Editing Yasser Arafat (section)

==Early life==
[[File:Yasser Arafat in 1942.jpg|thumb|Arafat (right) with his sister Khadija and brother [[Fathi Arafat|Fathi]] in Cairo, 1942]]

===Birth and childhood===
Arafat was born in [[Cairo]], Egypt,<ref name="Birth">Not certain; Disputed; Most sources including Tony Walker, [[Andrew Gowers]], [[Alan Hart (writer)|Alan Hart]] and [[Said K. Aburish]] indicate Cairo as Arafat's place of birth, but others list his birthplace as Jerusalem as well as Gaza. See [http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1994/arafat-bio.html Nobel Prize Biography] and [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/890161.stm BBC Obituary] for more information. Some believe also that the Jerusalem birthplace might have been a little known rumor created by the KGB (see [https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/arafat.html Jewish Vitual Library]).</ref> on 4<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kumaraswamy |first=P. R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hKXvCSc93zEC&q=Arafat%25201929%2520%25224%2520august%2522&pg=PA26 |title=The A to Z of the Arab-Israeli Conflict |date=24 July 2009 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-7015-4 |page=26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=17 March 2016 |title=Yasser Arafat Mausoleum |url=http://www.alluringworld.com/yasser-arafat-mausoleum/ |access-date=5 September 2019 |website=Alluring World}}</ref> or 24 August 1929.<ref>{{harvnb|Hart|1989|page=[https://archive.org/details/arafatpoliticalb00hart/page/67 67]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dunn |first=Michael |title=Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East & North Africa: A–C |date=2004 |publisher=Macmillan Reference |isbn=978-0-02-865769-1 |editor1-last=Mattar |editor1-first=Philip |volume=1 |place=Detroit |pages=269–272 |chapter=Arafat, Yasir |quote=Arafat and his family have always insisted that he was born 4 August 1929. in his mother's family home in Jerusalem. Nevertheless, an Egyptian birth registration exists, suggesting that he was born in Egypt on 24 August 1929... |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmo00phil_0/page/268/mode/1up |chapter-url-access=registration}}</ref>{{rp|269}} His father, Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini, was a Palestinian from [[Gaza City]], whose mother, Yasser's paternal grandmother, was [[Egypt]]ian. Arafat's father battled in the Egyptian courts for 25 years to claim family land in Egypt as part of his inheritance but was unsuccessful.<ref>{{cite book| title=Yasser Arafat| publisher=Rosen Publishing Group| year=2003| first=Bernadette |last=Brexel| page=12}}</ref> He worked as a textile merchant in Cairo's religiously mixed [[El-Sakakini|Sakakini District]]. Arafat was the second-youngest of seven children and was, along with his younger brother [[Fathi Arafat|Fathi]], the only offspring born in Cairo. [[Jerusalem]] was the family home of his mother, Zahwa Abul Saud, who died from a kidney ailment in 1933, when Arafat was four years of age.<ref name="The Making of a Palestinian">{{harvnb|Aburish|1998||pages=[https://archive.org/details/arafatfromdefend0001abur/page/7 7–32]}}</ref>

Arafat's first visit to Jerusalem came when his father, unable to raise seven children alone, sent Yasser and his brother Fathi to their mother's family in the [[Mughrabi Quarter]] of the [[Old City of Jerusalem|Old City]]. They lived there with their uncle Salim Abul Saud for four years. In 1937, their father recalled them to be taken care of by their older sister, Inam. Arafat had a deteriorating relationship with his father; when he died in 1952, Arafat did not attend the funeral, nor did he visit his father's grave upon his return to Gaza. Arafat's sister Inam stated in an interview with Arafat's biographer, British historian Alan Hart, that Arafat was heavily beaten by his father for going to the Jewish quarter in Cairo and attending religious services. When she asked Arafat why he would not stop going, he responded by saying that he wanted to study Jewish mentality.<ref name="The Making of a Palestinian"/>

===Education===
In 1944, Arafat enrolled in the [[Cairo University|University of King Fuad I]] and graduated in 1950.<ref name="The Making of a Palestinian"/> At university, he engaged Jews in discussion and read publications by [[Theodor Herzl]] and other prominent Zionists.<ref>{{cite news|title=Yasser Arafat: Homeland a dream for Palestinian Authority Chief|url=http://www.cnn.com/fyi/school.tools/profiles/Yasser.Arafat/student.storypage.html|publisher=[[CNN]]|access-date=5 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011118060808/http://www.cnn.com/fyi/school.tools/profiles/Yasser.Arafat/student.storypage.html|archive-date=18 November 2001|url-status=live}}</ref> By 1946, he was an [[Arab nationalism|Arab nationalist]] and began procuring weapons to be smuggled into [[Mandatory Palestine]], for use by [[Irregular military|irregulars]] in the [[Arab Higher Committee]] and the [[Army of the Holy War]] militias.<ref>{{harvnb|Rubenstein|Leon|1995|page=[https://archive.org/details/mysteryofarafat00rubi/page/38 38]}}</ref>

