Indira Gandhi Assassinated
5th of Safar 1405 AH/ October 31st, 1984 AD: Indian Prime Minister Indira Nehru Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards. The attack likely was retaliation for Gandhi's order for the Indian Army to attack the Sikh's holiest site, the Harmandir or "Golden Temple," in September of 1981. At the time, Gandhi was trying to suppress a separatist movement in the Punjab region.
In the attack on the Golden Temple, as many as 3,000 people were killed. Indira Gandhi was the first, and so far only, female prime minister in Indian history. She was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister.
Contrary to popular belief, her husband, Feroze Gandhi, was not related to the Mahatma Gandhi. She did know the Mahatma from childhood, however.
Qibya Massacre Committed
5th of Safar 1373 AH/ October 14th, 1953 AD: Qibya village was the object of a brutal "zionist" attack carried out by the "101" unit led by terrorist Ariel Sharon. On the evening of October 14, an Israeli military force estimated at about 600 soldiers moved toward the village. Upon arrival, it surrounded it and cordoned it off from all of the other Arab villages. Acts of brutality continued until 4:00 a.m., October 15, 1953. This vicious terrorist attack resulted in the destruction of 56
Massacre of the Citadel Committed
5st of Safar 1226 AH/ March 1st, 1811 AD: Muhammad Ali knew that eventually he would have to deal with the Mamluks if he ever wanted to control Egypt. They were still the feudal owners of Egypt and their land was still the source of wealth and power. On March 1st, 1811 AD, Muhammad Ali invited all of the leading Mamluks to his palace to celebrate the declaration of war against the Wahhabis in Arabia. Between 600 and 700 Mamluks paraded in Cairo. Near the Al-Azab gates, in a narrow road down from Muqatam Hill, Muhammad Ali's forces ambushed and killed almost all in what came to be known as the Massacre of the Citadel. According to period reports, only one Mamluk, whose name is given variously as Amim (also Amyn), or Heshjukur (a Besleney), survived when he forced his horse to leap from the walls of the citadel, killing it in the fall. During the following week, hundreds of Mamluks were killed throughout Egypt; in the citadel of Cairo alone more than 1,000 were killed. Throughout Egypt an estimated 3,000 Mamluks and their relatives were killed.
Bab Al-Amoud Massacre Committed
6th of Safar 1226 AH/ December 29th, 1947 AD: Irgus Gang bombed Arab communities at Bab Al-Amoud in Jerusalem killing 14 civilian Arabs and wounding 15 others.
First Session of the UN General Assembly
6th of Safar 1365 AH/ January 10th, 1946 AD: The first session of the United Nations General Assembly met in London with 51 nations in attendance. Paul Spaak of Belgium was elected the first president of the General Assembly.
Birth of Ronald Regan
6th of Safar 1329 AH/ February 10th, 1911 AD: Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911– June 5, 2004) was born. He was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975). Prior to his political career Reagan was also a famous motion picture actor and president of the Screen Actors Guild.
Egypt ambassador back in Zionist Entity
7th of Safar 1426 AH/ March 17th, 2005 AD: Egypt returned an ambassador to the Zionist entity Thursday more than four years after Cairo recalled its envoy at the outset of a Palestinian intifada. The restoration of full diplomatic relations between Zionists and Egypt underscored improving ties ahead of the Zionist entity's planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip later this year and a de facto cease-fire in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hafizullah Amin Overthrown
7th of Safar 1400 AH/ December 27th, 1979 AD: Afghani president Hafizullah Amin is overthrown and killed in a coup backed by Soviet troops. Viktor Karpukhin carries out the taking of the presidential palace, in which two Soviet soldiers are killed. Ex-deputy prime minister Karmal, who has been in exile in Czechoslovakia, is picked as Amin's successor.
Birth of Ahmed Orabi
7th of Safar 1257 AH/ March 31st, 1841 AD: Birth of Colonel Ahmed Orabi or Ahmed Urabi (April 1, 1841 - September 21, 1911). He was an Egyptian army officer and later an army general who revolted against the khedive and European domination of Egypt in 1879 in what has become known as the Urabi Revolt. He was the first Egyptian national political and military leader to rise from the Fellahin.
