Islamic History: 570 - 595

570 The Birth of Muhammad

(saws). The Prophet Muhammad was
born in Makkah of the Hashim (Ast)
clan, belonging to the tribe of Quraish
(Kara). His mother, Amina (Amen),
was the daughter of Wahb, and his
father was Abdullah, who died before
his birth. He came under the care of
his paternal grandfather Adbul
Muttalib, who was about seventy
years old. At the age of six, he lost his
mother. After the death of his
grandfather, when Muhammad was
eight years old, he was entrusted to
his uncle, Abu talib, who had become
the new head of the clan, and grew up
in his home.
The Byzantine and Persian
Empires Bordering Arabia
395 After the death of Emperor
Theodosius I in 395, the Roman

Empire was partitioned into western

and eastern halves between his sons
Honorius and Arcadius respectively.
476 In 476, however, the western
Roman Empire collapsed, abandoning
Britain, Gaul, Spain and part of Italy to
the barbarians. In contrast, the
eastern half of the Roman/Byzantine,
Empire empire, comprising the
wealthier and more civilized provinces
of Greece, Egypt, Syria and Asia
Minor, was not only able to sustain the
loss of the West but had flourished
independently since then. The Eastern
had its capital at Byzantium
(Constantinople).
The other Great Power was Persia, and
the boundary between the two (Persia
and Rome/Byzantine) ran from the
Caucasus to the Upper Euphrates
(roughly coinciding with the present
border seperating Turkey and Syria

from Persia and Iraq), leaving the

Arabian Peninsula, which was mostly
tractless desert at the time, is the
largest in the world having an area of
about one million square miles. The
capital of the Persian Empire was at
the ancient city of Ctesiphon (known
as Medain in Arabic) on the Tigris
(some twenty miles southeast of the
site where the city of Baghdad was
later to be founded in 762).
The Byzantine Empire was founded
on:
Roman law and adminstration,
Greek Language and civilization and,
Christain religion and moral values.
The Church played a powerful role but
it also became a weakening factor in
the Empire because of the dogmatic
conflict of Christology within it.
610-41 CE Greek became the official
language of the Roman Empire during

the reign of Emperor Heraclius (r.61041);

379-95 CE Christainity was made the
state religion by Emperor Theodosius I
(r. 379-95).
306-37 CE Constantine I (r. 306-37),
the first Christain Roman Emperor,
paved the way for a Christain State by
a number of important steps such as
the Edict of Milan in 313, declaring
Sunday as a day of rest in 321,
presiding over the ecumenical Council
of Nicea in 325, and founding of
Constantinople(formerly Byzantium) in
330 as a "Christain City" and his
permanent capital. But, contrary to a
common belief, he did not make
Christainity the religion of the Empire,
which was done later by Theodosius I.
Constantine himself was baptized
shortly before his death.
313 CE Constantine I (r. 306-37),
passes the Edict of Milan in 313.

321 CE Constantine I declares Sunday

as a day of rest in 321.
325 CE Constantine I presides over
the ecumenical Council of Nicea in
325.
330 CE Constantine I founds
Constantinople (formerly Byzantium)
in 330 as a "Christain City" and his
permanent capital (but, contrary to a
common belief, he did not make
Christainity the religion of the Empire,
which was done later by Theodosius I).
Constantine himself was baptized
shortly before his death.
Makkah, Center of Caravan Trade
Route
There had been a long struggle for
territory between the two mighty and
rival empires, the Byzantine and
Persian or Sasanid/Susa (Zoroastrian),
as a result of which the overland trade
routes through Persia had been

broken. An alternative route, though

not a direct one, had been found
through Arabia for trade between the
East and the Mediterranean. A part of
this route was by sea to the Yemen
port Adan and a part overland to
Damascus and Gaza, via Makkah,
along the west coast of the peninsula.
There was extensive caravan trade
between Yemen and the markets of
Syria, and Makkah, which was a
staging post, became a prosperous
commercial center and the metropolis
of Arabia. It also had a pagan shrine
(built by original Afrakans) and
sanctuary called Ka'aba, which was
famous throughout Arabia and
assured the safety of those who came
to buy and sell at the trade fairs held
there. It attracted a large number of
pilgrims to perform rites. In this way,
the shrine, situated a few steps away
from the famous spring

Zamzam/Kamkam, played an
important role in the economic and
commercial life of Makkah which was
run by a small group of rich Black
merchants.
Makkah itself stood in a narrow,
barren valley, surrounded by steep,
bare hills. Its food supply came from
the fertile fields of Taif, a town forty
miles to the southeast. Water was also
scarce, its main source of supply
being the Zamzam, although there
were other wells located outside the
town. The free air of the open desert
was thought healthier than the
suffocating heat of this dusty and
congested little town. It was,
therefore, a widespread custom for
people to give their children to be
suckled by women of the neighboring
tribes in the desert. Muhammad thus
spent his early childhood in the care
of a woman of the Sa'd (Sut) tribe

outside Makkah, after which he

returned to his mother, but she died
within a year, leaving him an orphan.
Makkah was inhabited mainly by the
tribe of Quraish (Kara) , which
consisted of, among others, two
prominent clans - the Hashim (the
people of Ast), headed by Abdul
Muttalib, and the Umayya. The
Hashim clan maintained the Kaba and
the management of the Pilgrimage,
while the Umayya clan had hereditary
leadership in war. It was in the
exercise of this last right that Abu
Sufyan(ra), leader of the Umayya clan,
had overall command of the Makkan
forces against the Muslims in later
battles. Both clans were engaged in
trade, the Umayya clan much more so
than the Hashim.
381 CE After Christainity became the
official religion of the Roman Empire in

381, it began to penetrate Arabia,

slowly, but still posing a challenge to
Arabian paganism. However, in the
succeeding centuries, the Byzantine
Orthodox Church no longer remained
a religious unit but was bitterly
divided into mutually hostile groups
differing in their interpretation of the
Incarnation.
5th Cen CE The Nestorian Christains
are persecuted and driven out of the
Roman Empire in the middle of the
fifth century. These Greek refugees
were welcomed in Persia as victims of
the Byzantines, whom the Persians
regarded as their main enemies. The
Nestorian conducted a vigorous
missionary campaign along the
Euphrates and the northern part of the
Persian Gulf and suceeded in
converting many Arabs in those
regions.

580-605 CE The last ruler of the Arab

Lakhmid Dynasty, Numan III(r. c.580605), who ruled the north-eastern
periphery of Arabia, became a
Nestorian Christain.
6th Cen CE On the north-western side
of Arabia, the Ghassan Arab, tribe
living along the border with Syria, had
also become Christain by the middle
of the sixth century, but they
professed Monophysite Christainity,
which was condemned as heretical by
the Orthodox Church and bitterly
opposed by the Nestorians.
300 and 500 CE In fact, both the
Persian and Byzantine Empires
maintained the Arab satellite states of
Lakhm and Ghassan respectively to
protect their open southern flanks
from Bedouin attacks.
The Lakhmids and the Ghassanids
were recognized as clients by these

governments around the years 300

and 500 respectively. These rival
tribes not only provided buffer states
for their respective paymasters, but
also engaged themselves in endless
desert warfare, carrying out raids
against each other. Christain
communities were also founded in
Yemen and Najran. In addition to the
Christains, there were many much
older Ethiopian (so-called
Judaic/Jewish) colonies in Arabia,
founded mainly in Yemen and
Khaybar. There were three clans in
Makkah who professed the
Utu/Ethiopian (so-called Judaic/Jewish
faith). Thus, while the tribes of the
peninsula were still pagan and
worshipped idols (traditional Afrakan
Monotheic Polythiesm), Judaism and
Christainity had already established a
foothold in the peninsula and
penetrated some communities,

particularly along the fringes of the

desert.
522 CE The Afrakans/Ethiopians/Kas
Nubas/Abyssinians occupy Yemen.
570 CE , the Christain Abyssinian
governor of Yemen, invaded Hijaz in
570 but retreated from a place a few
miles from Makkah, abandoning the
original aim of the expedition, which
was to destroy the Ka'aba. Abraha
himself died on returning to the
Yemenite capital, Sana. Thus the
Ka'aba was saved, which was
regarded as the fulfillment of the
prayer which its Keeper and
Muhammed's jet Black grandfather,
Abdul Muttalib, had made to God to
defend His own House.
It is the incident which is referred
to in Sura 105(The Elephant) in
the Quran, because of elephants
being present in the Axumite
(Carthage/Anibel) army. The

Arabs of Hijaz were greatly

impressed, because they had
never seen elephants used in this
way before. This event is the year
570 is described as the "Year of
the Elephant" in some Arab
chronicles.
Pales in their attempt to blurr our
history claim that is not possible
to ascertain the exact date of the
Prophet(saws)'s birth. He(saws) is
said to have been born fifty-five
days after Abraha's attack on
Makkah and in the firieth
(fourtieth?) year of the reign of
Chosroes Anusharwan.
570-571 CE The third breaking of
the Marib dam, situated sixty
miles east of Sana in Yemen and
center of large irrigation system.
The Prophet(saws)'s birth is said
to have taken place at this time

(570 or 571).
574 Ce The Persians capture
Yemen (Amen). The
Afrakans/Ethiopians/Kas
Nubas/Abyssinians were expelled from
Yemen by the Persians after fifty-two
years of occupation, and Yemen came
under Persian rule.
581 CE Exposure of Byzantine
Border to Arabia. The ruling Prince
of the Ghassan tribe, being a
Monophysite Christain, was arrested
and taken to Constantinople for
alleged treason. The Byzantines
withdrew their recognition of the
Ghassan Dynasty, which had been
living along the Syrian border and
protecting it in return for a subsidy
and other privileges. This left the tribe
in defiance and the desert border
exposed to Bedouin attacks from
Arabia.

595 CE Muhammad (Saws)'s

marriage to Khadija(ra). At the age
of twenty-five, Muhammad(saws)
married Khadija, a forty-year-old
wealthy widow, who was his only wife
until her death in 619. This gave him
financial security, enabling him to
pursue his own inclinations, which
included long periods of introspection
in solitude and involvement in trade.
They had two sons, who died in
infancy, and four daughtersn named
Zaynad(ra), Ruqayya(ra), Fatima(ra)
and Umm Kulthum(ra). Of these,
Ruqayya married Uthman ibn Affan(ra)
and Fatima(ra) married the
Prophet(saws)'s cousin Ali ibn Abi
Talib(ra); Uthman and Ali later became
the third(644-56) and fourth(656-61)
Caliphs respectively.
Muhammed(saws) was survived only
by her marriage to Ali was of lasting

importance, since the Prophet(saws)'s

descendants from this line have been
especially revered.
619 CE Khadija, Muhammad
(Saws)'s wife dies in 619.

1500? BC: The first kaaba shrine is

founded in Mecca during the 18th
Dynasty of Kemet while it is still a
world Empire which means that it
was built within the Afrakan worldview
and reflects that view.
853 BC: First reference to
ArAbs/Arabs (which is Bara
backwards) in an Assyrian inscription.
106 AD: Rome destroys the Nabatean
kingdom of Petra (Jordan)
271 AD: Rome destroys the kingdom
of Palmyra (Syria)

275 AD: the Lakhmids of Hira (on the

Euphrates) are vassals of the
Sassanids
300 CE: "qasida" (Kasi/Kushite) poems
350 CE: the Aramaic-speaking
Nabataeans (Jordan) develop the
Arabic script
450 CE: Qusayy (Kasa), husband of
the daughter of the king of Mecca,
unifies the Quraysh tribe and founds a
city around the shrine of Mecca
460 CE: Persian king Firuz persecutes
Utu/Ethiopian (so-called Judaic/Jewish
faith) Jews, who emigrate to Arabia.
500 CE: southern Arabia is ruled by a
Utu/Ethiopian (so-called Judaic/Jewish
faith) Jewish kingdom
500 CE: northern Arabia is ruled by
the Kinda
500 CE: the Arabs of Najran (southern
Arabia) convert to Christianity
504 CE: Mundhir III becomes king of
the Lakhmids of Hira

512 CE: First recorded inscription in

Arabic
522 CE: the Jewish Himyarite king of
Yemen persecutes the Christians,
which ask the Ethiopians for help
523 CE: the Himyarites defeat the
Ethiopians and massacre the
Christians of Najran
525 CE: the Jewish king Dhu Nuwas of
Yemen dies and Yemen becomes an
Ethiopian (Christian) colony
528 CE: Harith ibn 'Amr (Arethas) king
of Kinda dies
547 CE: Abyssinian general Abreha
proclaims himself king of southern
Arabia
554 CE: Mundhir III is defeated by the
Byzantine phylarch Ghassanid Harith
IV ibn Jabala
570 CE: Christian Ethiopia tries to
capture Mecca but is defeated by the
Arabs
575 CE: The Sassanians expel the

Ethiopians and Yemen becomes a

Sassanid province under Chrosroes II
595 CE: At the age of 25 Muhammad
(Mohammed) marries his wealthy
employer, the 40-year-old Khadija
602 CE: the Lakhmid dynasty of Hira
ends
608 CE: the Kaaba is erected in
Mecca, a granite cube to enclose a
black meteorite stone, a shrine to
numerous Arabian tribal gods
610 CE Muhammad (Mohammed) of
the Quraysh family preaches a new
religion, Islam, in Mecca, which is at
the time a model of religious tolerance
(all gods are allowed)
615 CE: Muslims travel to Ethiopia
622 CE: Mohammed and his followers
("Muslims") migrate ("heijra") to
Yathrib, which is renamed Medina
624 CE: Mohammed (in his fifties)
marries Aisha, a six-year old child, one
of his many wives

627 CE: Mohammed kills 700 Jews of

the tribe of Qurayza
628 CE: Yemen converts to Islam
628 CE: Mohammed, head of the state
of Medina, signs a treaty with the
Quraish state of Mecca
629 CE: Mohammed wins the battle of
Khaybar and beheads all the Jews
630 CE: Mohammed's army conquers
Mecca and establish the first religious
dictatorship in the world, banning all
other gods
632 CE: The Muslim army conquers
the Arabian peninsula
632 CE: Mohammed delivers his last
sermon on Mount Arafat
632 CE: Mohammed dies having
created a kingdom in the central
Arabian peninsula
632 CE: The Shiites, or Partisans of Ali,
claim that Ali should succeed
Mohammed based on blood relation,
but the council of the elderly

(Sunnites) choses instead Abu Bakr

632 CE: Abu Bakr, one of
Mohammed's followers and the first
Muslim caliph ("prophet's successor"),
quells upheavals throughout Arabia
and declares war on the Roman
(Byzantine) and Persian (Sassanid)
empires
633 CE: Abu Bakr conquers southern
Mesopotamia
634 CE: Abu Bakr defeats Byzantium
in Palestine
634 CE: Abu Bakr is succeeded by
Umar ibn Abn Khattab
636 CE: The Arabs defeat the
Byzantine army at Yarmuk and
capture Jerusalem
637 CE: The Arabs win the battle of
Qadisiya, capture Seleucia-Ctesiphon
and the Sassanid empire ends
639 CE: the Arabs conquer Syria
(mainly Nestorian) from Byzantium
642 CE: the Arabs conquer Egypt

(mainly monophysite) from

Byzantium, destroy the library of
Alexandria and found the first mosque
in Africa, Amr Ebn El Aas Mosque (the
site of future Cairo)
642 CE Oldest extant manuscript in
Arabic (with disambiguation dots)
644 CE: Umar is murdered and is
succeeded by Uthman ibn Affan, a
Quraysh
647 CE: the Arabs expand in nothern
Africa
649 CE: the Arabs attack Byzantium
on the sea and conquer Cyprus
650 CE: the Arabs conquer the whole
of Persia
650 CE: Youstol Dispage Fromscaruffi
dies
655 CE: the text of the Quran/Koran is
finalized
656 CE Uthman is murdered and is
succeeded by Ali (cousin and son-inlaw of Mohammed), the first "imam"

of Shiah (and only one to become also

caliph), who moves the capital from
Medina to Kufa
661 CE: Ali is murdered and is
succeeded as caliph by Mu'awiya ibn
Abi Sufyan, first of the Umayyads and
first caliph not to be an early follower
of Mohammed, and by Hasan as imam
661 CE: Mu'awiya moves the capital to
Damascus (in Syria rather than
Arabia) and creates an army of paid
mercenaries
662 CE: Ziyad ibn Abihi is appointed
governor of Iraq (Basra) and the
former Sassanid provinces
664 CE: the Arabs conquer
Afghanistan
669 CE: Hasan dies and Hussein
becomes imam
670 CE: the Arabs led by Uqba ibn
Nafi fight the Berbers in northern
Africa
670 CE: the Arabs found Qayrawan in

Tunisia
674 CE: the Arabs attack Byzantium
679 CE: the Arabs are defeated from
Byzantium
680 CE: Mu'awiya dies and the shiite
pretendent to the Caliphate,
Husayn/Hussein, Ali's son and
Mohammed's grandson, is
assassinated by sunnite troops of
Mu'awiya's son Yazid in Karbala
685 CE: Abd Malik becomes caliph and
introduces administrative reforms
(Arabic language as the official
language, coins with Islamic verses)
691 CE: the Dome of the Rock in
Jerusalem is the oldest evidence of the
Quran
692 CE: Hajjaj ibn Yusuf captures
Mecca and ends the anti-caliphate of
Abdallah ibn Zubayr (shiite)
695 CE: the Arabs build the Dome of
the Rock in Jerusalem (with the first
inscription from the Koran)

