was twelve years old, his grandfather died of cancer. In 1968, his father was murdered by an anti-white cab driver during a wave of racial violence following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1975, his sister was kidnapped, raped, and murdered in Colorado Springs. In 1980, his two teenage half-brothers died in a scuba diving accident.


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: Grammer attended Pine Crest School, a private preparatory school in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was there that he first began to sing and perform on stage. Grammer won a scholarship to study drama at the Juilliard School. He was a member of Group 6 from 1973 to 1975. Owing to his sister's murder, however, Grammer failed to attend classes and was eventually expelled. According to his interview with the Cayman Compass in 2019, Grammer described himself as "a Caribbean kid" who "was born in St. Thomas, USVI, and I have been back and forth a lot, gone to the Bahamas a lot, St. John and the Virgin Islands and the BVI."


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: After leaving Juilliard, Grammer had a three-year internship with the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego in the late 1970s before a stint in 1980 at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He made his Broadway debut in 1981 as "Lennox" in "Macbeth", taking the lead role when Philip Anglim withdrew after receiving negative reviews. Grammer then played Michael Cassio in a Broadway revival of "Othello", with James Earl Jones and Christopher Plummer. In 1983 he performed in the demo of the Stephen Sondheim–James Lapine production "Sunday in the Park with George", starring Mandy Patinkin.


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: In April-June of 1992, he played the title role in "Richard II", staged at the Mark Taper Forum at the Los Angeles Music Center In 2000, Grammer again played "Macbeth" on Broadway, in a production that closed after only 10 days.


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: On April 18, 2010, Grammer made his Broadway musical debut playing the role of Georges in a revival of the Jerry Herman/Harvey Fierstein musical "La Cage aux Folles" at the Longacre Theatre. Grammer starred alongside Douglas Hodge for which they both were nominated for Tony Awards for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. Grammer was described by critics as "equally fine", "delivering an assured and charming leading turn".


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: In March 2015, Grammer originated the roles of Charles Frohman and Captain Hook in the Broadway premiere of the musical "Finding Neverland" continuing with the roles through June 28, 2015. He returned to the stage from January 19 to April 3, 2016. Most recently he made an appearance in the West End production of "Big Fish". In 2016, Grammer won a Tony Award as a producer of "The Color Purple". In 2019, Grammer starred as Don Quixote in a production of "Man of La Mancha" at the London Coliseum.


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: In 1984, Grammer first appeared as Dr. Frasier Crane in the NBC sitcom "Cheers". Grammer's former Juilliard classmate and Broadway co-star Mandy Patinkin suggested Grammer to the New York casting director, and he got what was supposed to be a six-episode job, but ended up as a regular cast member. "Cheers" was created by James Burrows and aired on NBC from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993. The show is set in a bar named Cheers in Boston where a group of locals meet to drink, relax, and socialize. The character of Frasier first appears in the third season and continues to appear until the final season of the series, which aired in May 1993.


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: Grammer has provided the voice of Sideshow Bob on "The Simpsons", winning an Emmy Award for his work in the episode "The Italian Bob", his fifth Emmy win. He has appeared in twenty-two episodes from the show's beginning in 1989 through 2019's "Bobby, It's Cold Outside".


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: In September 1993 the character became the center of the spin-off "Frasier", which became one of the most successful spin-offs in television history. In addition to starring, he also directed more than 30 episodes, especially during the second half of the series, and sang the closing theme "Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs." "Frasier" was nominated for and won many awards during its 11-year run, concluding in May 2004. In the show Frasier has moved from Boston to Seattle and works as a radio psychiatrist alongside his producer Roz (Peri Gilpin). The show also starred David Hyde Pierce as Frasier's brother Niles, and John Mahoney as his father, Martin Crane. Jane Leeves plays his father's health care worker Daphne Moon. The show was a critical hit, and received the most Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series. This record has never been broken, with "Modern Family" tying the record. Grammer himself received 10 Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his role in "Frasier", winning four times, tying him with Carroll O'Connor, Michael J. Fox and Jim Parsons for the most wins for Primetime Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series. In February 2021, it was announced that Grammer would reprise the character in a revival set to air on the streaming service Paramount+.


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: In 1995, Grammer voiced Dr. Frankenollie in the Mickey Mouse short "Runaway Brain" (1995), and it was nominated for Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. He later starred in the lead role as Lt. Commander Thomas "Tom" Dodge in the film "Down Periscope" (1996), and voiced Vladimir "Vlad" Vanya Voinitsky Vasilovich in the 20th Century Fox's critically acclaimed animated movie "Anastasia" (1997). In 1999, Grammer voiced the main antagonist Stinky Pete in Pixar's Golden Globe Award-winning "Toy Story 2" (1999). He also provided voice work for several other animated television series and direct-to-video films, such as "Barbie of Swan Lake", "Bartok the Magnificent", the title character in the short-lived animated series "Gary the Rat" and the narrator of "Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas". He also voiced Dr. Ivan Krank in Disney's "Teacher's Pet" (2004).


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: In 2001, he negotiated a $700,000-per-episode salary for "Frasier". The series lasted 11 seasons running from 1993 to 2004. His 20-year run playing Dr. Frasier Crane (in both "Cheers" and "Fraiser") ties a length set by James Arness in playing Marshal Matt Dillon on "Gunsmoke" from 1955 to 1975 but was surpassed by Richard Belzer in playing Det. John Munch on "" and "" since 1993. Frasier Crane also had a crossover appearance in 1992 "Wings" episode "Planes, Trains, & Visiting Cranes".