Amina leads US Muslims to prayer
8th of Safar 1426 AH/ March 18th, 2005 AD: Amina Wadud, professor of Islamic studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, is thought to have become first Muslim woman to lead mixed Friday prayers. More than 100 men and women attended the service and sermon given by her. The location was moved to an Anglican Church building in New York after mosques refused to host the event. The service has been criticized by a number of Muslim leaders, who say it goes against Islamic doctrine.
Emir Khattab Martyred
8th of Safar 1426 AH/ March 18th, 2005 AD: Emir Khattab, a Muslim Mujahid and financier working with Chechen Mujahideen, was martyred during the night of March 19-20, 2002, when a Dagestani messenger hired by the Russian FSB gave Khattab a poisoned letter. The messenger, a Dagestani double agent known as Ibrahim, was reportedly tracked down and killed a month later in Azerbaijan on Shamil Basayev's orders. Khattab was succeeded by Emir Abu al-Walid.
Student Revolt Erupts
8th of Safar 1388 AH/ May 6th, 1968 AD: May 1968, referring to the period when the events occurred in France, saw the largest general strike that ever stopped the economy of an advanced industrial country,[1] the first wildcat general strike in history,[1] and a series of student occupation protests. The prolonged strike involved eleven million workers for two weeks in a row,[1] and its impact was such that it almost caused the collapse of the government of President Charles de Gaulle. Such explosion was provoked by groups in revolt against modern consumer and technical society, embracing left-wing positions that were even more critical of Stalinist totalitarianism than of Western capitalism.
Selim I Ascends the Throne
8th of Safar 918 AH/ April 25th, 1512 AD: Selim I, ascended the Ottoman throne. He was One of the most able military leaders of all the Ottoman sultans, in his brief reign Selim hugely expanded the borders of the Ottoman empire. The son of Bayazid II, one of his first acts as Sultan was to invade Persia with 60, 000 men, both to deal with the biggest threat to the Ottoman empire and to stamp out the ‘heresy’ of the Shiite Persians.
Sotheby's and Christies chiefs charged
8th of Safar 1422 AH/ May 2nd, 2001 AD: A federal jury in the United States has indicted the former chairmen of the world's two largest auction houses, Sotheby's and Christies, on charges of overcharging its customers. The US Justice Department said the charges - against Alfred Taubman and Anthony Tennant, respectively former chairmen at Sotheby's and Christies - related to commission rates charged to sellers in the US and elsewhere between 1993 and 1999.
Ben Ali Heads Cabinet
9th of Safar 1408 AH/ October 12th, 1987 AD: Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who later assumed Tunisian presidency, was appointed Prime Minister by President Habib Bourguiba; in this position, he was the President's constitutional successor.
Iranian Revolution Succeeds
9th of Safar 1399 AH/ February 11th, 1979 AD: Iranian Revolution led by the Ayatollah Khomeini succeeds and supporters appear to be in control of the Iranian capital, Tehran, at night.
People's Republic of Albania Proclaimed
9th of Safar 1365 AH/ January 11th, 1946 AD: The Constituent Assembly proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of Albania. The new government's domestic and foreign policies closely followed the Communist, pro-Soviet lines of other Eastern European governments. As a result, Albanian relations with the West, especially with the British, rapidly deteriorated.
Boutros-Ghali Assassinated
9th of Safar 1328 AH/ February 20th, 1910 AD: Boutros-Ghali, who was the Prime Minister of Egypt from 1908 to 1910, was assassinated. Accused of favoring the British in the Denshawai incident and on February 20, 1910, was assassinated by Ibrahim Nassif al-Wardani, a young pharmacology graduate who had just returned from the United Kingdom.
Vietnam forces Khmer Rouge retreat
9th of Safar 1399 AH/ January 8th, 1979 AD: Hundreds of Khmer Rouge troops have fled Cambodia after being crushed by Vietnamese-led rebel forces. The capital, Phnom Penh, has been seized and Pol Pot and many of his soldiers forced to retreat into the countryside. It signals the end of nearly four years of brutal domination by the guerrillas. Defeated soldiers crossed the border into Thailand where they were taken to prison as illegal immigrants. The Thai authorities have said they will not be forcibly returned to Cambodia.
Death of Abdul-Majid Selim
10th of Safar 1374 AH/ October 7th, 1954 AD: The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Abdul-Majid Selim, the 33rd Imam of Al-Azhar, dies.
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