696 CE: Arabic becomes the official

language of the Islamic world
697 CE: the Arabs force the Persians
to abandon the Pahlavi alphabet in
favor of the Arabic script
698 CE: the Arabs recapture Carthage
and found Tunis
700 CE: Hasan Basri preaches virtue,
mortification, prayer, purity of heart to
attain knowledge of God
705 CE: caliph Walid I
708 CE: Arabs led by Musa ibn-Nusayr
conquer Tangiers (Morocco) and
subdue the Berbers
709 CE Qutayba ibn Muslim invades
Central Asia (Merv, Bukhara,
Samarkand)
709 CE the Al Aqsa mosque is built in
Jerusalem
710 CE: a mosque is built in
Damascus
711: Tariq ibn Ziyad conquers

southern Spain from the Visigoths of

king Roderic (with help from the Jews)
and Cordoba becomes the residence
of the Arab governor
712: a Berber army under Tariq ibn
Ziyad conquers southern Spain from
the Visigoths and Cordoba becomes
the residence of the Arab governor
712: the first mosque is built in
Bukhara, which will become the
second holiest city in Islam after
Mecca
715: calip Sulayman besieges
Byzantium
715: a mosque is built in Aleppo
712: the Arabs, led by Kutayba ben
Muslim, conquer Transoxania and
convert the Turks to Islam
715: Qutayba dies and Muslim
expansion in Central Asia comes to an
end
717: The Arabs lay siege to Byzantium
718: Byzantium repels the Arab

invasion
720: the Arabs capture Narbonne
720: the Zayids do not recognize the
imam Baqir and cause a split within
the shiites
725: the Arabs capture Carcassonne
728: caliph Hisham attacks the Franks
at Tours and Poitiers
732: the Muslim invasion of Europe is
stopped by the Franks at the battle of
Tours
737: the Arabs capture Provence
740: the Shias of Yemen split from the
main Shia tradition claiming that Zayd
was the rightful fifth imam instead of
Muhammad al Baqir
749: Abu 'l-'Abbas Saffah, whose army
is led by the Persian general Abu
Muslim Khorasani, replaces the
Umayyad dynasty with the Abbasid
dynasty
751: the Arabs defeat the Chinese at
the battle of the Talas River, which de

facto closes the Silk Road

751: the Arabs acquire the knowledge
of paper from the Chinese (first paper
mill in the Islamic world founded in
Samarkand)
752: the Franks under Pippin expel the
Arabs from Provence
756: The last surviving member of the
Umayyad dynasty flees to Spain,
Hisham's grandson, establishing
himself as Cabd al-Rahman I of Spain,
which becomes a separate emirate
750: the Ibadis believe that that the
most worthy person should be imam
and found an imamate in Oman
759: the Muslim army is expelled from
France
760: the Islails do not recognize the
seventh imam Musa Kazim and cause
another split within the shiites
712: The ascetic Abd Rustam founds a
theocratic kingdom in central Algeria
with capital in Tihert/ Tahert

744: Salih ibn Tarif proclaims himself a

prophet, writes a religious book in
Berber language, and founds a Berber
kingdom in central Morocco for the
Barghwata people
762: Baghdad was later to be founded
in 762, the Abbasid caliph Al-Mansur
moves the capital from Damascus to
Baghdad, built near the old Sassanid
capital, Ctesiphon
775: Al-Mansur dies
777: Ibadis form an imamate in
western Algeria with capital in Tahart
778: Charlemagne attacks the
Muslims and invades northeastern
Spain but is defeated
785: the Great Mosque at Cordoba
786: Harun Rashid becomes the fifth
Abbasid caliph, a protector of
scientists and scholars
786: Idris, a descendants of Ali and
Fatima, founds the Idrisid dynasty in
Morocco with capital in Volubilis

790: Idris, a descendant of Ali,

conquers Morocco and founds the
Idrisid dynasty
793: Sibawayh formalizes the Arabic
language
793: caliph Haroun-el-Raschid
establishes paper factory in Baghdad
796: The Ibadi imams seize control of
Oman
800: Arab merchants travel to China
800: Shafi preaches that God's will is
manifested both by the Koran and by
the "sunna" (the practice of
Mohammed embodied in "hadiths")
800: The Abbasid caliph Harun alRashid appoints Ibrahim I ibn alAghlab as governor of Ifriqiya (Tunisia
and western Libya) and Kairouan/ Al
Qairawan becomes the leading African
center for Sunni Islam
801: Charlemagne's son Louis
captures Barcelona from the Arabs,
creating the Spanish March along the

Pyrenees (Aragonia and Catalonia)

808: Idris II founds Fez in Morocco
809: Harun Rashid dies, after
expanding the caliphate from
Gibraltar to the Indu river
813: Al-Mamun defeats his brother in
a civil war and becomes caliph
819: the Samanids in Khurasan
(Transoxania) become virtually
independent
822: Abd al Rahman II becomes the
Arab emir of Spain and begins
construction of the Alcazar of Sevilla
825: caliph Al-Mamun sponsors
translations of Greek classics into
Arabic, and founds the first madrasa
(a "house of wisdom" in Baghdad)
825: the Arab mathematician Al
Khwarizmi of Baghdad writes a book
on "Hindu numerals" that spreads the
use of "Arabic" numerals
827: an Arab tribe, the Saracens,
invade Sicily

830: Ahmad ibn Hanbal: strict

obedience to the Koran and the Hadith
833: Sultan al-Mutasim creates a
regiment of Turkish slaves
840: the sufist Muhasibi preaches the
path to truth
840: Islamic philosophy is founded by
Kindi
840: Sibovayh, a Persian scholar,
codifies the Arabic grammar and
writes the first Arabic dictionary
846: the Uighurs state collapses and
the Karakhanid state is founded in
Transoxania
849: caliph al-Mutawakkil deposes the
patriarch of the Eastern Christian
Church and persecutes Christians
850: Eulogious leads a Christian revolt
against the Umyyads in Spain
878: the Muslims conquer all of Sicily
930: the philosopher Farabi reconciles
the philosopher's logic and religion as
a symbolic system to express truth to

non-philosophers
850: Hunayn ibn Ishaq translates
Greek classics
850: the Persian mathematician
Khwarazmi founds Algebra and
invents the Arabix numerals
870: Bukhari collects and classifies
the "hadiths"
867: the Saffarids (shiite) in eastern
Persia become virtually independent
with capital in Zaranj (Afghanistan)
868: Ahmad ibn Tulun proclaims Egypt
independent and founds the Tulunid
dynasty
873: the Samanids (sunni), with
capital in Bukhara, rule over
Transoxania
874: the twelfth imam disappears
877: Ahmad ibn Tulun, govemor of
Egypt, invades Syria
878: the Arabs capture Sicily and
make Palermo their capital
879: the Safarid ruler Yaqub Leys

revolts against the Arabs and unifies

most of Persia
880: the Abbasid dynasty is replaced
in Egypt by a Turkic dynasty
890: the Abbasids suppress the
imamate of Oman
899: the Samanids defeat the
Saffarids and expand their empire to
Persia but adopt the Persian language
900: the sufist Junayd preaches the
ecstasy of enlightment
909: the Ibadi imamate of Tahart
(Algeria) dissolves
910: Ubaydullah, a descendant of Ali
and Fatima (Mohammed's daughter)
and an imam, conquers Tunisia and
founds the Fatimid dynasty
912: the Umayyad ruler of Spain, Abd
Rahman III, assumes the title of
caliph, declaring Spain independent
921: The Fatimid preacher Ubayd Allah
leads the Kitama/Kutama Berbers
creates a kingdom in Tunisia with

capital in Mahdiya
922: the sufist Hallaj is executed in
Baghdad for heresy ("I am the truth")
942: the Samanids expands in Central
Asia (Bukhara, Samarkand, Herat) and
move their capital to Bukhara, which
becomes one of the cultural centers of
the Muslim world
945: the Buyids (shiite) descend from
the Caspian Sea, and invade Persia
949: Adud Dawla of the Buyid dynasty
adopts the Persian imperial title shah
950: Pahlavi, the language of Persia, is
reformed according to the Arabic
script
955: the Karakhanid state converts to
Islam
961: Al-Hakam II al Mustansir
becomes caliph of Spain and fosters
scientific and philosophical studies
968: Byzantium conquers northern
Syria
969: the Fatimids (shiites) conquer

Egypt and establish the Fatimid

caliphate (shiite)
972: a fire kills 17 thousand people in
Baghdad
972: The Fatimid move to Egypt and
leave Tunisia and northern Algeria to
governor Buluggin ibn Ziri of the Zirid
dynasty
973: The Fatimids move their capital
to the newly-founded city of Cairo
(Qahira)
976: Hisham II al Muayyad becomes
caliph of Spain and orders the
destruction of books of astronomy and
logic because heretic
977: the Buyid shah Adud Dawla
conquers Baghdad and seizes
effective control of the caliphate from
the Abbasids
977: Sebaktigin, king of the Ghaznavid
kingdom, invades northern India and
Central Asia
978: The Fatimids conquer Damascus

996: Al-Hakim becomes caliph of

Fatimid Egypt
999: the Ghaznavids of Afghanistan
defeat the Samanids of Persia in
Khurasan and the Qarakhanids seize
Bukhara
1000: Timbuktu is founded in Africa by
Muslim traders
1014: The Berber governor Hammad
ibn Buluggin declares independence
from the Zirids and founds a kingdom
in northern Algeria
1016: Pisa and Genoa defeat the
Arabs in the Tyrrhenian Sea
1017: Hamza ibn 'Ali ibn Ahmad
founds the Unitarian (also called
Druze) sect
1018: Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim protects
the Druze sects and executes the
heretic Ad-Darazi
1020: the philosopher Ibn Sina
Avicenna writes the Canon of Medicine
1021: Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim dies

1030: Mahmud Ghazni dies and the

Ghaznavid empire declines
1031: The Umayyad caliphate of Spain
collapses and Muslim Spain splits into
the Taifa kingdoms (including Sevilla,
Toledo, Saragossa, Granada but also
city-states ruled by Arab, Berber and
even Slavic soldiers)
1048/font>: The Zirid dynasty in north
Africa becomes independent
1049/font>: The Maliki school of law
forces the Zirids to accept Sunni Islam
and recognize the Abbasid caliph
1053: Sunni Maliki preacher Abdallah
Yasin of the Sanhaja Berbers in the
western Sahara leads the al-Murabitun
or Almoravid movement
1057: A famine devastates Baghdad
1062: the Almoravids, a militant
Berber party of strict Muslims,
conquer Morocco
1066: Muslims massacre Jews in Spain
1070: The Almoravids found their new

capital at Marrakesh
1073: Fatimid caliph Mustansir de
facto cedes power to Armenian
general Badr al-Jamali
1076: The Almoravids defeat the
kingdom of Ghana and force it to
convert to Islam
1076: The Fatimids lose Damascus
1076: the Seliuqs invade Syria and
Palestine
1079: the Seliuqs take Damascus
1077: Baghdad is devastated by five
months of religious infighting
1085: Alfonso VI of Castilla defeats the
Arabs at Toledo
1086: Byzantium loses northern Syria
1086: The Almoravids of Morocco
begin the conquest of southern Spain
1087: Pisa and Genoa destroy the
Islamic city of Mahdia in North Africa
1088: Religious sects fight in Baghdad
again
1090: Hasan ibn al-Sabbah acquires

the mountain fortress of Alamut,

assumes the title of Sheikh al-Jabal
and founds the Empire of the Ismaili
Assassins
1091: the Normans conquer Sicily
1092: Mohammed I ibn Malikshah
dies, replaced by his son Sancar, and
the Seliuq empire breaks up into
independent kingdoms in Iran, Iraq,
Syria and Anatolia (Rum)
1094: At the death of Fatimid caliph
Mustansir his vizier Badr al-Jamali
installs Mustansir's younger son
Ahmad al-Mustali as new caliph
instead of the older son Nizar , while
the Nizari Ismahilis start a new branch
of Shiite Islam
1096: the Pope launches the first
Crusade to conquer Jerusalem
1097: the Crusaders under Godfrey of
Bouillon capture Jerusalem
1100: Ghazali and "kalam" (rational
theology)

1175: Ibn Rushd Averroes proclaims

the two truths (religion for the
uneducated masses and philosophy
for the educated elite)
1118: Arabs import gunpowder from
China (a mixture of potassium nitrate,
sulfur and charcoal) and arms and
artillery are invented
1120: Muslim scholar Ibn Tumart of
the Masmuda Berber tribe, a followerd
of al-Ashari who claims to be the
mahdi, launches the alMuwahhidun/Almohad movement in
Algeria ruled by a Council of Ten that
rebels against Almoravid rule
1130: Tumart dies and Abd al-Mumin
appoints himself Almohad caliph
replacing the Council of Ten into a
family-based monarchy, conquers
most of Morocco and parts of Algeria
and Tunisia
1144: the Muslims captures Edessa
and destroy the oldest Crusader state

1146: Nur al-Din becomes Seljuq

governor of Aleppo at the death of his
father Zengi
1147: The Almohads, led by AbdulMu'min, conquer Morocco from the
Almoravids and cause the collapse of
the Almoravid dynasty
1148: Normans from Sicily destroy the
Zirid kingdom in north Africa
1149: the Almohads conquer Sevilla
and Cordoba in Spain
1152: The Almohads conquer Algeria
from the Almoravids and destroy the
Hammadid kingdom
1154: Seljuq governor Nur al-Din of
Aleppo conquers Damascus
1158: the Almohads conquer Tunisia
from the Almoravids
1169: Seljuq governor Nur al-Din of
Aleppo sends his Kurdish general
Shirkuh and Shirku's nephew Saladin
Ayubbid to invade Egypt
1169: Saladin is made grand vizier of

the Fatimid empire even though he is

a Sunni
1170: Seljuq governor Nur al-Din of
Aleppo conquers Mosul, thus reuniting
Syria and Mesopotamia
1171: Saladin Ayubbid ends the
Fatimid dynasty in Egypt and founds
the Ayubbid dynasty, which is Sunni
instead of Shiite
1172: the Almohads conquer
Andalucia from the Almoravids,
completing the reunification of Muslim
Spain, and move the capital to Sevilla
1174: Saladin takes Damascus from
the Syrian ruler
1187: Saladin retakes Palestine and
Jerusalem from the Crusaders at the
battle of Hattin
1192: Saladin signs the Treaty of
Ramla with King Richard I of England
tha grants the Christians a small
kingdom outside Jerusalem
1193: Saladin dies and his brother

Malik Adil becomes sultan of Egypt

and Syria
1195: Alfonso VIII of Castilla is
defeated by the Almohads at Alarcos
1196: the Marinid dynasty takes over
Morocco
1200: the sufist Ibn Arabi preaches
pantheism (only god exists)
1212: The Christian kings of Spain
defeat the Almohads at the battle of
Las Navas de Tolosa
1228: the Hafsid dynasty takes over
Tunisia
1229: The Almohads in Morocco
renounce Tumart's ideology and adopt
the Sunni Maliki school of law
1236: Castilla takes Cordoba from the
Almohads
1238: Aragona takes Valencia from
the Almohads
1244: Berber tribes led by the
Marinids end the Almohad dynasty in
Morocco

1248: Ferdinand III of Castilla

conquers Sevilla, capital of the
Almohads, and the Almohads are left
with the state of Granada
1249: the Mamlukes defeat the French
in Egypt and capture the king of
France
1250: The Mamluks of Egypt (Turkish
"military slaves") overthrow the sultan
and install a woman, Shajar al-Durr,
widow of a former sultan, as the new
sultan, thus terminating the Ayyubid
dynasty and starting the Mamluk
dynasty, and she is forced to marry Izz
al-Din Aybak and abdicate to him after
just 80 days, while the Syrians under
al Nasir reject her authority and
declare their independence and obtain
Jerusalem
1250: The Alhambra is built in
Granada
1250: Portugal conquers all the land
west of the Guadiana river from the

Almohads
1256: Hulagu's Mongol army destroy
the Assassins' castles
1257: Shajar-al-Durr of Egypt is killed
by the palace concubines after she
murders Izz al-Din Aybak
1258: Hulegu's Mongols destroy the
Abbasid caliphate of Baghdad (killing
800 thousand people including the
last Abbasid caliph), conquer Persia,
Mesopotamia and Syria and establish
an Ilkhanate with capital in Baghdad
1259: the Mamluk commander
Muzaffar Sayf-al-Din Kutuz/Qutuz
seizes power in Egypt after Shajar is
murdered
1260: Kutuz's Mamluks led by general
al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars
defeat the Christian army of the
Mongols at the battle of Ain Jalut and
annex Syria
1260: Kutuz is assassinated and
succeeded by his general al-Malik al-

Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars as leader of

Mamluk Egypt that turns Egypt-Syria
into the most powerful Islamic state
1262: Berke's Mongols ally with
Baybars' Egypt against Hulegu's
Mongols
1265: Hulegu dies and is succeeded
by his son Abaka, who kills Berke in
battle and moves the capital to Tabriz
thus accelerating the decline of
Baghdad
1269: collapse of the Almohad
dynasty in Algeria and rise of the
Marinids in Morocco
1271: prince Edward of England allies
with Abaka's Mongols but they are
defeated by Baybars' Mamluks
1279: Qalaun succeeds Kutuz as
leader of Mamluk Egypt
1291: the last Christian stronghold in
Palestine (Acre) falls to the Mamluks
1300: Ibn Taymiyya criticizes sufism
1350: Ibn Battuta travels from Tangier

to China
1400: Timur/Tamerlane lays siege to
Damascus
1415: Portugal seizes Ceuta from
Morocco
1428: The Wattasids become regents
for the Marinids in Morocco
1465: end of the Marinid dynasty in
Morocco, replaced by the Wattasids
1465: Arabs riot and massacre more
than 1 thousand Jews in Fes, Morocco
1471: Portugal seizes Tangiers from
Morocco
1472: The Wattasids seize power in
Morocco
1488: Moroccans invade the African
kingdom of Mali
1492: the Christian kingdoms
reconquer all of Spain from the
Muslims
1485: The Ottomans and Mamluk go
to war
1491: The Ottomans and Mamluk

make peace with no winner and no

loser
1502: Hizir Reis builds a pirate empire
out of Tunis
1511: the Marinid dynasty collapses in
Morocco and is succeeded by the
Sadid synasty
1514: the first book in Arabic (a book
of Christian prayers) is published in
Italy
1516: the Ottomans of Selim I defeat
the Mamluks and annex Syria and
Palestine
1517: the Ottomans of Selim I conquer
Egypt and western Arabia (end of the
Mamluk empire)
1529: The Ottomans conquer Algiers
1534: the Ottomans capture Baghdad
from the Safavids, helped by a popular
insurrection of the Sunnis, but the
Safavids survive in eastern Iran,
Azerbajan and the southern Caucasus
1538: The Ottomans conquer Aden

and southern Iraq, reaching Persian

Gulf
1547: The Ottomans conquer Sana
(Yemen) and southern Iraq
1549: Muhammad al-Shaikh conquers
Wattasid Morocco and establishes the
Saadi dynasty, claiming descent from
the prophet Mohammed
1555: the Ottoman empire conquers
Mesopotamia from the Safavid empire
with the Peace of Amasya
1574: The Hafsid dynasty collapses in
Tunisia and is replaced by the
Ottomans
1576: The Ottomans capture Fez in
Morocco
1578: Morocco's sultan al-Mansur
modernizes the army
1580: A peace treaty between the
Ottomans and Spain allows Morocco to
remain independent as a buffer state
1591: Morocco under Ahmad alMansur captures the Kingdom of

Songhai (Timbuktu) at the battle of

Tondibi
1591: The janissaries of Tunisia install
one of their own as Ottoman governor
1602: Bahrein is annexed to Iran
1623: the Safavids capture Baghdad
from the Ottomans
1628: the Sadid dynasty collapses in
Morocco and is succeeded by the
Alawis
1638: the Ottomans recapture
Baghdad from the Safavids
1659: The chief janissary becomes the
Ottoman ruler of Algeria
1672: The Alawi sultan Mawlay Ismail
of Morocco reforms government
1705: Husayn Ali seizes power in
Tunisia, an Ottoman vassal, and
establishes a new dynasty
1711: Ahmad Qaramanli seizes power
in Tripolitania and founds a new
dynasty under Ottoman suzerainty
1749: Ibadi Muslims establish the

kingdom of Oman, run by the Al Bu

Said dynasty
1750: Abd Wahab preaches in Arabia a
return to Ibn Hanbal (strict obedience
to the Koran and the Hadith)
1752: The Sunni family Al Sabah
seizes power in Kuwait, a principality
of the Ottoman empire
1760: Abd Wahab allies with
Muhammad Ibn Saud of Diriyya and
founds the Saudi state in Arabia
1783: The Sunni family Al Khalifah
seizes Bahrein from Iran and conquers
Qatar
1785: Ali Burzi Pasha of Libya
massacres hundreds of Jews
1787: The Ottomans restore central
government control over Egypt
1788: Bashir II, a Maronite, is elected
governor of Ottoman Lebanon
1789: The new Moroccan ruler Yazid
massacres Jews in Tetouan
Jul 1798: Napoleon attempts to

conquer Egypt from the Ottomans

(Battle of the Pyramids, breaking the
traditional alliance between France
and the Ottoman Empire
1801: The Ottomans and the British
defeat Napoleon's troops in Egypt,
while Russia annexes Georgia
1801: Thomas Jefferson orders the
bombing of the barbary states of
Algiers, Morocco, Tunis and Tripoli
after Yusuf Karamanli, the ruler of
Tripoli, demands ransom from the USA
1802: When Mehmet I arrives in Egypt
as an Ottoman official, power is
divided among the Ottomans, the
Mamluks and the Albanian troops
1802: Wahabis from Arabia massacre
the Shiite population of Karbala in
Ottoman Iraq
1803: Mehmet I sides with the
Mamluks and deposes the Ottoman
governor of Egypt
1804: Muslim Wahabis of the Saudi

state capture Mecca and Medina from

the Ottomans
1805: Mehemet Ali, an Albanian Turk,
is recognized by the Ottomans as
governor of Egypt, and proceeds to
reform the economy around sugar and
cotton
1805: Jews are massacred in Algeria
1811: Mehemet Ali massacres the
Mamluks of Egypt
1812: Mehemet Ali appoints a
supreme leader of all Sufi orders,
reporting to the state
1818: Mehmet's son Ibrahim conquers
Arabia from the Saudis on behalf of
the Ottoman emperor
1820: Britain forces a protectorate on
seven pearl-fishing emirates ("Trucial
States") of the Arabian peninsula,
notably Abu Dhabi and Dubai
1820: Maronites lead a peasant revolt
against their feudal lords in Lebanon
1821: Egypt begins growing cotton

1822: Egyptian ruler Mehemet Ali

conquers Sudan on behalf of the
Ottoman empire
1823: Egyptian ruler Mehemet Ali
conquers Crete
1824: Riyadh is made capital of the
Saudi kingdom
1824: Egyptian governor Mehmet I is
made governor of Crete by the
Ottomans
1825: Lebanon's governor Bashir II, a
Maronite, defeats his Druze enemies
1828: Massacre of Jews in Baghdad
1830: France occupies Ottoman
Algiers
1832: Abd al-Qadir declares a state in
western Algeria
1833: Egyptian ruler Mehemet Ali
conquers Syria from the Ottoman
Empire
1833: Egypt inaugurates its
Polytechnic school
1835: The Ottomans remove the

Qaramanli dynasty from power in

Tripolitania
1837: Muhammad Ali al-Sanusi founds
the Sanusi Sufi order in Ottoman
Cyneraica that de facto rules over the
region (eastern Libya)
1839: the port of Aden in Arabia is
occupied by the British
1840: Britain and Austria force Egypt
to surrender Syria to the Ottomans
and central Arabia to the Saudis, and
remove Bashir II from power in
Lebanon, but acknowledge Mehmet's
dynasty
1844: France defeats Abd al-Qadir and
Morocco
1846: The Bey of Tunis abolishes
slavery
1847: France invades all of Algeria
1847: There are 109,000 Europeans in
Algeria, of which 47,000 are French
1848: Mehmet I dies and his inept
grandson Abbas becomes the new

ruler of Egypt
1852: Babists try to assassinate the
shah and are massacred throughout
Iran, they move to Ottoman Palestine
and found the Baha'i faith
1854: A British firm builds the first
railway in Egypt, which is also the first
railway in the Ottoman Empire as well
as Africa and the Middle East
1854: Abbas is assassinated and
French-educated Mehmet's son Said
becomes governor of Egypt
1856: Oman loses Zanzibar
1860: Muslims in Lebanon and Syria
riot against the wealthier Christians
1860: Spain invades Morocco
1860: The Alliance Israelite
Universelle is founded in Paris by
Adolphe Cremieux to protect Jews in
the Islamic world
1861: Tunisia proclaims the first
constitution of the Arab world,
granting civil rights and rights to

foreigners and Jews to own land

1861: The Ottomans grant a special
status to Lebanon which is to have a
Christian governor, a Sunni prime
minister and a Shia head of
parliament
1861: Muhammad Bey, governor of
Tunisia, grants a liberal constitution
1863: Said dies and Ibrahim's oldest
living son Ismail becomes governor of
Egypt, launching westernizing reforms
that penalize the religious class and
create a new landowning elite
1863: Egypt opens the Egyptian
Museum
1864: More than 300 Jews are
massacred between 1864 and 1880 in
Marrakesh, Morocco
1868: Muhammad Thani leads a revolt
in Qatar against the Khalifah of
Bahrein
1869: Ferdinand de Lesseps, funded
by the Egyptian government, builds

the Suez Canal

1869: 18 Jews are killed in Tunis
1869: Egypt opens the Cairo Opera
House
1870: Tribal leader al-Muqrani leads
an Algerian uprising against France
1871: The Shiite Iranian intellectual
Jamal al-Din al-Afghani moves to
Egypt and preaches Pan-Islamic
nationalism
1873: Egypt opens the first school for
girls
1873: Morocco's sultan Hasan
launches reforms opposed by the
religious and political establishment
1873: Tunisia's governor Khayr al-Din
launches European-style reforms
1875: The British government
purchases shares in the Suez Canal,
borrowing money from the Rothschilds
1876: Egypt is officially bankrupt and
its debt is managed by Britain and
France

1879: The Ottomans depose Egypt's

governor Ismail and replace him with
his son Tawfiq while Ahmed
Orabi/Arabi founds the Egyptian
Nationalist party and leads a revolt
against the Ottomans and European
interference in Egypt
1880: 100 thousand Europeans live in
Egypt, mainly in Cairo and Alexandria
1880: The pearl-fishing kingdom of
Bahrein becomes a British
protectorate
1881: France occupies Ottoman
Tunisia
1881: Muhammad Ahmad proclaims
himself the Mahdi and rebels against
Egypt
Jun 1882: Egyptians riot in Alexandria
to protest European interference in
Egypt and Britain bombs Alexandria
1882: Egypt's population is 7 million
and Cairo's population is 374
thousand

Sep 1882: British troops invade Egypt

to restore order, exile Orabi/Arabi and
initiate political, military, economic
and judicial reforms
Sep 1883: Britain appoints Evelyn
Baring at consul general, so that the
ruler of Egypt is theoretically a subject
of the Ottomans but de facto a subject
of the British
1884: British economic reforms lead to
a boom of cotton in Egypt
1885: Sudan defeats British troops
sent to regain Sudan for Egypt and
Muhammad Ahmad establishes an
Islamic theocratic state over Sudan
1888: the Convention of Istanbul
declares the Suez Canal neutral and
guarantees passage during war or
peace
1888: Jamal al-Din's exiled pupil
Muhammad Abduh is allowed to return
to Egypt and preach a nonviolent form
of Egyptian nationalism

1889: work begins on the Baghdad

railway, meant to link Berlin to the
Gulf via Istanbul
1889: Egypt (still under British
occupation) balances the budget
1896: Mustafa Kamil returns to Egypt
from France and preaches Egyptian
nationalism
1896: France grants Algeria a
parliament, but it is dominated by
Europeans
1899: Qasim Amin publishes "The
Liberation of Women" in Egypt
1899: Kuwait becomes a British
protectorate
1900: Christians constitute 26% and
Muslims constitute 12% of the world's
population
1900: Britain supplies almost 50% of
Egypt's imports and buys almost 80%
of Egypt's exports
1901: Foreigners own 25% of the large
estates in Egypt

1902: Abdul al-Aziz ibn Saud, at the

head of a bedouin army, conquers
Riyad and begins to unite south of
Arabia (both through military action
and marriage with 20 women) under
the puritanical Wahabi Islamic order
1902: British Egypt inaugurates the
lower Aswan dam
1904: Yahya ibn Muhammad becomes
the new Zaydi imam in North Yemen
under Ottoman occupation
1906: In retaliation for British police
brutality in Dinshaway, Muhammad
Abduh, Ali Yusuf and Mustafa Kamil
found Egyptian nationalist parties
1907: France invades southern
Morocco
1908: The Ottomans inaugurate a
railway to Medina
1908: Britain installs an unpopular
prime minister in Egypt
1908: Cairo University is founded as a
private university

1909: British companies begin

extracting oil in Iran
1911: The first bomb ever dropped
from an airplane is dropped by Italy
over Libya in the war against the
Ottoman Empire, during which half the
population of Libya is either killed or
exiled by 1918
1911: British forces occupy southern
Iran to protect the oil fields
1911: Young Arab nationalists found
"Al Fatah" in Paris
1912: The Turkish Petroleum Company
(later Iraq Petroleum Company) is
formed by Germany, Holland and
Britain to exploit the Ottoman oil fields
of Mosul
1912: France and Spain establish a
protectorate over Morocco
1913: British Egypt is allowed to elect
a parliament with the nationalist Saad
Zaghlul leading the anti-British party
See the timeline for World War I

1914: Egypt becomes a British

protectorate
1914: there are 85 thousand Jews in
Ottoman Palestine
1915: Britain recognizes the kingdom
of the Saudis in south Arabia
1915: A famine kills 500,000 people in
Ottoman Syria between 1915 and
1918
1916: Husain (Hussein), sharif of
Mecca (north Arabia) and founder of
the modern Hashimite dynasty,
sponsored by the British, leads a
revolt against the Ottoman Empire,
while Britain and France secretely
agree to divide the Arab lands of the
Ottoman empire
1916: Qatar signs a treaty with Britain
becoming a de facto protectorate
1916: Britain and France agree to
partition the Middle East
1916: Sharif Husayn in Saudi Arabia
leads a revolt against the Ottoman

Empire
Aug 1916: The Ottomans hang Arab
patriots in Beirut's Burj Square
1917: 93% of the population of larger
Palestine is Arab
1917: Egypt's population is 11.3
million
Nov 1917: the "Balfour Declaration"
by the British government promises a
Jewish homeland in Palestine
1917: the "Balfour Declaration" by the
British government promises a Jewish
homeland in Palestine
1917: The population of British Egypt
is 12 million, having increased by 4
million since 1882
1917: Exodus of Jews from Egypt to
British Palestine
1917: Egypt has 13 million people
1918: Saad Zaghloul founds the Wafd
party in Egypt aiming for
independence from Britain
1918: Yemen becomes independent

from the Ottomans under Yahya, the

imam of the Zaydis
1918: Faisal, son of Sharif Husain of
Mecca, conquers Damascus from the
Ottomans
1918: The Hebrew University opens in
Jerusalem
1918: Britain takes control of Iraq and
Palestine from the Ottomans
1918: There are 620 thousand
Muslims, 70 thousand Christians and
60 thousand Jews in Palestine
Oct 1918: The Shiite imam Yahya
gains independence from the
Ottomans in tribal North Yemen with
capital in Sana
1918: David Ben-Gurion returns to
Palestine after being exiled by the
Ottoman Empire (Palestine)
1919: an American delegation reports
on the fast rise of "zionism" through
dispossession of the "non-Jewish
inhabitants of Palestine" (Palestine)

1919: Feisal Hussein, King of Iraq and

Syria (then the only recognized Arab
leader in the world), agrees to the
creation of a Jewish nation in Palestine
and executes a treaty with Jewish
leader Chaim Weizmann (Palestine)
1919: France claims Syria and
Lebanon
Mar 1919: Saad Zaghloul of the Wafd
party is arrested by the British in
Egypt, causing riots that kill 1,500
Egyptians in two months
1920: France defeats Faisal's troops at
Maysalun And general Gouraud's
French mandate rule is installed over
Syria
1920: Syrian-born ex-Ottoman official
Sati al-Husri preaches Arab
nationalism
Apr 1920: At the San Remo
conference Palestine and Iraq are
assigned to Britain's protectorate and
both Palestinians and Iraqis riot

against British rule for months

Dec 1920: An Arab Congress is held in
Haifa, Palestine, chaired by Musa
Kazim al-Husaini, the former mayor of
Jerusalem
Apr 1921: the British install Abdullah,
fourth son of Sharif Hussein of the
Hashemite dynasty of Mecca, as king
of Transjordan, half of Palestine
1921: Britain creates the Supreme
Muslim Council of Palestine, headed
by Hajj Amin al-Husaini
Aug 1921: the British install Faisal,
third son of Sharif Hussein of Mecca,
brother of Abdullah of Transjordan, as
king of the newly created state fo Iraq
that is 80% Arab (more Shiite than
Sunni, with Sunnis dominating
government and army), 15% Kurdish
(Sunni) and 5% Assyrian (Christian)
1921: Britain appoints Mohammed
Amin al-Husseini head of the Supreme
Muslim Council of Palestineand

Husseini begins a violent anti-Semitic

campaign and a murder campaign of
Arab moderates (Palestine)
1921: emir Faisal ibn Hussain, brother
of King Abdallah of Jordan, is
proclaimed King of Iraq, but still under
British protectorate (Iraq)
Feb 1922: Egypt declares its
independence from Britain under Fuad
I and a secular constitution is
proclaimed to create a parliamentary
monarchy, the Wafd party wins a
majority of votes but Britain maintains
political control
1922: Syria and Lebanon become
French protectorates
1922: The tomb of Tutankhamen is
discovered in Egypt
1922: Britain receives a mandate from
the League of Nations to create a
homeland for the Jews in Palestine,
which starts large-scale Jewish
immigration from Europe

1922: Britain and the Saudi family

sign a treaty recognizing the border of
the Saudi domain in Arabia
1922: Britain receives a mandate from
the League of Nations to create a
homeland for the Jews in
Palestinewhich starts large-scale
Jewish immigration from Europe
(Palestine)
1923: Abd al-Drim declares an
independent state in Spanish-control
Morocco
April 1923: a secular constitution is
proclaimed in Egypt (previously a
British colony) to create a
parliamentary monarchy (Egypt)
1924: The British governor of Sudan,
Lee Stack, is assassinated in Cairo,
Egypt
1924: Sharif Husain, the Hashemite
ruler of Mecca, proclaims himself
caliph, angering Aziz ibn Saud
1925: Riots in Lebanon and Syria

against French rule

1925: 35 thousand Jews immigrate to
Palestine in 1925 alone
1925: Pearl fishing revenues peak in
the Arab emirates, Kuwait and Bahrein
1925: The first parliament is elected in
British Iraq, including four Christians
and four Jews
Mar 1926: France massacres rebels in
Damascus
1926: Abdul al-Aziz ibn Saud conquers
north Arabia from the Hashemites and
proclaims himself king of Hejaz and
Nejd
1926: France and Spain defeat Abd alDrim in Morocco
1926: Turkey cedes Mosul to Iraq
Mar 1926: Lebanon proclaims a
republic under Christian president
Charles Dabbas but France still
controls the country
1927: huge oil fields are discovered
near Karkuk and oil rights are granted

to a British oil company (Iraq)