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: The show featured a variety of guest stars from "Cheers" including Ted Danson, Shelley Long, Woody Harrelson, Rhea Perlman, George Wendt and John Ratzenberger. Bebe Neuwirth appears in a recurring role throughout the series as Frasier's ex-wife Lilith. Other guest stars include Laura Linney, James Earl Jones, Nathan Lane, Patrick Stewart, Patrick Macnee, Derek Jacobi, Michael Keaton, Laurie Metcalf, Jean Smart and Eva Marie Saint. One of "Frasier"s in-jokes was its use of celebrities as guest stars who were put through on Frasier's radio program as callers seeking advice.


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: In 2005, Grammer returned to television. He produced and appeared in an American adaptation of the British show "The Sketch Show", which aired on Fox. The main cast consisted of Malcolm Barrett, Kaitlin Olson, Mary Lynn Rajskub and Paul F. Tompkins, as well as Lee Mack from the British version of the show. Grammer appeared in only short opening and closing segments in each episode. Many of the sketches from the British version were re-created, such as the "California Dreamin'", "English Course", and "Sign Language" sketches. Only six episodes of the show were made, and it was cancelled after only four of them had aired.


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: In 2007, Grammer starred with Patricia Heaton in the American sitcom "Back to You", which Fox cancelled after its first season. His next attempt, ABC's "Hank", fared even worse. It was cancelled after only five episodes had aired. Grammer later commented, "Honestly, it just wasn't very funny."


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: In 2011 and 2012, Grammer found temporary success in the Starz drama series "Boss" as a fictional mayor of Chicago in the mold of Richard J. Daley. It premiered in October 2011. It was his first dramatic TV series. At the 2012 Golden Globe Awards Kelsey Grammer won the award for Best Actor in a Television Series Drama for his role on "Boss". The show ran for 18 episodes over two seasons.


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: In 2010–2012, Grammer guest starred as a comical version of himself in three episodes of the NBC show "30 Rock" alongside Jane Krakowski and Jack McBrayer.


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: In 2014 Grammer returned to sitcom television in "Partners" with comedian Martin Lawrence. The Lionsgate-produced show was written and executive produced by Robert L. Boyett and Robert Horn, known for writing hit shows like "Family Matters", "Living Single", "Full House", "Designing Women", and "Perfect Strangers". Despite this, the show was cancelled after its first season. Later that same year, Grammer starred in several films such as Bonaparte in "The Expendables 3" (2014) and as Harold Attinger in "" (2014).


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: The following year in 2015, he played Buckley in "Best of Enemies" (2015) and appeared in the National Geographic TV film "Killing Jesus" (2015) as Herod the Great, a film in which he both played a role and narrated. More recent work includes a role as Harry Hamilton in the Netflix film "Like Father" with Kristen Bell (2018) and as a detective opposite Nicolas Cage in "Grand Isle" (2019).


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: Grammer's voice has been featured in many commercials. One of the earliest was a 1998 commercial for Honey Nut Cheerios, where he voices the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood. Since 2006, Grammer has provided the voice for television commercials advertising Hyundai. In 2008, Grammer reprised his role of Dr. Frasier Crane in a commercial for Dr Pepper ("Frasier" and "Cheers" co-star Bebe Neuwirth also reprised her role as Lilith Sternin in the same commercial, albeit in voice only).


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: In 2015 Grammer and John Lithgow lent their voices to the critically acclaimed documentary "Best of Enemies" as William F. Buckley, Jr. and Gore Vidal, respectively. The documentary surrounds the events around the televised debates between intellectuals Vidal and Buckley during the 1968 United States presidential election. The film premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and was shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Documentary but did not make the final cut.


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: Grammer has been married four times and has seven children and one grandchild . His first marriage, to dance instructor Doreen Alderman, lasted from 1982 to 1990, although they were separated for the last six years of that period. They have one daughter, actress Spencer Grammer (born October 9, 1983). Through Spencer, Grammer has one grandson, born October 10, 2011.


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: After his divorce from Alderman, Grammer had a daughter, Kandace Greer Grammer ("Greer Grammer"; born February 15, 1992), with hair and makeup stylist Barrie Buckner. Greer was a cast member on MTV's show "Awkward."


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: His second marriage, to Leigh-Anne Csuhany in September 1992, lasted one year. Grammer filed for an annulment when Csuhany was three months pregnant and evicted her from their home. The pregnancy ended in a miscarriage. Grammer claimed she was abusive and fired a gun at him.


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: In 1994, he met 28-year-old Tammi Baliszewski, also known as Tammi Alexander, at a bar in Manhattan Beach, California. In December 1994, they appeared together on the cover of "People" magazine, announcing their engagement and Grammer's substance abuse problems.


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: In August 1997, Grammer married his third wife, dancer and model Camille Donatacci. They met on a blind date in 1996. They have a daughter, born October 2001, and a son, born August 2004, both born to a surrogate mother. During their marriage, several of Grammer and Donatacci's homes were featured in magazines, including ones in Malibu, California (February 2001, "InStyle"), Maui (May 2004, "InStyle"), Long Island, New York (April 2008, "InStyle"), Bachelor Gulch, Colorado ("Architectural Digest)", and Bel Air, Los Angeles ("Architectural Digest"). In New York City, they lived at 15 Central Park West. It was announced on July 1, 2010, that Grammer had filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. Grammer and Donatacci's divorce was finalized on February 10, 2011.


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: On August 12, 2010, Grammer announced that he was going to be a father for the fifth time with girlfriend Kayte Walsh, an English flight attendant 25 years his junior, daughter of former footballer Alan Walsh. However, in October, Grammer announced that Walsh had miscarried six weeks earlier. The couple announced their engagement in December 2010, and married at The Plaza Hotel in New York City on February 25, 2011, two weeks after the dissolution of Grammer's third marriage. Grammer and Walsh have a daughter, born July 2012, and two sons, born July 2014 and November 2016.