During the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]], Arafat left the university and, along with other Arabs, sought to enter [[Mandatory Palestine|Palestine]] to join Arab forces fighting against [[Haganah|Israeli troops]] and the creation of the state of Israel. However, instead of joining the ranks of the [[Palestinian fedayeen]], Arafat fought alongside the [[Muslim Brotherhood]], although he did not join the organization. He took part in combat in the Gaza area (which was the main battleground of [[Military of Egypt|Egyptian forces]] during the conflict). In early 1949, the war was winding down in Israel's favor, and Arafat returned to Cairo due to a lack of logistical support.<ref name="The Making of a Palestinian"/>

After returning to the university, Arafat studied [[civil engineering]] and served as president of the [[General Union of Palestinian Students]] (GUPS) from 1952 to 1956. During his first year as president of the union, the university was renamed Cairo University after a [[1952 Egyptian revolution|coup]] was carried out by the [[Free Officers Movement (Egypt)|Free Officers Movement]] overthrowing [[Farouk of Egypt|King Farouk I]]. By that time, Arafat had graduated with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and was called to duty to fight with Egyptian forces during the [[Suez Crisis]]; however, he never actually fought.<ref name="The Making of a Palestinian"/> Later that year, at a conference in [[Prague]], he donned a solid white [[keffiyeh]]–different from the fishnet-patterned one he adopted later in [[Kuwait]], which was to become his emblem.<ref>{{harvnb|Aburish|1998|page=[https://archive.org/details/arafatfromdefend0001abur/page/46 46]}}</ref>

===Personal life===
In 1990, Arafat married [[Suha Arafat|Suha Tawil]], a [[Palestinian Christians|Palestinian Christian]], when he was 61 and Suha, 27. Her mother introduced her to him in France, after which she worked as his secretary in Tunis.<ref>{{harvnb|Aburish|1998|pages=[https://archive.org/details/arafatfromdefend0001abur/page/246 246–247]}}</ref><ref name="Suha">{{cite news|title=Profile: Suha Arafat |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3965541.stm |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=11 November 2004|access-date=16 June 2024 }}</ref> Prior to their marriage, Arafat adopted fifty Palestinian [[orphan|war orphans]].<ref name="timeexpecting">{{cite magazine|title=Milestones|magazine=Time|date=19 December 1994 }}</ref> During their marriage, Suha tried to leave Arafat on many occasions, but he forbade it.<ref name="star1">{{cite journal|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Feb-09/205749-arafats-widow-tried-to-leave-palestinian-leader-hundreds-of-times.ashx#axzz2KIO7W2jH|title=Arafat's widow tried to leave Palestinian leader 'hundreds of times'|journal=The Daily Star|date=9 February 2013|access-date=11 February 2013|archive-date=16 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816043730/http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Feb-09/205749-arafats-widow-tried-to-leave-palestinian-leader-hundreds-of-times.ashx#axzz2KIO7W2jH|url-status=dead}}</ref> Suha said she regrets the marriage, and given the choice again would not repeat it.<ref name="star1"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/suha-arafat-i-wish-id-never-married-him/|title=Suha Arafat: I wish I'd never married him|website=[[The Times of Israel]] |first=Stuart |last=Winer |date=10 February 2013 |access-date=16 June 2024}}</ref> In mid-1995, Arafat's wife Suha gave birth in a Paris hospital to a daughter, named Zahwa after Arafat's mother.<ref>{{harvnb|Aburish|1998|pages=[https://archive.org/details/arafatfromdefend0001abur/page/290 290]}}</ref>

===Name===
Arafat's full name was Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini. Mohammed Abdel Rahman was his first name, Abdel Raouf was his father's name and Arafat his grandfather's. [[Qudwa|Al-Qudwa]] was the name of his tribe and al-Husseini was that of the clan to which the al-Qudwas belonged. The al-Husseini clan was based in Gaza and is not related to the well-known [[al-Husayni]] clan of Jerusalem.<ref name="The Making of a Palestinian"/>

Since Arafat was raised in Cairo, the tradition of dropping the Mohammed or Ahmad portion of one's first name was common; notable Egyptians such as [[Anwar Sadat]] and [[Hosni Mubarak]] did so. However, Arafat dropped Abdel Rahman and Abdel Raouf from his name as well. During the early 1950s, Arafat adopted the name Yasser, and in the early years of Arafat's guerrilla career, he assumed the [[Noms de guerre|nom de guerre]] of Abu Ammar. Both names are related to [[Ammar ibn Yasir]], one of [[Muhammad]]'s early [[Sahaba|companions]]. Although he dropped most of his inherited names, he retained Arafat due to its [[Mount Arafat|significance in Islam]].<ref name="The Making of a Palestinian"/>