1927: oil fields are discovered near
Kirkuk in Iraq and king Faisal grants oil
rights to the British
1927: The "Brotherhood" ("Ikhwan")
stages a rebellion against king Saud in
Arabia
1928: Hassan Al-Banna creates "AlIkhwan Al-Moslemoon" (Muslim
Brotherhood) in Egypt, a quasimonastic movement that advocates
for the entire Arab world a
fundamentalist Islamic society like the
one created by the Wahabites in
Arabia and therefore advocates
rebellion against the westernized
Egyptian government
1928: A new constitution makes
Transjordan a constitutional monarchy
1928: Shakhbut al Nahyan becomes
sultan of Abu Dhabi
1928: Hassan Al-Banna creates in
Egypt "Al-Ikhwan Al-Moslemoon"

(Muslim Brotherhood), a quasimonastic movement that advocates

for the entire Arab world a
fundamentalist Islamic society like the
one created by the Wahabites in Saudi
Arabia and therefore advocates
rebellion against the westernized King
Faruk government (motto: "Quran is
our lawjihad is our waydying in the
way of Allah is our highest hope")
Aug 1929: hundreds of people die in
clashes between Arabs and Jews in
Palestine, notably 67 Jews are
massacred in Hebron
1930: King Saud of Hejaz (Arabia)
defeats the "Brotherhood" ("Ikhwan")
1930: Britain and Iraq sign a treaty
making Iraq independent but
recognizing British influence in Iraq
1930: Iran's oil production is 46 million
barrels, whereas Iraq's is only 900
thousand
1931: After 20 years of fighting Italy

conquers Cyrenaica and therefore the

whole of Libya
1931: There are 775 thousand Arabs,
90 thousand Christians and 175
thousand Jews in Palestine
1931: Abraham Tehomi founds the
terrorist organization Irgun Zvai Leumi
(National Military Organization) to
liberate Palestine from British
occupation and Arabs residents
(Palestine)
1932: Iraq becomes independent
under the rule of King Faisal (Iraq)
1932: Saudi Arabia becomes
independent under the rule of King
Abdul al-Aziz (Saudi Arabia)
1932: Iraq becomes independent
under the rule of King Faisal and joins
the League of Nations
1932: Abdul al-Aziz ibn Saud changes
name to his kingdom from Kingdom of
Hejaz and Nejd to Saudi Arabia
1932: Iraq enacts antisemitic laws

1932: The Bahrein Petroleum

Company (Bapco), formed by
Standard Oil Company (Socal) and the
Texas Company (both from the USA),
discovers oil in Bahrein
1932: Said ibm Taimur becomes sultan
of coastal Oman
1932: Tunisian intellectual Habib
Bourguiba publicly demands
independence from France
1933: King Faisal of Iraq dies and his
son, King Ghazi I, ascends to the
throne
1933: Thousands of Assyrian
Christians are massacred at Simele in
Iraq by the army and by Kurdish
militias
1933: Thousands of German Jewish
artisans and entrepreneurs emigrate
to Palestine after Hitler seizes power
in Germany
1933: There are 800 thousand Arabs
and 200 thousand Jews in Palestine

1934: Italy unites Tripolitania and

Cyrenaica into one colony, Libya
1935: The Wafd party organizes
strikes and demonstrations against
Britain in Egypt
1935: Bakr Sidqi leads a Shiite
rebellion in Iraq
1935: A pipeline from Iraq to Palestine
is inaugurated
1936: Fuad dies and the throne of
Egypt is inherited by his son Farouk,
who signs a treaty with Britain
granting real independence to Egypt
in exchange for a military alliance
1936: General strike against French
rule in Syria
1936: The Shiite general Bakr Sidqi
stages a coup in Iraq and installs the
coup's mastermind, Hikmat Sulaiman,
as prime minister, the first of many
military coups
Apr 1936: Palestinians go on strike
against British rule (first "intifada")

Oct 1936: Iraq and Saudi Arabia talks

the Palestinians into ending the strike
against British rule, thus making the
Palestinian issue a general Arab issue
1936: Farouk becomes king of Egypt,
succeeding his father Fuad, and
installs a government friendly to the
West
1936: Pierre Gemayel founds the
Phalange party in Lebanon
1937: Egypt is admitted to the League
of Nations
1937: Cairo's population is 1,312,000
and replaces Istanbul as the largest
city in the Middle East and North
Africa
1937: Bakr Sidqi is assassinated in
Iraq
1937: Egypt has 15.7 million people
1938: Oil is discovered in Kuwait by
the Kuwait Oil Company, formed by
British Petroleum and the Gulf Oil
Company of the USA

1938: The Wafd party in Egypt loses

elections
1938: Socal (Standard Oil Company of
California) discovers huge oil reserves
at Dharhan in Saudi Arabia
Apr 1938: Tunisians demonstrate for
independence from France
1938: The Iraq Petroleum Company
controls all of Iraq's oil production
Oct 1938: Palestinian rebels occupy
old Jerusalem
1939: all Arab countries supply only
5% of the world's oil
1939: Ariel Sharon joins an
underground Jewish terrorist
organization in British Palestine
1939: Palestinian mufti Hajj Amin alHusaini moves to Baghdad and
campaigns for a free Palestine
1939: Iraq's king Ghazi dies in a car
accident while he is preparing an
invasion of Kuwait and is succeeded
by his four-year old son, Faisal II

1939: There are 950 thousand Arabs,

460 thousand Jews and 120 thousand
Christians in Palestine, with 150
thousand Jews living in Tel Aviv, the
only purely Jewish city in the world,
while the London conference attended
by Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan, Saudi
Arabia, Yemen and Jewish groups fails
to find a solution
1940: The Middle East produces only
5% of the world's oil
Nov 1940: Haganah terrorists bomb
the boat "Patria" full of Jewish
immigrants at the port of Haifa in
Palestine, killing more than 200
people
Apr 1941: The nationalist Rashid Ali alKailani stages a coup in Iraq and allies
with Nazi Germany, but Britain
destroys the Iraqi air force and installs
Nuri al-Said as prime minister
1941: the Ba' ath Party is founded in
Damascus by Michel Aflaq and Salah

al-Din Bitar with the mission to unify

the whole Arab world in one Arab
country
Feb 1942: Britain forces king Farouk of
Egypt to appoint Wasfd's leader
Mustafa al-Nahas as prime minister
1942: Life expectancy in Egypt is 31
for men and 36 for women
1943: Shukri al-Kuwatli leads Syria to
independence from the French
1943: The Istiqlal Party is created in
Morocco to press for independence
from France and Morocco
Jan 1943: Iraq declares war on
Germany
Feb 1942: A Soviet submarine
accidentally sinks the ramshackle ship
Strumakilling 768 Jews that are
escaping from Romania towards
British Palestine (Black Sea)
1943: Syria (2.5 million people) and
Lebanon declare independence from
France under respectively Shukri al-

Kuwatli and Bishara al-Khuri, but

Lebanon has to divide its government
among Maronite Christians
(presidency), Sunni Muslims (prime
minister), speaker of parliament
(Shiite Muslim) and chief of army (also
Maronites)
Feb 1945: Syria and Lebanon declare
war on Germany
1945: several thousand Algerians are
killed by France during proindependence riots in Constantine
1945: An oil company (later renamed
Arabian American Oil Company or
Aramco) builds an underwater oil
pipeline to Bahrain
1945: The League of Arab States is
formed by the independent Arab
countries (Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon,
Saudi Arabia, Yemen)
May 1945: Syrians riots against
continued French occupation and
France bombs Damascus

May 1945: Algerians massacre 103

Europeans and the French kill 1,300 in
retaliation
Jul 1946: Jewish terrorists led by
Menachem Begin bomb and destroy
the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, the
British military and civilian
headquarters of Palestine, killing 91
people
1946: Mustafa Barzani founds the
Kurdish Democratic Party of Iraq (Iran)
1946: Jewish terrorists, led by
Menachem Begin, bomb and destroy
the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, the
British military and civilian
headquarters
1946: Transjordan becomes
independent under king Abdullah
1946: The British troops stationed in
Egypt withdraw in the Canal Zone but
fedayeen begin a campaign of attacks
against them
1946: French troops finally leave Syria

and Lebanon
1947: 800 thousand Arabs live in
Palestine
1947: the United Nations orders a
partition of Palestine in a Jewish state
(Israel), an Arab state and an
international zone around Jerusalem
1947: Syria grants women the right to
vote
Nov 1947: Jews set to create the state
of Israel while Arabs condemn the
United Nations decision and refuse to
create an Arab state that does not
include the whole of Palestine
Dec 1947: scores of Arabs are killed
by Hagana in the Palestinian village of
Baldat al-Shaikh in retaliation for 41
killed in Haifa riots
Nov 1947: the United Nations orders a
partition of Palestine in a Jewish state
(Israel)an Arab state and an
international zone around Jerusalem
(Palestine)

1948: on the same day that Israel

declares its independence, five Arab
countries attack Israel from all sides
(Egypt, Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon,
Iraq), and Transjordan annexes the
West Bank changing name into Jordan
and more than doubling its population
overnight
1948: The Yemeni imam Yahya is
assassinated and is succeeded by his
son Ahmad
1948: Almost 1000 books per year are
published in Egypt
1948: North Yemen's imam Yahya is
assassinated and replaced by his son
Ahmad Hamid al-Din
April 1948: Irgun terrorists led by
Menachem Begin attack the
Palestinian village of Deir Yassin near
Jerusalem killing more than 100
people and a few days later Arab
retaliate by killing 70 Jews of the
Hebrew University

April 1948: Israeli troops occupy Arab

towns (Tiberias, Haifa, Jaffaetc)
May 1948: On the same day that
Israel declares its independencethe
United States recognizes Israel while
five Arab countries attack Israel from
all sides (Egypt, Jordan, Syria,
Lebanon, Iraq)
1948: Palestinian exodus and David
Ben-Gurion's ethnic cleansing cause a
decrease in the population of Arabs
within the borders of Israel and the
creation of refugee camps outside its
borders
May 1948: Palestinians in Jerusalem
and Jaffa call a general strike against
the partition
Jul 1948: several massacres of Arabs
carried out by Haganah (underground
Jewish militia) in Palestine (Lydda,
Ramle, Doueimah)
1949: An exodus of Palestinians and
prime minister David Ben-Gurion's

ethnic cleansing cause a decrease in

the population of Arabs within the
borders of Israel to 170 thousand and
the creation of Palestinian refugee
camps outside the borders of Israel
1949: The Qatar Petroleum Company,
a subsidiary of the Iraq Petroleum
Company, start producing oil in Qatar
1949: A military coup terminates the
parliamentary system in Syria
Jan 1949: Members of the Muslim
Brotherhood assassinate Egyptian
prime minister Mahmud Fahmi alNuqrashi
Feb 1949: Hassan Al-Banna, founder
of the Muslim Brother, hood is
assassinated in Cairo, Egypt
Jul 1949: The first Arab- Israeli war
ends with Israel winning west
Jerusalem and small pieces of
landoccupying 78% of Palestineand
with 750,000 Palestinians displaced
out of a pre-war population of 1.3

million
1949: About 100,000 Palestinians
(mostly Sunni Muslims) relocate from
Palestine to Lebanon, altering its
demographics
1949: Husni Zaim seizes overthrows
the corrupt president, appoints
himself prime minister and bans
political parties in Syria, but he is soon
arrested and executed by general
Sami al-Hinnawi, who is in turn ousted
by colonel Adib Shishakli
1949: Ali bin Abdullah Al Thani
becomes sheik of Kuwait
1950: the Israeli government airlifts
approximately 110 thousand Jews
from Iraq to Israel
1950: An oil pipeline from Saudi
Arabia's oil field of Dhahran to
Lebanon is completed
1950: Aramco and Saudi Arabia reach
an agreement to split oil profits, an
agreement that becomes the standard

in the region
Jan 1950: The Wafd wins democratic
elections in Egypt
May 1950: The Israeli government
airlifts approximately 110,000 Jews
from Iraq to Israel (operations Ezra
and Nehemiah, completed in august
1951)
1950: There are 38 thousand British
soldiers in Egypt to protect the Suez
Canal, through which transits 60% of
the Middle Eastern oil consumed in
Western Europe
1951: Following persecutions, the
population of Jews in Iraq declines
from 150 thousand (1948) to 6
thousand (1951)
1951: Saudi Arabia and the USA sign a
military treaty
Dec 1951: Libya becomes
independent under king Idris of the
Sanusi Sufi order with the capital
alternating between Tripoli and

Benghazi to reflect the rivalry

between Tripolitania and
Cyrenaica/Barqa and with a population
of less than one million
1951: Kuwait and the oil companies
sign an equal profit-sharing
agreement
1951: Members of the Muslim
Brotherhood assassinate King
Abdullah in Jerusalem and his son Talal
becomes the new king of Jordan
Jul 1952: a military coup led by Gamal
Abdel Nasser removes King Faruk and
founds the Republic of Egypt
1952: Egypt has 20 million people
1952: Bahrein and the oil companies
sign an equal profit-sharing
agreement
Jan 1952: Anti-British riots in Egypt
cause a British retaliation that kills 50
people ("Black Saturday")
Jul 1952: a military coup led by Gamal
Abdel Nasser removes King Faruk and

founds the republic of Egypt

1952: A coup removes the corrupt
Lebanese president Hishara al-Khuri
and installs Camille Shamun,
beginning an economic boom that
relies on oil pipelines, oil refineries
and banking in one of the freest
societies of the Middle East
1953: France expels the sultan of
Morocco who refuses to accept French
rule
1953: Shiites (the majority) riot
against the (Sunni) ruling Khalifah
family of Bahrein
1953: King Talal of Jordan abdicates in
favor of his 18-year old son Hussein
1953: Israel kills 53 civilians in the
Jordanian village of Qibya in retaliation
for the assassination of three Israelis
1953: Abdul al-Aziz dies and is
succeeded by the eldest of his 35
sons, Saud, as king of Saudi Arabia, a
country that still has no constitution,

no parliament and no parties and

whose government is mainly run by
the Saudi family and by the Wahabite
family
1953: Hizb-ut-Tahrir al-Islami ("Party of
Islamic Liberation") is founded by
Taqiuddin al-Nabhani in Palestine to
create an Islamic state all over the
world and its members spread around
the world
1953: Sayyid Outb joins Egypt's
Muslim Brotherhood
1953: Europeans control 10% of the
crop land of Morocco
1953: Egypt enacts reforms for land
redistribution
Feb 1953: The Soviet Union breaks off
relations with Israel
1953: Kuwait institutes the Kuwait
Investment Board (later Kuwait
Investment Authority), the oldest
sovereign wealth fund in the world
Nov 1954: Algerian exiles in Egypt

create the Front de Liberation

Nationale (FLN) and start the civil war
led by Ben Bella
1954: Egypt's president Gamal AbdelNasser bans the Muslim Brotherhood
1954: Following an attempt on his life,
Nasser arrests the leaders of the
Muslim Brotherhood, including their
philosopher Sayyid Qutb
1954: Egypt encourages Palestinian
raids into Israel from Gaza
1954: An economic recovery begins in
Jordan that will increase GDP per
capita 8% a year until 1966
1955: Palestinian fedayeen begin
operating from across the border
bringing terror into Israel
1955: Shishakli is ousted and Shukri
al-Kuwatli is reappointed president of
Syria
1955: Israel launches a retaliatory raid
against Egypt
1955: Israel attacks Syria to punish it

for raids into Israel

1955: Oil accounts for 2/3rds of traffic
in the Suez Canal
1955: Turkey, Iraq, Pakistan, Iran and
Britain sign the Baghdad Pact that de
facto asserts British influence in the
Middle Eastagainst the Soviet Union
Oct 1955: Morocco's sultan
Mohammed is allowed to return to
Morocco
1955: Oman's sultan Said ibm Taimur
conquers the interior of Oman with
help from the British
Feb 1955: Israel attacks the Egyptian
military headquarters in Gaza killing
38 soldiers
April 1955: Nasser's Egypt joins the
policy of "non-alignment" at the
Bandung Conference
1955: Palestinian fedayeen ("those
who sacrifice themselves") begin
operating from across the border
bringing terror into Israel

August 1955: The FLN of Algeria

adopts a policy of genocide against
the French and French paratroopers
kill 1,273 insurgents in retaliation for
the "Philippeville incident"
1956: Egyptian president Gamal Abdel
Nasser of Egypt nationalizes the Suez
Canal, thereby becoming the father of
Arab nationalism and moving the Arab
world into the Soviet sphere
1956: The population of Egypt is 22
million
1956: Saudi Arabia produces one
million barrels of oil per day
Oct 1956: In retaliation for guerrilla
attacks sponsored by Egypt, Israel
attacks Egypt (second war) and
invades the Sinai and the Gaza strip,
while France and Britain seize the
Suez canal
1956: France withdraws from Morocco,
and King Mohammed assumes power
1956: The first concrete building is

built in Dubai
1956: France withdraws from Tunisia,
and Habib Bourguiba becomes its first
president
Dec 1956: Britain leaves the Suez
Canal
1956: Israel sets up a secret nuclear
program headed by Shimon Peres with
help from France
Nov 1956: Israeli soldiers kill 275
Palestinian civilians in Khan Younis
and 111 in Rafah
Oct 1956: Israeli troops led by Ariel
Sharon attack Qalqilya, killing almost
100 Palestinians (18 Israeli soldiers
are also killed)
Jul 1956: president Gamal Abdel
Nasser of Egypt nationalizes the Suez
canal to pay for the construction of
the high Aswan Dam, thereby
becoming the first Arab leader to
confront the West and the father of
Arab nationalism