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: On July 1, 1975, Freddie Glenn, Michael Corbett, and one other man abducted, raped, and murdered Grammer's younger sister, 18-year-old Karen Grammer. Grammer, then 20, identified her body. He and his sister had been close, and he was devastated by her death; his later bouts of alcoholism and drug addiction were fueled in part by guilt and depression. In a 2012 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Grammer said he would be willing to forgive the perpetrators if they would take responsibility for the crime, but that they all continued to say they were innocent. In the same interview, Grammer expressed his loss of faith for a few years after Karen's death. He subsequently forgave Glenn in a 2014 parole hearing after being convinced of Glenn's contrition, but refused to support his release, saying that it would "be a betrayal of my sister's life". He named his daughter Spencer Karen Grammer in part for his sister. Karen Grammer's murder and the investigation by the Colorado Springs Police Department was the subject of the episode "Animal Nature" of the Investigation Discovery series "Homicide Hunter".


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: Grammer is a supporter of the Republican Party and endorses the Tea Party movement on economic issues such as small government and lower taxes; "City A.M." described him as "one of Hollywood's best-known Republicans, a rare spark of red in a blue sea of Democrats".


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: A "New York" magazine profile published in 2010 described him as pro-choice. However, in 2015 Kayte Grammer, his wife, posted an Instagram photo of Grammer wearing a T-shirt from the anti-abortion group Abort73.


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: Grammer is supportive of same-sex marriage, stating, "I think marriage is up to two people who love each other". He has expressed disbelief on the scientific consensus on climate change, comparing the California wildfires to alleged global cooling from his youth and criticized the 2011 and 2018 climate meetings. Additionally, he stated in a 2016 interview with "The Guardian" that the person he admired most was Vladimir Putin "because he is so comfortably who he is."


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: He also expressed support for Britain leaving the European Union, urging them to move forward with it.


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: Grammer has labeled Washington politicians a "bunch of clowns". He has expressed an interest in some day running for United States Congress, Mayor of New York City, and the presidency. Grammer was a guest at President George W. Bush's first inauguration. Grammer endorsed Rudy Giuliani in the 2008 presidential primary and later campaigned for John McCain in the general election. Grammer promoted RightNetwork, a conservative start-up American television network. He endorsed Michele Bachmann for the Republican nomination for president in 2012. After Mitt Romney won the nomination, Grammer endorsed him.<ref name="http://thehill.com/video/campaign/202579-kelsey-grammer-says-mitt-romney-would-probably-do-a-pretty-good-job"></ref> He supported Ben Carson's candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, although he endorsed Donald Trump when the latter was selected.


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: Grammer has a history of substance abuse. In 1988, Grammer was charged with drunk driving and cocaine possession and sentenced to 30 days in jail. In August 1990, Grammer was charged again with cocaine possession and was sentenced to three years' probation, fined $500, and required to perform 300 hours of community service. In January 1991, Grammer was given an additional two years' probation for violating his original probation through additional cocaine use. In September 1996, he crashed his Dodge Viper while intoxicated, and subsequently checked into the Betty Ford Center (an alcohol rehabilitation clinic) for 30 days. The cast and producers of both "Frasier" and "Cheers" held interventions to help him. Grammer's personal problems affected his work; co-star Bebe Neuwirth and writer Ken Levine cited delays with rehearsals and filming due to his erratic behavior. Writer Dan O'Shannon recalled, however, that


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: Grammer credits his religion for helping him through with his struggles with alcohol and drug use, as well as his personal tragedies.


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: On May 31, 2008, while paddleboarding with his then-wife Camille in Hawaii, Grammer experienced a heart attack. Their personal assistant, Scott MacLean, was essential in saving his life. Grammer was discharged on June 4, 2008, and was said to be "resting comfortably" at his Hawaiian residence. Seven weeks after the attack, Grammer told "Entertainment Tonight" that, although at the time his spokesman described the attack as mild, it was in fact more severe, almost leading to his death, as his heart had stopped. Grammer thought Fox's decision to cancel his TV sitcom "Back to You" contributed to his health problems, stating that "It was a very stressful time for me, and a surprise that it was cancelled. But you know, everything that doesn't kill us—which it almost did—makes us stronger!"


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: In 1988, Grammer was arrested for possession of one-quarter gram of cocaine, after being pulled over in a traffic stop for driving with expired plates in North Hollywood. A year earlier, he had been arrested for a DUI in Van Nuys, and would go on to serve 14 days of a 30-day sentence, as well as 10 days of community service, after failing to comply with the requirements of his parole in 1990. In 1990 Grammer was sentenced to 90 days' house arrest, ordered to pay a $500 fine, underwent drug and alcohol abuse counseling, and performed 300 hours of community service for his 1988 cocaine possession case. In 1995, Grammer was accused of sleeping with his child's underage babysitter. A grand jury chose not to indict the actor saying, "The young woman's delay of more than a year in pressing charges against Mr. Grammer made it difficult to support her claim", according to the County Prosecutor Nicholas L. Bissell Jr. Grammer released a statement saying, "I have said from the outset that there was no basis for the allegations". In 1996, Grammer's ex-girlfriend, Cerlette Lamme, sued him for defamation of character and invasion of privacy over content he included in his autobiography "So Far...". In 1998, Grammer filed a lawsuit against Internet Entertainment Group (IEG), which Grammer claimed had stolen from his home a videotape of him sleeping with a woman. IEG countersued Grammer, denying it was in possession of such a tape, and Grammer's suit was eventually dropped. IEG President Seth Warshavsky later said, "We have been presented with another Kelsey Grammer tape. But we have no plans to air it. We are still evaluating it at this time."


