Who is Abu Rashid from Mao II and what is their importance?

Abu Rashid is the name given to yet another of the narrative's dictator figures/characters. While it is not entirely clear whether he, like other such characters (Moon, Mao, Khomeini) is biographically based on a particular individual, it is certainly clear that he shares important characteristics with both those other characters and similarly motivated real-life terrorist leaders. These are, primarily, determination that the socio-political cause of his people (in this case, Lebanese) be recognized, and insistence that his word and leadership be followed unquestioningly. In Part 2 of the narrative, Bill Gray is determined to meet Rashid, but never actually does so. In the Epilogue, Rashid is met and photographed by Brita Nilsson, who both challenges him to be honest and faces down his desire to control.