1956: Egypt grants women the right

to vote and be elected to parliament
1957: Jordanian king Hussein expels
the Pan-Arab nationalist colonel Ali
Abu Nuwar, asks the USA for help and
outlaws pro-Soviet politicians
Jan 1957: France allows torture in
Algeria and French general Jacques
Massu wins the "battle of Algiers"
using nazi-style methods against the
Algerian rebels
1957: in the first two years of war the
FLN kills 1,035 Europeans and 6,352
Arabs in Algeria
March 1957: Israel withdraws from the
Sinai and the Gaza strip
1957: Habib Bourguiba deposes the
last sultan of Husayn's dynasty in
Tunisia and declares a republic
May 1958: The French population of
Algeria stages demonstrations and
causes the fall of the French
government

Jul 1958: Inspired by Egyptian

president Gamal Abdel Nasser, Iraqi
officers led by brigadier Abdul-Karim
Qassem/Qasim overthrow the
Hashimite monarchy (king Faisal II and
his uncle are impaled and
dismembered) and proclaim a republic
Jul 1958: The USA sends 19,000
soldiers to protect the regime of
Lebanon's Christian president Camille
Chamoun
1958: 800,000 Jews have immigrated
to Israel since independence pushing
the population to two million
1958: Rashid al Maktum becomes
emir of Dubai
1958: Pro-Egyptian Muslims start an
insurrection in Lebanon, the USA lands
marines to help the Shamun
government and a compromise is
reached to appoint general Fuad
Shihab as president
1958: 2500 families own 50% of all

farm land in Iraq

1958: King Saud of Saudi Arabia
virtually retires and government is
handed to his brother Faisal, who
begins a campaign to fight corruption
and waste
Feb 1958: Egypt and Syria unite under
president Nasser
1958: 75% of Jordan's revenues come
from British and USA aid
1959: A USA company discovers oil in
Libya
1959: Yassir Arafat founds Al Fahtathe
Palestinian liberation movement
(Palestine)
1960: Oil developing countries (Iran,
Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and
Venezuela) found the OPEC
1960: Kuwait produces two million
barrels of oil for day, twice as much as
Iraq
1960: Ali bin Abdullah Al Thani retires
to Switzerland and abdicates in favor

of his son Ahmad but his cousin

Khalifah runs the government
1960: More than 2000 books are
published in Egypt
1961: Nasser of Egypt launches a
program of "Arab socialism"
completing the nationalization of all
banks and insurance companies
Sep 1961: a Kurdish rebellion under
the leadership of Mustafa al-Barzani is
brutally repressed in Iraq
Jan 1961: former French officers led by
general Raoul Salan form the
Organisation de l'Armee Secrete (OAS)
to fight Arabs in Algeriakilling 12,000
Arab civilians in one year (Algeria)
1961: Tunisian and French forces fight
after France refuses to close military
bases in Tunisia
Jun 1961: Kuwait under emir Abdullah
Sabah becomes independent under
the protection of Britain and Saudi
Arabia against the claims of Iraq

1961: Morocco's King Mohammed dies

and is succeeded by Hassan II
Sep 1961: A military coup in Syria
ends the union with Egypt
1962: A Kurdish rebellion in Iraq under
the leadership of Mustafa al-Barzani is
brutally repressed
Sep 1962: North Yemen's imam
Ahmad dies and is succeeded by his
son Muhammad al-Badr but Abdullah
al-Sallal seizes power in a coup, and
the two start a civil war, with Badr
helped by Saudi Arabia and Sallal
helped by Egypt
1962: Saudi Arabia abolishes slavery
Apr 1962: The British protectorates
around Aden form the Federation of
South Arabia
1962: After the deaths of about
100,000 French and about 1,000,000
AlgeriansAlgeria is declared
independent (Algeria)
1962: Israel's nuclear program

directed by Shimon Peres produces

the first weapon-grade plutonium
(Israel)
1962: Algeria is declared independent
after the deaths of about 100
thousand French and about one
million Algerians and the exiled leader
Ben Bella becomes its first president
1962: Kuwait creates the Fund for
Arab Economic Development
Mar 1963: In a military coup the Baath
Party, mostly run by Alawate Shiites,
seizes power in Syria, outlaws all
other parties and embarks in a Sovietstyle program of nationalization
1963: Saudi Arabia formally abolishes
slavery
1963: Abdelaziz Bouteflika is
appointed foreign minister of Algeria
1963: India inaugurates the Bhakra
Dam
1963: Libya grants women the right to
vote but all parties are banned

1963: Aden joins the Federatin of

Southern Arabia or South Yemen
1963: Israeli prime minister Ben
Gurion resigns
Feb 1963: in a military coup the Ba'ath
Party seizes power in Iraq
Feb 1963: In a military coup the Baath
Party seizes power in Iraq, executes
Qasim and appoints Abdul Arif as
president
1963: Israeli prime minister Ben
Gurion resigns (Israel)
1964: the Palestine Liberation
Organization is created in Cairo with
the mission to destroy the state of
Israel and liberate Palestine
1964: King Saud of Saudi Arabia
leaves the country and Faisal is
crowned new king
June 1964: Arab countries create the
Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO) in Cairo with the mission to
destroy the state of Israel and liberate

Palestine (Palestine)
1964: Faisal bin Abdul Aziz becomes
the third King of Saudi Arabia (Saudi
Arabia)
1964: Charles Hilu, a Shihab
associate, succeeds Shamun as
Lebanese president
1965: Houari Boumedienne seizes
power in Algeria
1965: Sephardic Jews from the Middle
East outnumber Ashkenazi Jes from
Europe in Israel for the first time since
independence
1965: members of the Muslim
Brotherhood try to assassinate Nasser
of Egypt
1965: Kuwait's emir Abdullah Sabah
dies and is succeeded by his brother
Sabah al-Sabah
1965: Libya accounts for 10% of the
world's oil exports
1965: Syria nationalizes most of the
national industry and foreign oil

companies
1965: The majority of people living in
Kuwait are workers from other
countries (Palestinians, Egyptians,
Pakistanis, etc)
Jan 1965: Fatah, operating from
neighboring Arab countries, launches
guerrilla attacks against Israel
1966: Israel produces its first nuclear
bomb
Nov 1966: Israeli troops raid the
Jordanian village of Samukilling 14
Jordanian soldiers
1966: the spiritual leader of the
Muslim Brotherhood, Sayyid Qutb, is
hanged in Egypt
1966: Israel kills several people at alSamu in Jordan in retaliation for
continued Palestinian raids
1966: Shakhbut al Nahyan is
overthrown by his youngest brother
Zayed/Zaid, who begins economic
reforms

1966: Iraq launches an offensive

against Kurdish rebels
1966: Egypt has 30 million people
1966: Saudi Arabia produces 2.5
million barrels of oil a day
May 1967: King Hussein of Jordan and
Nasser of Egypt sign a mutual defense
pact against Israel
Nov 1967: the British withdraw from
Aden and marxists take over the
Federation of South Arabia that
becomes South Yemen with capital in
Aden and Qahtan al-Shabi as
president
1967: The Abu Dhabi Investment
Board is established to invest oil
money
Jun 1967: After Egypt expels UN
peacekeepers from the Sinai and
closes the Red Sea to Israeli ships,
and Arab countries ammass troops at
the Israeli border, Israel attacks and in
six days wins a third war against the

Arabs, and occupies the lands of the

Palestinians (Gaza Strip and West
Bank) as well as the Sinai peninsula
and the Suez Canal
1967: Egypt withdraws from North
Yemen and the republican Sallal is
overthrown, while Saudi Arabia
withdraws its support for the royalists
of Badr, ending the civil war
1967: Oman and the oil companies
sign an equal profit-sharing
agreement
1967: The Suez Canal is closed,
causing severe economic damage to
South Yemen
June 1967: Arab countries ammass
troops at the Israeli border and Israel
launches a pre-emptive strike (third
war) against its neighborsand in seven
days re-conquers the Sinaithe Gaza
strip and even the Suez canal in
Egyptinvades the Golan Heights in
Syriathe West Bank and East

Jerusalem in Jordan. The whole of

Jerusalem is now under Israeli control.
Thousands of Palestinians are
displaced and absorbed into Jordan.
18,000 Arab soldiers are killed250
Egyptian planes and 50 Syrian planes
are destroyed. (Palestine)
1967: Egypt expels UN peacekeepers
from the Sinai and closes the Red Sea
to Israeli ships
Dec 1967: George Habash founds the
Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine (PFLP)a terrorist organization
inspired by marxism-leninism
(Palestine)
April 1967: In retaliation for Syrian
attacks, Israel downs six Syrian
warplanes
June 1967: Israel attacks a USA
warship, the USS Liberty, killing 34
sailors
1968: the British withdraw from the
Gulf and the United Arab Emirates are

created
Jul 1968: The pro-Soviet faction of the
Ba'ath Party seizes power in Iraq and
appoints general Ahmed Hasan alBakr president and Saddam Hussein in
charge of internal security, removing
Shiites (the majority of Iraq's
population) from any position of power
1968: Palestinians use Lebanon as a
base to launch attacks against Israel
Oct 1968: Ahmad Jibril splits from
George Habash's PFLP and founds the
Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine-General Command (PFLPGC) with base in Syria
June 1968: USA politician Bob
Kennedy is assassinated by
Palestinian immigrant Sirhan Sirhan in
retaliation for the USA's support of
Israel
March 1968: Fatah guerrillas win the
battle of Karameh against superior
Israeli forces (30 Israeli soldiers are

killed)
Jul 1968: the PFLP hijacks an Israeli
airplane to trade hostages for
Palestinian prisoners
Jul 1968: the pro-Soviet faction of the
Ba'ath Party seizes power and
appoints Ahmed Hasan al-Bakr
president and Saddam Hussein is
appointed in charge of internal
security
Sep 1969: colonel Muhammar Qaddafi
of a poor seminomadic tribe becomes
dictator of Libya in a successful coup
and chooses Tripoli as the sole capital
of Libya
1969: colonel Muhammar Qaddafi
becomes dictator of Libya after a
successful coup (Libya)
1969: female Palestinian fighter Leila
Khaled hijacks a TWA airplane
(Palestine)
March 1969: Golda Meir is elected
prime minister of Israel (Israel)

Feb 1969: Yassir Arafat becomes

leader of the Palestine Liberation
Organization (Fatah takes over the
PLO) (Palestine)
1969: Yassir Arafat becomes leader of
the Palestine Liberation Organization
1969: Communists overthrow South
Yemen's president Shabi and install
Salim Rubay Ali
1969: Dubai begins exporting oil
1969: The Islamic Conference is
founded
1970: Egyptian president Nasser dies
and is succeeded by his deputy Anwar
Sadat
1970: Oman's sultan Said ibm Taimur
is overthrown by his son Qabus with
Iranian help
1970: Sulaiman Franjieh, a Shamun
associate, is elected president of
Lebanon
1970: Oman formally abolishes
slavery

1970: 25% of all students in Egyptian

universities are women
1970: Hafez Assad, the Alawite leader
of the military wing of the Ba'ath
Party, overthrows the president of
Syria
1970: Palestinian terrorists bomb
airplanes and other facilities in Europe
Feb 1970: A bomb by the Popular
Front for the Liberation of Palestine
kills all 47 people aboard a SwissAir
flight (Switzerland)
Sep 1970: After a series of
assassination attemptsKing Hussein of
Jordanfearing for his own country's
stabilityorders a massive expulsion of
Palestinians that results in ten days of
civil war with 200 Syrian tanks
invading Jordan and 5,000 deaths
("black september") (Jordan)
Sep 1970: Arafat is appointed
supreme commander of the Palestine
Liberation Army (PLA)the military arm

of the PLO (Palestine)

Nov 1970: Hafez Assadshiite leader of
the military wing of the Baath
Partyoverthrows the president of Syria
(Syria)
1970: Israel carries out air raids along
the Nile killing hundreds of Egyptian
civilians hoping to incite anti-Nasser
uprisinginstead triggering a massive
rearmament of Egypt by the Soviet
Union (Egypt)
Jul 1970: Israel downs five Soviet
warplanes that are testing its radar
defenses (Israel)
Sep 1970: Nasser dies and is buried in
one of the largest funerals everwhile
his deputy Anwar Sadat becomes the
new president of Egypt (Egypt)
Sep 1970: PFLP terrorists hijack a TWA
jeta Swissair jet and a Pan Am jet and
blow them up in Zarka (Jordan)
Sep 1970: the chairman of the
Palestine Liberation OrganizationYassir

Arafatsettles in BeirutLebanon
(Palestine)
Sep 1970: The Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine carries out
simultaneous hijackings to Jordan
(Dawson's Field) of TWASwissair and
BOAC planes for a total of over 300
hostages ("Skyjack Sunday")which are
swapped with Leila Khaledthe leader
of the PFLP cell captured in Britain
(Jordan)
1970: King Hussein of Jordan orders a
massive expulsion of Palestinians
("black september"), many of which
move into Lebanon, further
destabilizing the country and the
Palestinian leader Arafat settles in
Beirut, Lebanon
1971: the Gulf States (Oman, Qatar,
United Arab Emirates, Bahrein in
august) become independent and the
USA takes over the British military
base in Bahrein

1971: Saddam Hussein inaugurates

the Iraqi program to build a nuclear
weapon (Iraq)
Jul 1971: The Jordanian army attacks
the Palestinian camps again and
Fatah's Salah Khalaf founds Black
September (Jordan)
Nov 1971: The Jordanian prime
minister Wasfi Tal is killed by
Palestinian Black September terrorists
while in Cairo (Jordan)
Jul 1971: seven Gulf emirates federate
as the United Arab Emirates under
president Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu
Dhabi
1971: Egypt inaugurates the high
Aswan Dam wanted by Nasser
1972: Iraq nationalizes the Iraq
Petroleum Company
1972: Khalifah overthrows Ahmad in
Qatar
1972: The price of oil is $3 per barrel,
double the price of 1970, as the world

consumes five times more oil than in

1948
1972: Dozens of anti-communist
dissidents are killed in South Yemen
while South and North Yemen fight a
border war
1972: Egypt expels all Soviet military
advisers, and the Soviet Union
transfers its Mediterranean fleet base
from Egypt to Syria
TM, , Copyright 2005 Piero
Scaruffi All rights reserved.
1972: Palestinian terrorists kill 11
Israeli athletes at the Munich
Olympics
1972: Iraq and the Soviet Union sign a
friendship treaty
May 1972: A joint attack by the
Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine and the Japanese Red Army
at Lod airport (Israel) kills 26 people
(Israel)
1972: Black September attacks

Jordanian embassies and airline

offices in Europe (Europe)
may 1972: Black September hijacks a
Belgian airplane and lands it in Israel
demanding the release of prisonersbut
Israel storms the plane (Europe)
May 1972: Black September terrorists
hijack a Belgian airliner in Tel Aviv and
Israeli commandos storm the plane
(Israel)
Jul 1972: Egypt expels the Soviet
military advisers (Egypt)
may 1972: Japanese terrorists attack
the Tel Aviv airport killing 26 people
(Israel)
Sep 1972: Palestinian terrorists of the
Black September faction kill 11 Israeli
athletes at the Munich Olympicsa
drama that is televised live worldwide
(Germany)
1972: The CIA hires Bashir
Gemayelthe son of the Lebanese
politician Pierre Gemayel who is

working in Washington (USA)

1972: the oil industry is nationalized
(Iraq)
Oct 1973: Egypt and Syria attack
Israel (fourth war), but Israel wins
again
Dec 1973: Golda Meir is replaced as
prime minister of Israel by Yitzhak
Rabin of the Labor Party, the first
prime minister to be born in Israel
1973: Syria adopts a socialist
constitution
1973: For the first time oil producers
set the price of oil without negotiating
with oil companies
1973: the OPEC (mainly Arab)
countries impose an oil embargo on
the western world in retaliation for the
Israeli victory
1973: El-Ouali leads a group of
Sahrawi (Western Saharan) students
to form the "Popular Front for the
Liberation of Saguia el Hamra and Rio

de Oro", or Polisario, fighting for

independence from Spain
August 1973: Black September
terrorists attacks the Israeli airline
counter at the Athens airport (Greece)
Oct 1973: Egypt and Syria attack
Israel (fourth war)but Israel invades
again the Sinai (Palestine)
1973: El-Ouali leads a group of
Sahrawi students to form the "Popular
Front for the Liberation of Saguia el
Hamra and Rio de Oro"or
Polisariofighting for independence
from Spain (Western Sahara)
Oct 1973: OPEC countries impose an
oil embargo on the western world that
causes an economic crises (Saudi
Arabia)
Dec 1973: Palestinian terrorists attack
a Pan Am flight in Rome and kill 30
passengers (Italy)
Dec 1973: The conservative Yitzhak
Rabin is elected prime minister of