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: Grammer's production company, Grammnet Productions, produces the sitcom "Girlfriends", its spinoff "The Game", the drama "Medium", and many other projects.


title: Kelsey Grammer

text: Grammer won a number of Emmys, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Golden Globes for his work on "Frasier". He was the first American actor ever to be nominated for multiple Emmy awards for portraying the same character on three different television shows ("Cheers", "Frasier", and "Wings"). In 2010, Grammer received his first Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical for his acclaimed performance in "La Cage Aux Folles" opposite Douglas Hodge. In 2016, he received his second Tony Award nomination and first win for Best Revival of a Musical as a producer for "The Color Purple." On May 22, 2001, he was presented with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for television. In 1999 he received a nomination from Directors Guild of America award for directing the "Frasier" episode "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskowitz". At the Golden Globes, he has received nine nominations winning three times.


title: Medusa

text: In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those who gazed into her eyes would turn to stone. Most sources describe her as the daughter of Phorcys and Ceto, although the author Hyginus makes her the daughter of Gorgon and Ceto.


title: Medusa

text: Medusa was beheaded by the Greek hero Perseus, who then used her head, which retained its ability to turn onlookers to stone, as a weapon until he gave it to the goddess Athena to place on her shield. In classical antiquity, the image of the head of Medusa appeared in the evil-averting device known as the "Gorgoneion".


title: Medusa

text: According to Hesiod and Aeschylus, she lived and died on Sarpedon, somewhere near Cisthene. The 2nd-century BC novelist Dionysios Skytobrachion puts her somewhere in Libya, where Herodotus had said the Berbers originated her myth as part of their religion.


title: Medusa

text: The three Gorgon sisters—Medusa, Stheno, and Euryale—were all children of the ancient marine deities Phorcys (or "Phorkys") and his sister Ceto (or "Keto"), chthonic monsters from an archaic world. Their genealogy is shared with other sisters, the Graeae, as in Aeschylus's "Prometheus Bound", which places both trios of sisters far off "on Kisthene's dreadful plain":


title: Medusa

text: While ancient Greek vase-painters and relief carvers imagined Medusa and her sisters as having monstrous form, sculptors and vase-painters of the fifth century BC began to envisage her as being beautiful as well as terrifying. In an ode written in 490 BC, Pindar already speaks of "fair-cheeked Medusa".


title: Medusa

text: In a late version of the Medusa myth, by the Roman poet Ovid ("Metamorphoses" 4.794–803), Medusa was originally a beautiful maiden, but when Neptune/Poseidon had sex with her in Minerva/Athena's temple, Minerva punished Medusa by transforming her beautiful hair into horrible snakes.


title: Medusa

text: In most versions of the story, she was beheaded by the hero Perseus, who was sent to fetch her head by King Polydectes of Seriphus because Polydectes wanted to marry Perseus's mother. The gods were well aware of this, and Perseus received help. He received a mirrored shield from Athena, sandals with gold wings from Hermes, a sword from Hephaestus and Hades's helm of invisibility. Since Medusa was the only one of the three Gorgons who was mortal, Perseus was able to slay her while looking at the reflection from the mirrored shield he received from Athena. During that time, Medusa was pregnant by Poseidon. When Perseus beheaded her, Pegasus, a winged horse, and Chrysaor, a giant wielding a golden sword, sprang from her body.


title: Medusa

text: Jane Ellen Harrison argues that "her potency only begins when her head is severed, and that potency resides in the head; she is in a word a mask with a body later appended... the basis of the Gorgoneion is a cultus object, a ritual mask misunderstood." In the "Odyssey" xi, Homer does not specifically mention the Gorgon Medusa:


title: Medusa

text: Harrison's translation states that "the Gorgon was made out of the terror, not the terror out of the Gorgon."


title: Medusa

text: According to Ovid, in northwest Africa, Perseus flew past the Titan Atlas, who stood holding the sky aloft, and transformed Atlas into a stone when Atlas tried to attack him. In a similar manner, the corals of the Red Sea were said to have been formed of Medusa's blood spilled onto seaweed when Perseus laid down the petrifying head beside the shore during his short stay in Ethiopia where he saved and wed his future wife, the lovely princess Andromeda, who was the most beautiful woman in the world at that time. Furthermore, the venomous vipers of the Sahara, in the "Argonautica" 4.1515, Ovid's "Metamorphoses" 4.770 and Lucan's "Pharsalia" 9.820, were said to have grown from spilt drops of her blood. The blood of Medusa also spawned the Amphisbaena (a horned dragon-like creature with a snake-headed tail).


title: Medusa

text: Perseus then flew to Seriphos, where his mother was being forced into marriage with the king, Polydectes, who was turned into stone by the head. Then Perseus gave the Gorgon's head to Athena, who placed it on her shield, the Aegis.


title: Medusa

text: Some classical references refer to three Gorgons; Harrison considered that the tripling of Medusa into a trio of sisters was a secondary feature in the myth:


title: Medusa

text: Several early classics scholars interpreted the myth of Medusa as a quasi-historical – "based on or reconstructed from an event, custom, style, etc., in the past", or "sublimated" memory of an actual invasion.


title: Medusa

text: In 1940, Sigmund Freud's "Das Medusenhaupt (Medusa's Head)" was published posthumously. In Freud's interpretation: "To decapitate = to castrate. The terror of Medusa is thus a terror of castration that is linked to the sight of something. Numerous analyses have made us familiar with the occasion for this: it occurs when a boy, who has hitherto been unwilling to believe the threat of castration, catches sight of the female genitals, probably those of an adult, surrounded by hair, and essentially those of his mother." In this perspective the "ravishingly beautiful" Medusa (see above) is the mother remembered in innocence; before the mythic truth of castration dawns on the subject. Classic Medusa, in contrast, is an Oedipal/libidinous symptom. Looking at the forbidden mother (in her hair-covered genitals, so to speak) stiffens the subject in illicit desire and freezes him in terror of the Father's retribution. There are no recorded instances of Medusa turning a woman to stone.


