Totally Outside the Box

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Transliterators have been struggling for years with how to spell the name of Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi for English speakers. This spelling seems close to standard now. But when I was a kid a version beginning with a Q was the most common. And I think I’ve seen at least four or five spellings that are considered proper by this or that publication.

But just now I was stopping by Gaddafi’s personal website. And he has a totally outside the box spelling I don’t think I’ve ever seen before: al Gathafi.

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