Israel (Israel)
1973: Venezuelan-born terrorist Ilich
Ramirez Sanchez ("Carlos the
Jackal")who studied in Russia and was
trained by Haddadperforms
spectacular terrorist actions on behalf
of Palestinian terrorist groups
(London)
Dec 1973: The price of oil reaches
$11.65 per barrel, almost four times
what it was a year earlier
1973: Sheikh Ahmed Yassin
establishes the Islamic Association in
Palestine
1974: French premier Chirac visits Iraq
to negotiate the sale of nuclear
technology
1974: Syria inaugurates the Euphrates
Dam
1974: Arafat gives an emotional
speech at the United Nations begging
for Palestinian statehood (New York)
1974: French premier Chirac visits Iraq

to negotiate the sale of nuclear

technology (Iraq)
1974: Sabri al-Banna splits from the
PLO and founds Abu Nidal (Palestine)
June 1974: the Palestinian National
Council (PNC) in Rabat decides to
abandon international terrorism
(Morocco)
Nov 1974: the United Nations
recognizes the right of the Palestinian
people to sovereignity and invites
Arafat's PLO as an "observer"thereby
recognizing Arafat as the leader of the
Palestinians (Palestine)
1974: A military coup in North Yemen
installs the pro-Saudi colonel Ibrahim
al-Hamdi
1974: Iraq launches another attack
against Kurdish rebels, who are armed
by Iran, Israel and the USA
1975: After the pact between Iran and
Iraq that ends Iranian support for
Kurdish rebels in Iraq, Iraqi troops

massacre thousands of Kurdish

civilians and rebels after collecting
them in "dar al-fana" ("houses of
annihilation")
1975: Foreign workers from other
Muslim countries constitute about
43% of Saudi Arabia's population
June 1975: "Carlos" kills two police
officers in Paris (France)
April 1975: Christian and Muslim sects
engage in a civil war in Lebanon that
will last 16 years (Lebanon)
1975: French prime minister Chirac
sells a nuclear reactor and jet fighters
to Iraq (Iraq)
1975: Khalid bin Abdul Aziz King
Khalid becomes the fourth King of
Saudi Arabia (Saudi Arabia)
Dec 1975: Oil minister of the OPEC
countries are kidnapped during a
meeting by terrorists led by "Carlos"
(Ilich Ramirez Sanchez) (Austria)
1975: Spain withdraws and Morocco

invades Western Sahara with the

"green march" (Western Sahara)
1975: when Iranthe United States and
Israel withdraw support to the Kurdish
revolt led by Mustafa BarzaniIraqi
troops massacre thousands of Kurdish
civilians and rebels after collecting
them in "dar al-fana" ("houses of
annihilation") (Iraq)
1975: The Suez Canal reopens
1975: Spain withdraws from Western
Sahara, Morocco invades Western
Sahara and the Polisario proclaims the
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
and begins an independence war
against Morocco
Mar 1975: King Faisal of Saudi Arabia
is assassinated and succeeded by his
brother Khalid
Apr 1975: When a busload of
Palestinians is massacred by a
Christian militia, civil war erupts in
Lebanon pitting Christians (Shamun,

Frenjieh and the Phalange Party of

Pierre Jumayyil) against Muslims
1976: Houari Boumedienne declares
Algeria a socialist state
1976: Israel's inflation reaches 40%
1976: Israeli police kill six Israeli
citizens of Palestinian descent who are
demonstrating against seizure of
Palestinian land ("Palestinian Land
Day") (Israel)
Jan 1976: A bomb blows up a
Lebanese flight over Saudi
Arabiakilling all 82 passengers (Saudi
Arabia)
1976: Algeria is declared a socialist
state (Algeria)
Jul 1976: Israeli commandos storm an
Air France plane hijacked by
Palestinian terrorists in Entebbe killing
all the Palestinians and scores of
Ugandan soldiers that were protecting
them and freeing 102 hostages
(Palestine)

1976: Jalal Talabani founds the Kurdish

Patriotic Union in northern Iraq to fight
for Kurdish independence (Iraq)
April 1976: Syria invades Lebanon to
avoid an almost certain Palestinian
victory (Lebanon)
Feb 1976: the Polisario proclaims the
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
and begins an independence struggle
against Morocco (Western Sahara)
1976: Wadi' Haddad split from George
Habash's PFLP and founds the "15
May Faction"that quickly becomes the
leading terrorist organization
(Palestine)
1976: Egypt's population is 39 million
1976: Kuwait has the highest percapita income of the world
1976: Syria sends troops into Lebanon
1977: A pipeline connecting Iraqi oil
fields and Turkish ports opens
May 1977: Menachem Begin of the
Likud Party becomes prime minister of

Israel with a program of pro-capitalist

economic reforms
1977: North Yemen's leader al-Hamdi
is assassinated
1977: Kuwait's emir Sabah al-Sabah
dies and is succeeded by his cousin
Jabir Sabah
1977: Kuwait and Qatar nationalize
their oil industries
1977: Libya, that has the highest percapite GDP of north Africa, renames
itself a socialist republic
1977: An oil pipeline connecting Iraq
to the Mediterranean via Turkey is
inaugurated
Oct 1977: A German airliner is
hijacked by Palestinian terrorists and
stormed by German paratroopers in
Somalia (Israel)
April 1977: Abu Abbas splits from the
PFLP-GC and founds the Palestinian
Liberation Front (PLF) (Palestine)
1977: Ariel Sharonminister of

agricultureplans Jewish settlements in

the Palestinian territories occupied by
Israel since the 1967 war (Israel)
May 1977: Former Irgun terrorist
Menachem Begin and the right-wing
Likud party win electionsdefeating the
Labor Party that had ruled Israel since
its founding (Israel)
Jan 1977: People riot in Cairo to
protest economic conditions and 160
demonstrators are killed by the army
(Egypt)
Nov 1977: Sadat becomes the first
Arab leader ever to visit Israel (Egypt)
August 1978: A fire kills 477 people in
a movie theater in AbadanIrancausing
mass demonstrations against the
regime (Iran)
1978: Abdullah Ocalan creates the
Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) to fight
Turkish oppression of the kurdish
minority (Turkey)
March 1978: Al Fatah terrorists led by

an 18-year old woman and reporting

to Khalil al-Wazir/ Abu Jihad hijack two
buses in Israel killing 37 people
(Israel)
1978: Israel begins resettling Jews in
the Arab areas of the West Bank
(Palestine)
June 1978: Israel invades the southern
part of Lebanon to uproot the
PLOkilling more than 1,000
civiliansbut then withdraws (Lebanon)
Jan 1978: Religious students in Qom
stage mass demonstrations against
the shah of Iran (Iran)
Sep 1978: The Camp David
agreement brokered by president
Jimmy Carter of the USA prescribes a
timetable for solving the Palestinian
issuebut Jordan refuses to negotiate
on behalf of Arafat and Israel refuses
to negotiate directly with a terrorist
like Arafat (Palestine)
1978: North Yemen's leader Ahmad al-

Ghasmi is assassinated (the second in

two years) and Ali Abdallah Saleh is
appointed president
1978: Salim Rubay Ali is assassinated
in South Yemen
1978: North Yemen's leader al-Hamdi
is assassinated
1978: Iraq expels Iranian cleric
Khomeini, who moves to France
Mar 1979: Egypt (Sadat) and Israel
(Begin) sign a peace treaty brokered
by the USA in Washington
1979: Saudi Arabia accounts for more
than 50% of arms sold by the USA
1979: Iraq produces 3 million barrels
of oil per day
1979: South and North Yemen fight a
second border war
1979: Saddam Hussein seizes power
in Iraq and begins a ruthless
dictatorship
1979: Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum
becomes ruler of Dubai and turns it

into a major financial hub

1979: South Yemen and the Soviet
Union sign a treaty of friendship
Nov 1979: Rebels claiming to
represent the Mahdi seize Mecca but
Saudi Arabia defeats them and
executes 60 of them
Jan 1979: a popular revolution
deposes the shah Reza Pahlevi (Iran)
Nov 1979: Dozens of Islamic fanatics
seize the Grand Mosque in Mecca
taking hundred of pilgrims hostage
(Saudi Arabia)
Nov 1979: Iranian students take 52
Americans hostage at the American
embassy (Iran)
Feb 1979: Islamic clerics (ayatollahs)
seize the power and appoint Ruhollah
Khomeini supreme leader of Iranjust
returned from exile (Iran)
April 1979: Israeli agents blow up a
factory in France that builds
components for Iraq's nuclear facility

at Osirak (France)
1979: Massoud Barzani succeeds his
father Mustafa Barzani as the leader
of the Kurdistan Democratic Party
(Iraq)
March 1979: Sadat of Egypt and of
Israel sign a peace treatyIsrael returns
the Sinai peninsula to Egypt and Egypt
enters the orbit of the USA (Israel)
June 1979: Saddam Hussein inherits
power in Iraq and begins a ruthless
dictatorship (Iraq)
1979: the 1979 Islamic revolution in
Iran galvanizes Islamic
extremistsespecially shiite Arabs
(Lebanon)
April 1980: American troops fail to
liberate the American hostages (Iran)
1980: Berbers demonstrate against
Arab domination in Algeria ("Spring of
Kabyle") (Algeria)
1980: galvanized by the Islamic
Revolution in IranMuslims riot in

AleppoHoms and Hama (Syria)

1980: increasingly anti-American
propaganda by Qaddafi (Libya)
Sep 1980: Iraq (Saddam Hussein)
attacks Iran (Iraq)
June 1980: Israeli agents assassinate
in France an Egyptian engineer
working for Iraq's Osirak nuclear
facility (France)
June 1980: The Muslim Brotherhood
tries to assassinate Assad of Syria
(Syria)
1980: "mujaheddin" and volunteers
from the Arab world, led by Saudi
scion Osama bin Laden, organize the
resistance against the Soviet Union's
occupation of Afghanistan
1980: Ali Nasser Muhammad, leader
of the Socialist Party, becomes the de
facto ruler of South Yemen
1980: Christians constitute 30% and
Muslims constitute 18% of the world's
population

1980: Khomeini declares the last

friday of the Muslim holy month of
Ramadan as an international day of
struggle against Israel and for the
liberation of Jerusalem
Sep 1980: Iraq (Saddam Hussein),
with financial aid from France, Kuwait
and Saudi Arabia and intelligence aid
from the USA, attacks Iran (Khomeini)
1980: Iraqi ayatollah Mohammed
Baqer al-Sadr, leader of Iraq's first
Shiite political party, is assassinated
by Saddam Hussein's regime
1980: Berbers demonstrate against
Arab domination in Algeria ("Spring of
Kabyle")
1980: There are 3 million foreign
workers in Saudi Arabia, mostly from
Yemen, Palestine, Egypt and Pakistan
1981: Egyptian president Sadat is
assassinated by a radical Muslim
organization and is succeeded by
Hosni Mubarak

1981: Two thirds of Saudi citizens live

in cities and only 10% are still nomads
1981: Saudi Arabia, Bahrein, Kuwait,
Oman, Qatar and the United Arab
Emirates found the GCC (Gulf
Cooperation Council)
Dec 1981: a member of Islamic Dawa
Party blows himself up to attack the
Iraqi embassy in BeirutLebanon (first
suicide bomber) (Lebanon)
Jan 1981: by trading weapons for
hostagesthe new American
presidentRonald Reaganobtains the
release of the Americans held in Iran
for 444 days (Iran)
June 1981: Israel bombs Iraq's Osirak
reactormanned by FrenchItalian and
Brazilian engineersthat is producing
enriched uranium fuel and plutonium
that can be used for nuclear weapons
(Iraq)
Jul 1981: Israel bombs multi-story
apartment buildings in Beirut to kill

Arafat and the PLO leadershipkilling

300 civilians (Lebanon)
June 1981: Israel bombs the Iraqi
nuclear reactor built by Franceto
prevent Iraq from building a nuclear
weapon (Iraq)
Oct 1981: Sadat is assassinated by
soldiers led by Khalid al
Islambouliinspired by radical Muslim
organization (the Egyptian Islamic
Jihad) of Egyptian surgeon Ayman alZawahriand is succeeded by vicepresident Hosni Mubarak (Egypt)
April 1981: Syria defeats Bashir
Gemayel's Phalange at Zahlebut Israel
helps defeat the Syrian troops
(Lebanon)
Sep 1981: The French ambassador is
assassinated in Lebanon (Lebanon)
August 1981: two Libya airplanes are
downed by the USA on the
Mediterranean (Libya)
Sep 1982: At the battle of Shouf a USA

warship rescues Michel Aoun's

Lebanese army that is being defeated
by a coalition of Walid Jumblatt's
Druze militia, Syrian troops, PLO
guerrillas and Iranian Revolutionary
Guards (Lebanon)
1982: ://www.scaruffi.com>Youstol
Dispage joins the resistance (Israel)
Nov 1982: a suicide bomber blows up
72 Israeli soldiers in Tyre (Lebanon)
August 1982: Arafat and his forces are
allowed to leave Beirutwhile the USA
promises protection for the Palestinian
civilians left in the refugee camps of
Lebanon (Lebanon)
Feb 1982: Assad orders the bombing
of Hamaone of Syria's major citiesfor
27 dayskilling more than 20,000
peopleto stem an uprising of the
Muslim Brotherhood (Syria)
Sep 1982: Bashir Gemayel is
assassinated by Syrian agentsand in
retaliation Israeli-backed Christian

militiamen of the Phalange under Elie

Hobeika with the support of Israeli
troops (under the command of Ariel
Sharon) massacre 1,000 unarmed
Palestinian and Lebanese civilians in
the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps
in west Beirut (Lebanon)
August 1982: Bashir Gemayela
moderate Christianis elected president
of Lebanon (Lebanon)
June 1982: Fahd bin 'Abdulaziz (11th
son of the founder of the Saudi
kingdom) ascends to the throne
(Saudi Arabia)
1982: Hezbollah (Party of God) is
founded by a radical shiite group with
the mission of creating an Iranianstyle Islamic republic in
Lebanonsupported by Iranian
revolutionary guards (Lebanon)
June 1982: In retaliation for an
assassination attempt by Abu Nidal
and Iraqi agents on the Israeli

ambassador in BritainIsrael invades

Lebanon trapping the Palestine
Liberation Organization (PLO) and its
leader Yassir Arafat in Beirut (despite
the fact that Abu Nidal is not part of
the PLO) (Lebanon)
1982: Iran provides help to kurds
fighting against Saddam Hussein in
the north of Iraq and massive
repression by Iraqi forces follows (Iraq)
August 1982: Iran sends "volunteers"
to fight Israel in Lebanon (Lebanon)
Sep 1982: The USA sends marines to
restore order in Lebanonfollowed by
French and Italian troops (Lebanon)
Jun 1982: Israel invades Lebanon to
fight the Palestinian militias based
there and obtains the evacuation of
Arafat's PLO from Beirut
1982: Assad orders the bombing of
Hama, one of Syria's major cities, for
27 days, killing more than 20
thousand people

Jun 1982: In retaliation for an

assassination attempt by Abu Nidal
and Iraqi agents on the Israeli
ambassador in Britain, Israel invades
Lebanon trapping the Palestine
Liberation Organization (PLO) and its
leader Yassir Arafat in Beirut (despite
the fact that Abu Nidal is not part of
the PLO)
1982: Hezbollah (Party of God) is
founded by a radical shiite group with
the mission of creating an Iranianstyle Islamic republic in Lebanon,
supported by Iranian revolutionary
guards
1982: There are 25,000 Jews in the
West Bank and 65,000 Jews in East
Jerusalem, both Palestinian areas
1982: Khalid dies and Fahd bin
'Abdulaziz, 11th son of the founder of
the Saudi kingdom, ascends to the
throne
1982: Oil production begins to drop in

Libya
Oct 1983: Hezbollah suicide
commandos organized by Iran and
masterminded by Imad Mughniyeh
(Mugniyah) blow up the US and French
barracks in Lebanon killing 241
marines and 58 French soldiers
1983: The Wafd Party is legalized
again in Egypt
1983: a ferry sinks in the Nile, Egypt,
and kills 357 people
1983: Iraq uses chemical weapons
against Iranian troops
August 1983: "Carlos" carries out an
attack on the Maison de France in
Berlin that kills two people (Germany)
sep 1983: A bomb blows up a Gulf Air
flight over the United Arab Emirates
killing all 112 passengers (United Arab
Emirates)
Nov 1983: a second suicide bomber in
Tyre kills 28 Israelis and 32 Lebanese
prisoners (Lebanon)

Sep 1983: Begin resignsbut neither

Likud nor Labor wins the electionsand
Yitzah Shamir and Shimon Peres
accept a power-sharing agreement to
alternate as prime ministers of Israel
(Israel)
Oct 1983: Hezbollah suicide
commandos organized by Iran and
masterminded by Imad Mughniyeh
(Mugniyah) blow up the US and French
barracks killing 241 marines and 58
French soldiers (Lebanon)
1983: Iraq uses chemical weapons
against Iranian troops (Iraq)
Oct 1983: Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin
Abdul Aziz Al Saud is appointed
ambassador to the USA with the goal
to create a military alliance (USA)
Dec 1983: Shiite terrorists funded by
Iran (including three Lebanese of
Hezbollah) blow up the USA and
French embassies in Kuwaitkilling six
people (Kuwait)

April 1983: suicide commandos

directed by Imad Mughniyeh
(Mugniyah) blow up the US
embassykilling 63 people (Lebanon)
May 1983: Syria directs a mutiny
within Arafat's Fatah that will force
Arafat to leave Lebanon (Lebanon)
Jul 1983: the Mufti of Jerusalem issues
a fatwa to kill Assad in retaliation to
his campaign against the Palestine
Liberation Organization. (Palestine)
Dec 1983: The USA government sends
Donald Rumsfeld to Iraq to negotiate
with Saddam Hussein (Iraq)
1984: Abdullah Ocalan and the
Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) wage war
to the Turkish state (Turkey)
1984: Iraq uses chemical weapons
against kurds (Iraq)
Feb 1984: Militias fight for control of
Beirutwhich has become the most
dangerous city in the world (car
bombskidnapsassassinations)