title: Medusa

text: Archetypal literary criticism continues to find psychoanalysis useful. Beth Seelig chooses to interpret Medusa's punishment as resulting from rape rather than the common interpretation of having willingly consented in Athena's temple, as an outcome of the goddess' unresolved conflicts with her own father Zeus.


title: Medusa

text: In the 20th century, feminists reassessed Medusa's appearances in literature and in modern culture, including the use of Medusa as a logo by fashion company Versace. The name "Medusa" itself is often used in ways not directly connected to the mythological figure but to suggest the gorgon's abilities or to connote malevolence; despite her origins as a beauty, the name in common usage "came to mean monster." The book "Female Rage: Unlocking Its Secrets, Claiming Its Power" by Mary Valentis and Anne Devane notes that "When we asked women what female rage looks like to them, it was always Medusa, the snaky-haired monster of myth, who came to mind ... In one interview after another we were told that Medusa is 'the most horrific woman in the world' ... [though] none of the women we interviewed could remember the details of the myth."


title: Medusa

text: Medusa's visage has since been adopted by many women as a symbol of female rage; one of the first publications to express this idea was a feminist journal called "Women: A Journal of Liberation" in their issue one, volume six for 1978. The cover featured the image of the Gorgon Medusa by Froggi Lupton, which the editors on the inside cover explained "can be a map to guide us through our terrors, through the depths of our anger into the sources of our power as women."


title: Medusa

text: In issue three, Fall 1986 for the magazine "Woman of Power" an article called "Gorgons: A Face for Contemporary Women's Rage," appeared, written by Emily Erwin Culpepper, who wrote that "The Amazon Gorgon face is female fury personified. The Gorgon/Medusa image has been rapidly adopted by large numbers of feminists who recognize her as one face of our own rage." Griselda Pollock analyses the passage from horrorism to compassion in the figure of the Medusa through Adriana Cavarero's philosophy and Bracha Ettinger's art and Matrixial theory.


title: Medusa

text: Elana Dykewomon's 1976 collection of lesbian stories and poems, "They Will Know Me by My Teeth", features a drawing of a Gorgon on its cover. Its purpose was to act as a guardian for female power, keeping the book solely in the hands of women. Stephen Wilk, author of "Medusa: Solving the Mystery of the Gorgon", questioned Medusa's enduring status among the feminist movement. He believes that one reason for her longevity may be her role as a protector, fearsome and enraged. "Only the Gorgon has the savage, threatening appearance to serve as an immediately recognized symbol of rage and a protector of women's secrets," wrote Wilk.


title: Medusa

text: Even in contemporary pop culture, Medusa has become largely synonymous with feminine rage. Through many of her iterations, Medusa pushes back against a story that seeks to place the male, Perseus, at its center, blameless and heroic. Author Sibylle Baumbach described Medusa as a “multimodal image of intoxication, petrifaction, and luring attractiveness," citing her seductive contemporary representation, as well as her dimensionality, as the reason for her longevity.


title: Medusa

text: Elizabeth Johnston's November 2016 Atlantic essay called Medusa the original 'Nasty Woman.' Johnston goes on to say that as Medusa has been repeatedly compared to Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election, she proves her merit as an icon, finding relevance even in modern politics. "Medusa has since haunted Western imagination, materializing whenever male authority feels threatened by female agency," writes Johnston. Beyond that, Medusa's story is, Johnston argues, a rape narrative. A story of victim blaming, one that she says sounds all too familiar in a current American context.


title: Medusa

text: The Medusa story has also been interpreted in contemporary art as a classic case of rape-victim blaming, by the Goddess Athena. Inspired by the #metoo movement, contemporary figurative artist Judy Takács returns Medusa's beauty along with a hashtag stigmata in her portrait, #Me(dusa)too.


title: Medusa

text: Feminist theorist Hélène Cixous famously tackled the myth in her essay "The Laugh of the Medusa." She argues that men's retelling of the narrative turned Medusa into a monster because they feared female desire. "The Laugh of the Medusa" is largely a call to arms, urging women to reclaim their identity through writing as she rejects the patriarchal society of Western culture. Cixous calls writing "an act which will not only 'realize' the decensored relation of woman to her sexuality, to her womanly being, giving her access to her native strength; it will give her back her goods, her pleasures, her organs, her immense bodily territories which have been kept under seal." She claims "we must kill the false woman who is preventing the live one from breathing. Inscribe the breath of the whole woman." Cixous wants to destroy the phallogocentric system, and to empower women's bodies and language. "You only have to look at the Medusa straight on to see her," writes Cixous. "And she's not deadly. She's beautiful and she's laughing."


title: Medusa

text: Medusa has sometimes appeared as representing notions of scientific determinism and nihilism, especially in contrast with romantic idealism. In this interpretation of Medusa, attempts to avoid looking into her eyes represent avoiding the ostensibly depressing reality that the universe is meaningless. Jack London uses Medusa in this way in his novel "The Mutiny of the Elsinore":


title: Medusa

text: Medusa remained a common theme in art in the nineteenth century, when her myth was retold in Thomas Bulfinch's "Mythology". Edward Burne-Jones' Perseus Cycle of paintings and a drawing by Aubrey Beardsley gave way to the twentieth-century works of Paul Klee, John Singer Sargent, Pablo Picasso, Pierre et Gilles, and Auguste Rodin's bronze sculpture "".


title: Medusa

text: The head of Medusa is featured on some regional symbols. One example is that of the flag and emblem of Sicily, together with the three-legged "trinacria". The inclusion of Medusa in the center implies the protection of the goddess Athena, who wore the Gorgon's likeness on her aegis, as said above. Another example is the coat of arms of Dohalice village in the Czech Republic.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: Alone is an American survival competition series on History. It follows the self-documented daily struggles of 10 individuals (seven paired teams in season 4) as they survive alone in the wilderness for as long as possible using a limited amount of survival equipment. With the exception of medical check-ins, the participants are isolated from each other and all other humans. They may "tap out" at any time, or be removed due to failing a medical check-in. The contestant who remains the longest wins a grand prize of $500,000 (increasing to $1 million in season 7). The seasons have been filmed across a range of remote locations, usually on Indigenous-controlled lands, including northern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Nahuel Huapi National Park in Argentine, Patagonia, Northern Mongolia, Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories, and Chilko Lake in interior British Columbia.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: The series premiered on June 18, 2015. On August 19, before the finale of season 1, it was announced that the series had been renewed for a second season, which would begin production in the fall of 2015 on Vancouver Island, Canada. Season 2 premiered on April 21, 2016. Season 3 was filmed in the second quarter of 2016 in Patagonia, Argentina and premiered on December 8. One day before the season 3 premiere, History announced that casting had begun for season 4. Season 4 was set in Northern Vancouver Island with a team dynamic and premiered on June 8, 2017. Season 5 was set in Northern Mongolia and allowed losers from previous seasons to return and compete. It premiered on June 14, 2018. Season 6 premiered on June 6, 2019 and featured ten all-new contestants between the ages of 31 and 55. It was set just south of the Arctic Circle on a lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: The seventh season premiered on June 11, 2020. Participants attempted to survive for 100 days in the Arctic in order to win a $1 million prize.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: A spin-off series, "Alone: The Beast", premiered on January 30, 2020. In this series, three people attempt to survive in the wild for 30 days, with no tools or supplies except for their own clothing and a freshly killed animal. One group, in the Arctic, was provided with a 1,000-pound bull moose; two other groups were sent separately to the swamps of Louisiana and given an alligator and wild boar, respectively.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: In 2022, two new spin-off series were ordered. Alone: Frozen drops six former contestants on Labrador’s east coast in the dead of winter, where they must survive for a set 50 days. Alone: The Skills Challenge, brings back three former contestants who put their bushcraft skills to the test in head-to-head building competitions. Contestants are provided basic tools and can only use the natural resources around them. Both shows aired at the beginning of August after Season 9.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: Contestants are dropped off in a remote wilderness area, far enough apart to ensure that they will not come in contact with one another. The process begins in mid- to late autumn; this adds time pressure to the survival experience as the approaching winter causes temperatures to drop and food to become scarce. Although terrains may differ in each contestant's location, the drop-off zones are assessed in advance to ensure a similar distribution of local resources is available to each contestant.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: Contestants each select 10 items of survival gear from a pre-approved list of 40, and are issued a kit of standard equipment, clothing and first aid/emergency supplies. They are also given a set of cameras to document their daily experiences and emotions. Attempting to live in the wild for as long as possible, the contestants must find food, build shelters, and endure deep isolation, physical deprivation and psychological stress.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: Contestants who wish to withdraw from the competition for any reason (referred to as "tapping out") may signal a rescue crew using a provided satellite telephone. In addition, medical professionals conduct periodic health checks on the contestants and may, at their discretion, disqualify and evacuate anyone they feel is unable to continue participating safely. The last remaining contestant wins a $500,000 cash prize. Contestants are warned that the show might last for up to a year.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: Season 4 was also filmed in Northern Vancouver Island but included a team dynamic. Fourteen contestants, consisting of seven family-member pairs, were individually dropped off in remote areas of Northern Vancouver Island. The two members of each team chose 10 items of survival gear to be equally divided between them. The team chose one member to be taken to a campsite; the other began approximately away and was required to hike to the site, using only a compass and bearing to find the way. If either member tapped out or was medically evacuated, his/her partner was disqualified as well. The last remaining team won the $500,000 prize.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: Season 5 contestants were selected from non-winning contestants from Seasons 1 through 4. The rules were otherwise similar to Seasons 1 through 3.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: For Season 7, the contestants attempted to survive for 100 days in order to win a grand prize of $1 million. In an "Alone: Tales from the Arctic" segment at the end of each episode, host Colby Donaldson spoke post-season to the contestants featured in that episode about what occurred, accompanied by "never before seen footage."


title: Alone (TV series)