(Lebanon)
1984: Saudi Arabia becomes the
financial arm of the CIA to bypass the
USA parliamentselling arms to
Nicaragua's rebelsto Angola's rebels
and to Afghanistan's rebels fighting
communist regimes in three
continents (Saudi Arabia)
Jan 1984: The president of the
American University of Beirul is
assassinated in Lebanon (Lebanon)
March 1984: the second highestranking USA official in Lebanon is
kidnapped by Hezbollah (Lebanon)
Feb 1984: USAFrench and Italian
soldiers withdraw from Lebanon
(Lebanon)
1984: Libya has 3.6 million people
including 600 thousand foreign
workers
Jul 1984: Likud and Labor form a
coalition in Israel while inflation is
approaching 400%

1985: Iraq develops an offensive

biological weapons program
1985: More than two thirds of the
population of the United Arab
Emirates is foreign workers
1985: Kuwait has 1.8 million people, of
which more than one million are
foreign workers
Jun 1985: Saudi Arabia's oil production
reaches a 20-year low at 2.2 million
barrels
1985: Hezbollah suicide commandos
organized by Iran blow up the US and
French barracks killing 241 marines
and 58 French soldiers
1985: Israel raids the PLO
headquarters in Tunis, killing 60
people
Jun 1985: Israel withdraws from
Lebanon
Sep 1985: Saudi Arabia announces an
increase in oil production that causes
a fall in the price of oil

May 1985: 1.260 Palestinian prisoners

(among them Sheikh Ahmed Yassin)
are released from Israeli jails in a
prisoner exchange between Israel and
Ahmad Jibril's PFLP-GC that has
hijacked an American passenger plane
(Israel)
March 1985: A car bomb planted by
CIA-funded Christian militia fail to
assassinate Hezbollah's spiritual
leader Sheikh Mohammed Hussein
Fadballahbut instead kills 80 civilians
(Lebanon)
Dec 1985: Abu Nidal terrorists kill 13
people during an attack on El Al's
offices in Rome and 3 people in a
similar attack in Vienna (Palestine)
1985: Britain sells weapons to Saudi
Arabiathe largest arms sale in its
history yet (Saudi Arabia)
June 1985: Hezbollah terrorists hijack
a TWA flight and exchange the
hostages for 435 Lebanese and

Palestinian prisoners detained by

Israel (Lebanon)
1985: Israel raids the PLO
headquarters in Tuniskilling 60 people
(Tunisia)
August 1985: Israel sells 500 antitank
missiles to Iran under a covert plan by
the USA to win the release of USA
hostages in Lebanon (Israel)
June 1985: Israel withdraws to the
southern part of Lebanonwhich
officially cedes to friendly Christian
militias (Lebanon)
Feb 1985: King Fahd of Saudi Arabia
meets with USA president Ronald
Reagan in the USAcarrying a "gift" of
$2 million in diamonds (USA)
Oct 1985: Palestinian terrorists led by
Abu Abbas hijack the Achille Lauro
cruise shipkill one USA
passengerescape via Egyptare tracked
down by USA warplanesand are finally
helped to escape by the Italian

government (Palestine)
1985: Syria and Iran sponsor
Hezbollah guerrilla against Israeli
troops stationed in Lebanon (Lebanon)
1985: Syria directs a world-wide
terrorist campaign aimed at
sabotaging the agreement between
Jordan's King Hussein and Yassir Arafat
(Syria)
June 1985: Terrorists hijack a TWA
flightkill one USA passenger and
release the others after Israel accept
to release 700 Shiite prisoners
(Lebanon)
1985: the "15 May Faction" is
dissolved and its leader and notorious
bombmaker Muhammad Al-Amri joins
the PFLP-GC (Palestine)
Sep 1986: Abu Nidal terrorists hijack a
Pan Am in Karachi (Palestine)
August 1986: American planes bomb
Libya trying to assassinate a defiant
Qaddafi (Libya)

1986: Mordechai Vanunu is jailed for

revealing the secret Israeli atomic
weapons program (Israel)
1986: Mordechai Vanunua former
Israeli nuclear technicianreveals the
Israeli nuclear program (Israel)
Sep 1986: Syria sponsors a string of
bombs in Paris (France)
May 1986: The USA directly delivers
weapons to Iran to win the release of
USA citizens held hostages in Lebanon
by Hezbollah (Iran)
April 1986: Two USA soldiers are killed
in a disco of Berlin by Libyan agents
(Germany)
1986: USA planes bomb Libya trying
to assassinate Qaddafi
1986: Haidar Abu Bakr al-Attas
becomes president of South Yemen
while thousands of people die in riot in
Aden
1986: A causeway opens linking
Bahrein to Saudi Arabia

Jun 1986: Saudi Arabia increases oil

production to 7 million barrels a day to
bring down oil prices that are hurting
world economies
Dec 1987: Palestinians in the occupied
territories begin an uprising against
Israeli occupation (first "intifada")
1987: 402 people die when Saudi
police clash with shia pilgrims in
Mecca
1987: The Cairo subway opens in
Egypt
Feb 1987: Syria invades Beirut to
restore order, after the civil war has
killed 130,000 people since 1975
1987: Inflation reaches 500% in
Lebanon
1987: Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
overthrows Habib Bourguiba in Tunisia
1987: Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, backed
by donors in the Gulf states and by
Jordan, creates the Islamist civilian
and military organization Hamas in

Gaza, with the goal to drive Israel out

of the Middle East and establish an
Islamic state
1987: Ahmad Jibril's PFLP-GC
organization fights with Lybia in Chad
(Libya)
1987: An Iraqi Mirage warplane
mistakenly attacks a USA warship in
the Persian Gulfkilling 37 USA sailors
(Iraq)
Dec 1987: Emanating from the
Jabaliya refugee campPalestinians in
the occupied territories begin an
uprising against Israeli occupation
forces using mainly rocks (the first
"intifada") mainly protesting
continued expansion of Israeli
settlements in the Palestinian areas of
the West Bank (Palestine)
1987: Khalil al-Wazir/ Abu Jihad unifies
under Arafat the seven factions that
had split the PLO since the exodus
from Lebanon in 1982 (Tunisia)

Dec 1987: Sheikh Ahmed

Yassinbacked by donors in the Gulf
statescreates the civilian and military
organization Hamas in Gaza as the
Palestinian wing of the Muslim
Brotherhoodwith the goal to drive
Israel out of the Middle East and
establish an Islamic state (Palestine)
Feb 1987: Syria invades Beirut to
restore order (Lebanon)
Nov ember 1988: Arafat declares the
independece of Palestineand the state
is recognized by
TurkeyGreeceIndiaChinathe Soviet
UnionPakistan and Austria (Algeria)
Jul 1988: a missile fired by an
American warship downs an Iranian
civilian plane and kills all 290
passengers aboard (Iran)
April 1988: A USA warship is damaged
by an Iranian mine in the Persian
Gulfand in retaliation the USA starts
its largest naval battle since

Vietnamdestroying two Iranian oil

platforms and attacking Iranian
warships (Iran)
Jul 1988: Abu Nidal terrorists hijack a
cruise ship in Greece (Palestine)
April 1988: An Israeli commando
assassinates Abu Jihad (Tunisia)
Jan 1988: Arafat from Tunisia
establishes a line of command to the
intifada via Khalil al-Wazir/ Abu Jihad
(Tunisia)
August 1988: end of the war between
Iraq and Iran that has cost about one
million lives (600,000 Iranians and
400,000 Iraqis) (Iran)
Dec 1988: Following Arafat's speech in
which he renounced terrorism and
recognized Israel's right to existthe
USA recognizes the PLO and begins
direct talks (USA)
Jul 1988: Hezbollah executes USA
diplomat William Higgins after two
years of captivity (Lebanon)

Feb 1988: Hezbollah kidnaps a USA

diplomatWilliam Higgins (Lebanon)
Sep 1988: Iraqi forces attack kurdish
forces with chemical
weaponsdestroying nearly 4,000 of
the 5,000 Kurdish villages and killing
tens of thousands of civilians (Iraq)
March 1988: Iraqi troops kill 5,000
Kurds with poison gas in Halabjanorth
Iraq (Iraq)
Jul 1988: King Hussein of Jordan
declares that Jordan will stop
administering the West Bank (Jordan)
March 1988: Palestinians of Abu
Jihad's organization kill three Israeli
workers of the Dimona nuclear facility
(Israel)
Dec 1988: terrorists backed by Libya
blow up a Pan Am plane over Scotland
killing 259 people probably on behalf
of Iran (Libya)
Dec 1988: terrorists of the PFLP-GC
backed by Libya blow up a Pan Am

plane over Scotland (Lockerbie) killing

270 people probably on behalf of Iran
(Libya)
1988: Thanks to intelligence provided
by the USAIraq bombs strategic
targets inside Iran (Iraq)
1988: terrorists backed by Libya blow
up a Pan Am plane over Scotland
killing 259 people probably on behalf
of Iran
1988: Egypt's population is 50 million
1988: The GDP per capite of Libya is
eight times the one of Egypt
Sep 1988: The war between Iraq and
Iran that has cost about half a million
lives (300,000 Iranians and 135,000
Iraqis) ends with no winner
1988: Iraq uses chemical weapons
against Kurds (Halabja massacre)
1988: Osama bin Laden, in
Afghanistan, creates Al Qaeda, a
worldwide alliance of (mainly Arab)
fundamentalist militants, based on the

teachings of Mohammad ibn Abd alWahab

1988: Saad Eddin Ibrahim founds the
Ibn Khaldun Center in Egypt to
promote democracy in the Arab world
1989: a ceasefire is signed between
Morocco and the Polisario
1989: Khomeini dies and is succeeded
by Ali Khameini
Oct 1989: Lebanese factions agree to
end the civil war ("Taif Agreement"),
splitting the parliament equally
between Christians and MuslimsA, but
the first Christian president is
immediately assassinated and
Lebanon is forced by Syria to pick
Elias Hrawi as new president
1989: Dutch businessman Frans van
Anraat is arrested in Italy at the
request of the USA for selling
thousands of tons of chemicals that
Saddam Hussein's Iraq used to build
chemical weapons

Sep 1989: A bomb planted by Libyan

agents blows up a French flight over
Niger killing all 171 passengers (Libya)
May 1989: Ahmed Yassinleader of
Hamasis arrested and condemned to
life in prisonand his successor Musa
Abu Marzook separates the civilian
and military wings of Hamas (Salah
Shihada establishes Hamas' military
apparatus) (Palestine)
June 1989: Ali Khameini is appointed
supreme leader of iran (Iran)
1989: German scientist Karl-Heinz
Schaab sells German uraniumenrichment technology to Iraq (Iraq)
1989: Khomeini dies and is buried
with one of the largest funerals ever
(Iran)
1989: Morocco and the Polisario sign a
truce and begin peace talks (Western
Sahara)
Sep 1989: Qaddafi publicly renounces
terrorism and orders Ahmad Jibril to

close his offices in Tripoli (Libya)

Sep 1989: the PFLP-GC blows up a
French UTA airliner over Nigerprobably
on behalf of Libya (Niger)
August 1990: Iraqi troops invade
Kuwait (Iraq)
August 1990: King Fahd calls for US
protection against Saddam Hussein
(Saudi Arabia)
Jul 1990: Saddam Hussein's Iraq
accuses Kuwait of stealing its oil and
waging a financial war (Egypt)
May 1990: Saddam Hussein convenes
an Arab summit in Baghdad during
which he declares "Greater Israel" to
be the common enemy and promises
money to the family of every
Palestinian suicide bomber (Iraq)
May 1990: Saddam Hussein convenes
an Arab summit in Baghdad during
which he declares "Greater Israel" to
be the common enemy and promises
money to the family of every

Palestinian suicide bomber (Iraq)

Oct 1990: Saudi Arabiaafraid that
Saddam Hussein may turn against
them after invading Kuwaitjoins the
U.S.-led coalition and for the first time
ever allows troops of a non-Muslim
country to deploy on its soil (Saudi
Arabia)
Oct 1990: the last Christian leader to
fight Syria and the Muslims in
Lebanongeneral Michel
Aounsurrenders to Syria (after a battle
that killed 700 Christians)and the civil
war ends (40,000 people have died in
16 years) (Lebanon)
May 1990: With funding from Saddam
Hussein's IraqAbu Abbas' PLF (now
based in Baghdad) attempts to land
six boats on Israel's Nizanim beach
(Israel)
Aug 1990: Iraqi troops (Saddam
Hussein) invade Kuwait
1990: 1,426 pilgrims die in a

stampede in Mecca
1990: the last Christian leader to fight
Syria and the Muslims in Lebanon
surrenders, the civil war ends and
Lebanon remains under Syrian
occupation
May 1990: Yemen and Aden unite
under Ali Abdullah Saleh with capital
in Sana
1990: the Iraqi army has 1.4 million
soldiers, the fourth largest in the
world after the Soviet Union, the USA
and China
1990: Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum
dies and is succeeded by his son
Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum as
ruler of Dubai
Jan 1991: An international coalition
(including most Arab countries) led by
the USA expels Iraq from Kuwait, and
400 thousand Palestinians are
expelled from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
and Gulf states, mostly relocating to

Jordan
1991: 330 thousand Jews emigrate to
Israel from the Soviet Union
1991: Saudi Arabia expels Osama bin
Laden for his anti-government stance
1991: a ferry capsizes in Egypt killing
464 people
1991: Al Zarqawi returns from
Afghanistanwhere he has fought
against the Soviet Union (Jordan)
1991: Ayad Allawi founds the Iraqi
National Accord with defectors of the
Iraqi army (Britain)
Jan 1991: George Bushpresident of the
USAleads an international coalition
that attacks Iraq from all sides and
liberates Kuwait (Iraq)
1991: Mohammed Nazzala Jordanbased leader of Hamas with the help
of Osama bin Laden
terroristsunleashes a campaign of
terrorist bombings and assassinations
aimed at toppling the regime of King

Hussein (Jordan)
1991: One of the founders of
HamasKhaled Mashalsettles in Jordan
(Jordan)
Nov 1991: Paulo Jose de Almeida
Santosa Portuguese Muslimtries to
assassinate the Afghan king in
exileZahir Shahon behalf of Al Qaeda
(Italy)
Dec 1991: the last American hostage
is freed from Lebanon (Lebanon)
Feb 1991: The US-led coalition stops
short of reaching Bagdad and leaves
Saddam Hussein in power but
controlling only the central part of Iraq
(the southern and northern part are
off-limits to Iraqi planes in order to
protect the shiite and kurdish
minorities) (Iraq)
May 1991: USA president George Bush
authorizes plans to remove Saddam
Hussein from power in Iraq (Iraq)
March 1992: A bomb (sponsored by

Iran and Hezbollah) against the Israeli

embassy in Buenos Aires kills 85
people (Argentina)
March 1992: a bomb by Imad
Mughniyeh (Mugniyah) kills 29 people
at the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires
(Argentina)
1992: Al Zarqawi is arrested for
planning to overthrow the Jordanian
government (Jordan)
1992: extremists launch a campaign
aimed at ousting president Hosni
Mubarakthat will kill 1,100 people in
five years (Egypt)
May 1992: Fouad Masoum is elected
leader of the regional Kurdish
governmentwhich controls northern
Iraq and is de facto independent from
Saddam Hussein (Iraq)
June 1992: Iraqi exile Ahmad Chalabi
organizes the Iraqi National Congress
in Vienna to overthrow Saddam
Hussein (Austria)

1992: Israel assassinated the leader of

HezbollahAbbas al-Musawiand Hassan
Nasrallah becomes the new leader of
Hezbollah (Lebaonon)
Feb 1992: Israeli agents kill
Hezbollah's leader Sheikh Abbas
Musawi (Lebanon)
1992: Jamaican-born Muslim cleric
Abdullah al-Faisal move to Britain and
begins preaching at London's Brixton
mosque (Britain)
Jan 1992: The Algerian army cancels
national elections won by the Islamic
Salvation Front (FIS) and seizes
powerwhile Islamic radicals of the
Arme` Islamique du Salut (AIS)the
military wing of the FISbegin a
guerrilla campaign (Algeria)
Sep 1992: the extremist movement
Gama'a al-Islamiya (Islamic Group)
warns tourists not to enter the
province of Qenawhere most
monuments areand begins a terrorist

campaign against tourists (Egypt)

1992: the Mujahideen guerrillas
dislodge the communist regime from
Afghanistan
1992: Rabin's Labor Party wins
elections in Israel
1992: Half the population of Saudi
Arabia is under the age of 15
1992: An Egyptian Copt, Boutros
Boutros-Ghali, becomes secretary
general of the United Nations
1992: The Algerian army, led by
general Khaled Nezzar, cancels
national elections won by Abassi
Madani's Islamic Salvation Front (FIS)
and seizes power, while the military
wing of the Islamic Salvation Front
begin a guerrilla campaign, supported
by Iran
Sep 1993: following secret
negotiations in Oslo, the Israeli prime
minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader
Arafat sign an agreement to start a

peace process (Israel recognizes the

PLO and the PLO recognizes Israel)
Dec 1993: 135 countries have
recognize Israel
1993: A group of of Algerian "Afghans"
(Islamic fighters who received their
military training in Afghanistan) forms
the Group Islamique Arme` (GIA) with
the mission to exterminate all infidels
(basically Jews and Christians) and
begins targeting foreign nationals in
Algeriamurdering two Frenchmen
(Algeria)
1993: a senior Bin Laden associate
negotiate the purchase of enriched
South African uranium with the
mediation of Sudanese officials
Sep 1993: following secret
negotiations in Oslothe Israeli prime
minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader
Arafat sign an agreement to start a
peace process (Israel recognizes the
PLO and the PLO recognizes Israel)