text: Season 8 was filmed in fall 2020 on the shores of Chilko Lake, British Columbia, a high-altitude glacial-fed lake on the dry eastern side of the Coast Mountains. The season reverts to the original format of the show, with the last person standing (regardless of time frame) declared the winner and awarded $500,000.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: Season 9 was filmed in fall 2021 and set in harsh weather conditions of Northeastern Labrador. The season will feature two new digital content series: “The Ride Back”, which will focus on the emotions of the participants ahead of tapping out, and “Shelter From the Storm”, an in-depth look at the ingenious shelters the participants build. Also, for the first time, the participants have to deal with a prey-stalking predator, the polar bear.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: The series received positive reviews in its first season and outstanding reviews for its third season, and earned 2.5 million total viewers, placing it in the top three new nonfictional cable series of 2015.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: The first season of "Alone" premiered on June 18, 2015 and concluded on August 27, with 11 episodes. Alan Kay won the first season after surviving for 56 days.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: Season 2 began on April 21, 2016. The season had 13 one-hour episodes, including the reunion episode and the first "Episode 0", which shows how the 10 contestants (pared down from 20) are chosen based on survival skills (i.e. ability to make a fire without a starter, basic animal prep, shelter), on-camera personality, and how readily they learn the camera equipment. This was the first season to include women as well as men. The winner, David McIntyre, lost around 20 pounds in the first weeks alone. Mike Lowe made his time on "Alone" innovative and made a sink, boat, football game, and many more objects.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: The second season was also set on Vancouver Island, in Quatsino Territory, located near Port Hardy, British Columbia.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: The third season premiered on December 8, 2016. The winner, Zachary Fowler, had lost 70 lbs (a third of his starting body weight) before the end of his stay. Season 3 marked the first time a contestant was pulled for medical reasons; the first was fourth place, Dave Nessia, who was pulled out when, due to inadequate caloric intake, his systolic pressure barely exceeded his diastolic pressure (80/60 mmHg), putting him in danger of death due to inadequate perfusion of the internal organs. He had been in starvation mode for so long, even though he left with 33 halves of dried fish still ready to eat, he was surviving with the thought of only eating half a fish every other day. The second, and the person who stayed the second-longest, Carleigh Fairchild, was pulled out because, at 101 lbs/45.8 kg, she had lost nearly 30% of her starting body weight and had a BMI of 16.8. Participants are automatically "pulled" at a BMI of 17 or less.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: The third season was set in Patagonia, Argentina, in South America. The contestants were spread across multiple lakes in the foothills of the Andes mountain range. Unlike in seasons 1 and 2, which were located on the Pacific Ocean, season 3's food resources were mostly limited to brook and rainbow trout, forage, small birds, and the possibility of wild boar. Contestants also were at a disadvantage because they had no access to the flotsam and jetsam that washes up on the Pacific Coast. They also had no salt source.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: The weather in Patagonia is comparable to that of Vancouver Island, with rainfall averaging 78 inches a year. However, unlike Vancouver Island, snowfall is extremely common in the winter.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: Officially titled "Alone: Lost & Found", the fourth season premiered on June 8, 2017. For this season, for the first time participants were in pairs (2) of family members (brother/brother, husband/wife, father/son), with seven teams scattered throughout the island. The prize was still $500,000, which would be split between the two. One member was dropped in the traditional manner, along a beach head with the idea that they'd stay in the relative area for their duration, while the second member was dropped about 10 miles out with only a compass and bearing and needed to hike their way to base camp. Supply items were still limited to 10 chosen survival tools total, that were split between team members until reconnecting. If one member decided to tap out an any time, the partner was also eliminated. Three teams never met up before tapping out, and it took eight days for the first team to come together. Pete Brockdorff experienced a medical emergency during his and his son's standard tap-out. It was severe chest pains brought on by the acid reflux he developed as a result of the lack of food. Jim and Ted Baird won the season after lasting 75 days.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: The fourth season was again set on Vancouver Island, in Quatsino Territory, located near Port Hardy, British Columbia. Teams were set further apart than normal this season, due to the 10 mile radius hike required to meet up at their rendezvous point.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: Officially titled "Alone: Redemption", Season 5 premiered on June 14, 2018. The 10 contestants are non-winners selected from the previous 4 seasons of "Alone".


title: Alone (TV series)

text: The fifth season was set in Northern Mongolia in Asia. The series was filmed in Khonin Nuga near the city of Züünkharaa, Selenge aimag. "Khonin Nuga" is a valley located close to the Khentii Mountains of Northern Mongolia, one of the country's unique and still largely untouched places.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: Season Six is set along the shore of the east arm of Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada, about south of the Arctic Circle and about south of the arctic tree line.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: Officially titled "Alone: Million Dollar Challenge", Season 7 premiered on June 11, 2020. Unlike the previous seasons, instead of trying to outlast all of their competitors, the ultimate goal for the participants was to survive for 100 days on their own, which meant that there was a possibility of multiple winners—or conversely, no winners at all. At the end of each episode host Colby Donaldson lets the contestants comment on the episode which is accompanied by "never before seen footage."


title: Alone (TV series)

text: The seventh season is again set along the shore of the east arm of Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Drop off (Day 1) was on September 18, 2019.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: Officially titled "Alone: Grizzly Mountain", Season 8 premiered on June 3, 2021. The season reverts to the original format of the show, with the last person standing declared the winner and awarded $500,000. At the end of most episodes in which a contestant taps out, Season 6 contestant and fifth-place finisher Nikki van Schyndel (a survival expert and first responder) conducts a short exit interview at base camp a few days after the tap out.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: The eighth season is set along the shores of high-elevation Chilko Lake (Tŝilhqox Biny), British Columbia, a 40-mile long remote glacial lake on the dry eastern side of the Coast Mountains. The lake's surface is at over 3800 ft above sea level, making Season 8 the first Alpine season of "Alone", being over 1000 ft higher in elevation than the next-highest season, Season 3, in Patagonia. Drop off (Day 1) was on September 18, 2020.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: Season 9 premiered on May 26, 2022, and was filmed in the Nunatsiavut region of northern Labrador, eastern Canada.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: Season 9 participants were dropped in September 2021 along the lower reaches of the Big River, Labrador, Canada, 35 km (21 mi) south of the nearest community of Makkovik. The river is surrounded by dense spruce-fir boreal forest dotted by muskeg bogs of peat and Labrador Tea. The surrounding area is abundant in wildlife including Brook Trout, Canadian Beaver, American Black Bear, Spruce Grouse, and Caribou, with the river visited by Harbor Seals in fall. Drop off (Day 1) was on September 18, 2021.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: In January 2017, a Danish version of the series premiered with the title "Alone in the Wilderness" () on DR3. It featured ten contestants and was filmed in northern Norway in the fall of 2016. Participants chose 12 items from a list of 18. The winner of the Danish version gains nothing but the honor. Since 2017, four more seasons of "Alone in the Wilderness" have been produced.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: In fall 2017, a Norwegian version aired with 10 contestants spread around a lake with fish. It was located near the tree line, so the collection of small birch trees left few land resources for contestants.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: In early 2022, an Australian version was announced by SBS following the success of the American version on SBS On Demand. Titled "Alone Australia", the series will be produced by ITV Studios Australia and air in 2023. The show is currently casting for contestants.


title: Alone (TV series)

text: In August 2022, a British version was announced by Channel 4; the series will be produced by The Garden.


title: The Social Network

text: The Social Network is a 2010 American biographical drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin, based on the 2009 book "The Accidental Billionaires" by Ben Mezrich. It portrays the founding of social networking website Facebook. It stars Jesse Eisenberg as the Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, with Andrew Garfield as Eduardo Saverin, Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker, Armie Hammer as Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and Max Minghella as Divya Narendra. Neither Zuckerberg nor any other Facebook staff were involved with the project, although Saverin was a consultant for Mezrich's book.


title: The Social Network

text: Production began when Sorkin signed to write it. Principal photography began that same year in October in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and lasted until November. Additional scenes were shot in California, in the cities of Los Angeles and Pasadena, as a portion of the film Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross of Nine Inch Nails composed the film's score, which was released on September 28, 2010.


title: The Social Network

text: The film premiered at the New York Film Festival on September 24, 2010, and was released theatrically in the United States on October 1, by Sony Pictures Releasing. A major critical and commercial success, the film grossed $224 million on a $40 million budget and was widely acclaimed by critics. It was named one of the best films of the year by 78 critics, and named the best by 22 critics, the most of any film that year. It was also chosen by the National Board of Review as the best film of 2010. At the 83rd Academy Awards, it received eight nominations, including for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Eisenberg, and won for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Film Editing. It also received awards for Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Original Score at the 68th Golden Globe Awards.


title: The Social Network

text: "The Social Network" has maintained a strong reputation since its initial release, and is commonly cited by critics as one of the best films of the 2010s and 21st century. The Writers Guild of America ranked Sorkin's screenplay the third greatest of the 21st century. While no official sequel has been announced, Sorkin has publicly expressed interest and willingness to write a screenplay for one should Fincher return to direct.


title: The Social Network

text: On October 28, 2003, 19-year-old Harvard University sophomore Mark Zuckerberg is dumped by his girlfriend, Erica Albright. Returning to his dorm, Zuckerberg writes an insulting post about Albright on his LiveJournal blog. He creates a campus website called Facemash by hacking into college databases to steal photos of female students, then allowing site visitors to rate their attractiveness. After traffic to the site crashes parts of Harvard's computer network, Zuckerberg is given six months of academic probation. However, Facemash's popularity attracts the attention of twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and their business partner Divya Narendra. The trio invites Zuckerberg to work on Harvard Connection, a social network exclusive to Harvard students and aimed at dating. Zuckerberg approaches his friend Eduardo Saverin with an idea for the Facebook, a social networking website that would be exclusive to Ivy League students. Saverin provides $1,000 in seed funding, allowing Zuckerberg to build the website, which quickly becomes popular. When they learn of the Facebook, the Winklevoss twins and Narendra are incensed, believing that Zuckerberg stole their idea while misleading them by stalling development on the Harvard Connection website. They raise their complaint with Harvard President Larry Summers, who is dismissive and sees no value in disciplinary action on the Facebook or Zuckerberg.


title: The Social Network

text: Saverin and Zuckerberg meet fellow student Christy Lee, who asks them to "Facebook me," a phrase that impresses them. As the Facebook grows in popularity, Zuckerberg expands the network to Yale University, Columbia University, and Stanford University. Lee arranges for Saverin and Zuckerberg to meet Napster co-founder Sean Parker, who presents a "billion-dollar" vision for the company. Zuckerberg is impressed, but Saverin dismisses him as paranoid and delusional. Parker also suggests renaming the site to "Facebook." Later, Zuckerberg relocates the company to Palo Alto on Parker's advice; Saverin remains in New York to work on business development. Parker later moves into the house that Zuckerberg is using as a base of operations and becomes more involved with the company, much to Saverin's annoyance.


title: The Social Network

text: While competing in the Henley Royal Regatta for Harvard against the Hollandia Roeiclub, the Winklevoss twins discover that Facebook has expanded to Europe with Oxford, Cambridge and LSE, and decide to sue the company for intellectual property theft. Meanwhile, Saverin objects to Parker making business decisions for Facebook and freezes the company's bank account in the resulting dispute. He relents when Zuckerberg reveals that they have secured $500,000 from angel investor Peter Thiel. Saverin becomes enraged when he discovers that the new investment deal allows his share of Facebook to be diluted from 34% to 0.03% while maintaining the ownership percentage of all other parties. He confronts Zuckerberg and Parker, and Saverin vows to sue Zuckerberg before being ejected from the building. Saverin's name is removed from the masthead as co-founder and CFO. Later, Parker is apprehended for cocaine possession at a party celebrating 1 million users. He attempts to blame Saverin, so Zuckerberg cuts ties with him, telling him to go home.


title: The Social Network

text: In separate depositions, the Winklevoss twins claim that Zuckerberg stole their idea, while Saverin claims his shares of Facebook were unfairly diluted when the company was incorporated. Marylin Delpy, a junior lawyer for the defense, informs Zuckerberg that they will settle with Saverin since the sordid details of Facebook's founding and Zuckerberg's callous attitude will make him unsympathetic to a jury. Alone, Zuckerberg sends a Facebook friend request to Albright and repeatedly refreshes the page.