(Palestine)
apr 1993: Iraqi agents attempt to
assassinate former president George
Bush during a visit to Kuwait (Kuwait)
August 1993: Islamic terrorists try to
assassinate two ministers in three
months (Egypt)
Feb 1993: Islamic terroristsunder the
orders of Egyptian cleric Omar Abdel
Rahmanbomb the World Trade Center
killing 6 peoplethe first major
international terrorist attack on U. S.
soil. (USA)
1993: scores of Islamic militants are
hanged by Mubarak's regime (Egypt)
Oct 1993: terrorists led by Egyptian
surgeon Ayman al-Zawahrinew leader
of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad that
killed Sadat and affiliated to Osama
bin Laden working in collaboration
with Somali warlord Muhammed
Farrah Aididtrap American troops in
Mogadishushoot down three

helicopters and kill 18 American

soldiers (Somalia)
1993: the FBI suspects Ramzi
Yousefan Egyptian terroristof
organizing the bombing of the World
Trade Center and finds ties with a
blind sheik in Jersey City named Omar
Abdel Rahmana radical Egyptian
group and Afghan war hero Wali Khan
Amin Shaha close ally of Osama bin
Laden (USA)
1993: Mokhtar Belmokhtar returns to
Algeria after fighting in Afghanistan
against the Soviet Union and joins the
Armed Islamist Group (GIA)
Feb 1994: A jewish extremist kills 29
Muslims in a Hebron mosque
(Palestine)
Dec 1994: Algerian terrorists hijack a
French plane (Algeria)
1994: Algerian terrorists of the GIA
hijack an Air France plane and try to
crash it into the Tour Eiffel (France)

Dec 1994: an Air France Airbus A300

is hijacked at Algiers airport by Islamic
terrorists of the Group Islamic Army
with the plan to blow it up over
Parisbut the plane was stormed by
French police in Marseille (Algeria)
Jul 1994: an anti-Israel bomb by Imad
Mughniyeh (Mugniyah) kills 85 people
in Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Nov 1994: Arafat's police clashes with
Hamas rioters (Palestine)
1994: chaos reigns as the Group
Islamic Army (GIA)led by Tayeb al
Afghanian Afghan veterankills scores
of foreigners and Algerian intellectuals
in and around Algierswhile the
Movement Islamic Army (MIA)also led
by Afghan veteransattacks military
and government targets in the
western and eastern regions of
Algeriawhile the Kataeb al Mout death
squadsled by Afghan veteran) Sherif
Gousmi (aka Abu Abdallah

Ahmed)specialize in assassinations of
government officials and several
French citizens (Algeria)
Mid 1994: during the civil war
between communists and democratic
forcespresident Ali Saleh enjoys the
support of Islah (Islamic Reform
Party)an offshoot of the Hashed tribes
in northern Yemen headed by radical
Sheikh Abdul Mejid Az Zindani
(Yemen)
April 1994: first Palestinian suicide
bomber in Israel (Israel)
Oct 1994: Hamas and the Islamic Jihad
movement begin a series of suicide
terrorist attacks against Israeli
civiliansincluding 22 people in october
199419 people in january 199558
people in 199624 people in 1997
(mostly suicide bombings) (Israel)
Dec 1994: Hamas terrorists that
plotted to overthrow King Hussein are
executed (Jordan)

Oct 1994: Ilich Ramirez Sanchez

("Carlos the Jackal") is arrested in
Sudan by French agents and jailed in
France
1994: Ramzi YousefAbdul Hakim
Murad and Wali Khan Amin Shahall
three ex Afghan fighters working
under Kuwait-born Al Qaeda terrorist
and Youself's uncle Khalid Shaikh
Mohammedplan terrorist attacks (to
blow up several civilian U.S. airplanes
over the Pacificto attack the CIA
headquarters in the US with a plane
loaded with explosivesto blow up two
Boeing 747 airliners as they
approached Hong Kong from different
directionsand to blow up 11 US
airliners simultaneously as they
attempted to land at various American
cities) (Philippines)
April 1994: Saudi Arabia strips Osama
bin Laden of his Saudi citizenship
(Saudi Arabia)

May 1994: The West Bank and the

Gaza Strip are turned over by Israel to
the Palestinian Authority under the
command of Yassir Arafatwho isde
factorecognized as the leader of the
future Palestinian state (Palestine)
1994: the Israeli prime minister
Yitzhak Rabin signs an agreement to
start a peace process with Arafat's
Palestinian Authority, which is granted
the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
1994: Civil war erupts in Yemen but
government troops from the north
defeat the secessionist troops from
the south
1994: Syria's population is 14 million
1994: One million Egyptian emigrants
work in Libya
1994: Hamas and the Islamic Jihad
movement begin a series of suicide
terrorist attacks against Israeli
civilians
1994: 270 pilgrims die in a stampede

in Mecca
Jul 1994: Arafat returns to Palestine
and establishes the Palestine National
Authority
Oct 1994: Israel and Jordan sign a
peace treaty
1995: Israeli prime minister Rabin is
assassinated by a Jewish
fundamentalist
1995: Boubacar Ould Messaoud
founds SOS Esclaves to fight slavery in
Mauritania
1995: Egypt's population is 60 million
1995: Kurdish terrorists carry out their
first suicide bombing
1995: ://www.scaruffi.com>Youstol
Dispage dies (Pakistan)
1995: A bomb kills 28 people at the
headquarters of the Iraqi National
Congress in the northern Iraqi region
under USA protection (Iraq)
1995: a bomb kills five American
soldiers in the capital of Saudi Arabia

(Saudi Arabia)
March 1995: A USA-founded coalition
of Chalabi's militiaIraqi general Wafiq
al-Samarrai and Talabani's Kurdish
militia start a rebellion in northern Iraq
but are stopped by Barzani's Kurdish
militia and Turkish troops (Iran)
1995: Algerian terrorists of the GIA kill
eight people in the Paris metro
(France)
1995: Fatah security chief in
GazaMohammed Dahlanarrests
hundreds of members of Hamas
(Palestine)
Oct 1995: Fathi Shqaqifounder of the
Islamic Jihadis assassinated by Israeli
agentspossibly with the collaboration
of the PLOand is replaced by Ramadan
Shalah whose base is in Syria (Malta)
Jan 1995: Osama bin Laden terrorists
led by Ramzi Youssef and his uncle
Khalid Mohammed plan to assassinate
the Pope during a visit in Manila

(Philippines)
June 1995: Osama bin Laden terrorists
try to assassinate Egyptian president
Hosni Mubarak in Addis Ababa during
his official visit (Ethiopia)
Feb 1995: Pakistan and the FBI arrest
Ramzi Yousef and uncover terrorist
plans against the USbut his uncle
Khalid Mohammed escapes to
Afghanistan (USA)
Nov 1995: Rabin is assassinated by a
Jewish fundamentalist (Israel)
1995: The CIA sets up operations in
Jordan to overthrow Saddam Hussein
with the complicity of Jordanand
infiltrates dozens of spies inside Iraq
(Jordan)
1995: the Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK)led by Abdullah Ocalanunleashes
a terrorist campaign in Turkey (Turkey)
March 1995: Turkey invades northern
Iraq to fight the kurdish insurgency
(Turkey)

Sep 1996: 80 Palestinian protesters

die in clashes with Israeli police on a
tunnel opened by Israel under the
mosque of Jerusalem (Israel)
June 1996: 19 USA soldiers killed in
the bombing of the airforce barracks
in DhahranSaudi Arabia (Khobar
Towers)and evidence points towards
Saudi terrorists supported by the
Iranian Revolutionary Guard (Saudi
Arabia)
March 1996: Arafat cracks down on
Hamaswhose terrorists are trying to
derail the peace process (Palestine)
May 1996: Benjamin Netanyahu of the
Likud party defeats Shimon Peres in
the national elections (Israel)
June 1996: Following the Khobar
Towers attack, Sudan expels Osama
bin Laden
Feb 1996: Four suicide bombings in
nine days from Hamas kill kill 59
Israelis (Israel)

Jan 1996: Hamas' engineer of suicide

bombing vests Yehiya Ayyash is
assassinated by Israel (Palestine)
1996: Hassan Hattab leaves the GIA
and founds the Groupe Salafiste pour
la Predication et le Combat
(GSPC)opposed to murdering civilians
(Algeria)
April 1996: Israel launches Operation
Grapes of Wrath in Lebanon that
displaces 400,000 Lebanese and kills
more than 100 civiliansincluding 102
women and children killed in the
bombing of the Kana refugee center
run by the United Nations (Israel)
August 1996: Israel lifts all restrictions
on settlement building in the West
Bank (Israel)
August 1996: Osama bin Laden calls
for worldwide attacks on USA
citizensincluding civilians while his
commandos spread around the world
from Somalia to the USA, very few

remaining in Afghanistan or Sudan

June 1996: Osama bin Laden returns
to Afghanistan and is welcomed by
the warlord of JalalabadMullah Yunus
Khalisand starts recruiting the foreign
Arab militants still in Afghanistan after
the war against the Sovietsand
hundreds of wanted terrorists from all
over the worldcreating the "055"
brigade (Afghanistan)
August 1996: Saddam Hussein
launches an attack on Kurdistans'
capital Erbil requested by Kurdish
leader Barzani and his rival Talabani
has to abandon the city (Iraq)
June 1996: Saddam Hussein orders
the arresttorture and execution of
more than 100 secret agents of the
Iraqi National Accord in Iraq who are
preparing to overthrow him (Iraq)
1996: the Libyan Islamic Fighting
Groupa fundamentalist Islamic
groupcarries out a failed assassination

attempt against Qaddafi (Libya)

1996: USA-born Muslim cleric Anwar
al-Awlaki begins preaching at the
(USA)
1996: Osama bin Laden calls for
worldwide attacks on USA citizens,
including civilians, while his
commandos spread around the world,
from Somalia to the USA
1996: former BBC employees launch
"Al Jazeera", the first pan-Arab
satellite news channel (from Qatar)
1996: Saddam Hussein foils a coup by
Iyad Allawi, who has to flee Iraq
1996: Hundreds of prisoners are killed
by police in a jail of Tripoli, Libya, after
they stage a protest
1997: 340 pilgrims die in a fire at
Mina, Saudi Arabia
1997: Islamic terrorists affiliated to
Ayman al-Zawahiri attack foreigners in
Cairo and Luxor, Egypt, killing 62
people

March 1997: A Jordanian soldier kills

seven Israeli schoolgirls (Jordan)
Sep 1997: An Israeli team fails to
assassinate one of the founders of
HamasKhaled Mashaland has to
release Hamas' spiritual leader Sheikh
Yassin in exchange for Jordan to
release its secret agents (Jordan)
March 1997: Benjamin Netanyahu
authorizes a Jewish settlement at Har
Homathat cuts off Palestinians of
Jerusalem from Betlehemand a few
days later a suicide bomber kills three
people in a Tel Aviv cafe (Israel)
May 1997: Mohammad Khatamia
moderateis elected president with
67% of the popular vote (Iran)
1997: Mohammed Dalanthe leader of
Fatah in Gazais accused of having
ammassed a personal fortune by
stealing from levied taxes (Palestine)
1997: Muslim terrorists affiliated to
Ayman al-Zawahiri attack foreigners in

Cairo and Luxorkilling 62 people

(Egypt)
Jul 1997: Saudi police kills hundreds of
Iranian fundamentalist pilgrims at
Mecca's Grand Mosque (Saudi Arabia)
March 1997: two bombs fail to kill
Osama bin Laden but kill 50 people in
Jalalabadand Osama bin Laden moves
to Kandaharthe Taliban's stronghold
(and site of its supreme leaderMulla
Omar) (Afghanistan)
Jul 1997: Two suicide bombers kill 16
people at the Mahane Yehuda market
(Israel)
Oct 1997: upset by a failed
assassination attempt by Israeli secret
agents against Hamas' leader in
Jordan (Khaled Mishal)that threatens
the peace treaty between the two
countriesJordan's King Hussein
demands and obtains the release of
Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin
(Palestine)

August 1998: Al Qaeda terrorists led

by Fazul Abdullah Mohammed destroy
the American embassieskilling 213
people in Kenya and 11 in Tanzania
(very few Americansmany
Muslims)the latter carried out by
Ahmed Khalfan Gailani (Kenya &
Tanzania)
1998: dozens killed in wave of
bombings and attacks by the PKK
(Turkey)
1998: Egyptian student Mohammed
Atta and Yemeni terrorist Ramzi
Binalshibhwho reports to Kuwaiti
terrorist Khalid Shaikh
Mohammedbecome roommates in
Hamburgand Atta becomes the leader
of the Al Qaeda terrorist cell in
Germany (Germany)
Feb 1998: Harakat ul-Mujahidinled by
Fazlur Rehman Khalilwho has contacts
with Osama Bin Ladencalls for attacks
against the US (Pakistan)

Feb 1998: military confrontation

between Saddam Hussein and the
United States after Iraq halts all work
by United Nations arms inspectors
(Iraq)
1998: Osama bin Laden and Ayman alZawahri are named suspects in the
bombings of the embassies in Kenya
and Tanzania (USA)
Feb 1998: Osama bin Laden
announces the creation of the
"International Islamic Front for Jihad
Against the Jews and Crusaders"an
international alliance of terrorist
organizationsincluding Al Qaedathe
Egyptian Islamic Jihadand the
Pakistan-based Jamiat-ul-Ulemaand
Muhammad Atif (aka Subhi Abu
Sittaaka Abu Hafs Al Masri) is named
commander of their military
operations (Afghanistan)
Dec 1998: the U.S. and the U.K. bomb
Iraq because Iraq is not allowing

United Nations inspectors to resume

their joband Clinton authorizes a
program to overthrow Saddam
Hussein ("As long as Saddam remains
in powerhe will remain a threat to his
peoplehis region and the world") (Iraq)
August 1998: the U.S. bombs Sudan
for helping terrorists and
Afghanistan's camps where Osama bin
Laden trains his militants
Dec 1998: USA president Clinton lands
at Gaza's new internatinal airportthe
first USA president to visit Palestine
(Palestine)
january 1998: Yousef is sentenced to
240 years for his role in the World
Trade Center bombing (USA)
1998: terrorists affiliated with Osama
bin Laden blow up the USA embassies
in Kenya and Tanzania
1998: Emile Lahoud is appointed
president of Lebanon
1999: Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the

candidate of general Khaled Nezzar, is

elected president of Algeria after all
other candidates withdraw or are
disqualified
1999: the Islamic rebels enter peace
talks with the Algerian government
after 150 thousand people have been
killed in the civil war
1999: King Hussein of Jordan dies and
is succeeded by his son Abdullah
1999: Morocco's king Hassan II dies
and is succeeded by his son
Mohammed VI
1999: Abdelaziz Bouteflika is elected
president of Algeria after all other
candidates withdraw or are
disqualified (Algeria)
1999: Abdullah Ocalan renounces
violenceafter a 15-year war that has
claimed the lives of 27,000 Kurdish
rebelsthousands of turkish
soldiershundreds of Turkish civilians
and unknown numbers of Kurdish

civilians (Turkey)
Dec 1999: Ahmed Ressaman Algerian
terrorist with links to Afghanistantries
to enter the US and bomb the Los
Angeles airport (USA)
1999: Al Zarqawi is released in an
amnesty by the Jordanian government
and flees to Afghanistan (Jordan)
May 1999: Ehud Barak campaigns on
a peace platform and is elected prime
minister of Israel (Israel)
Feb 1999: elite Turkish forces capture
PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in Kenya
(Turkey)
August 1999: Jordan expels Khaled
Mashal/ Meshaalone of the foundes of
Hamas (Jordan)
Dec 1999: Jordanian police arrests
terrorists linked to Osama bin Laden
planning attacks against western
tourists (Jordan)
Feb 1999: King Hussein of Jordan dies
and is succeeded by his son Abdullah

(Jordan)
1999: London-based Egyptian-born
radical cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri tries
to establish a terrorist-training camp
in OregonUSA (USA)
Oct 1999: Osama bin Laden calls for a
jihad against India over the disputed
territory of Kashmir (India)
August 1999: pro-democracy riots in
Iranfollowing the arrest of prodemocracy intellectuals and the
closure of newspapers by
ultraconservative ayatollah Khameini
(Iran)
1999: The GIA and the AIS approve
peace talks with the Algerian
government (150,000 people have
been killed in the civil war since 1992)
(Algeria)
1992: Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani outs
his father and becomes the new emir
of Qatar, a state with 50,000 people
1999: with the approval of Osama bin

LadenKuwaiti terrorist Khalid Shaikh

Mohammedhead of Al Qaeda's military
committee in Afghanistanplans a
terrorist attack inside the USA and
assigns it to Yemeni terrorist Ramzi
Binalshibhwho recruits a terrorist cell
in Germany (his housemate Atta and
others) (Afghanistan)
2000: 70% of Palestinian children
interviewed by the Arab psychologist
Fadal Abu-Hin want to become
martyrs (Palestine)
Jul 2000: Arafat and prime minister
Ehud Barak of Israel fail to reach a
peace accord at Camp David mainly
on the status of Jerusalem (Palestine)
Sep 2000: As peace talks break downa
visit of Ariel Sharon to a holy Muslim
site near Jerusalem causes
widespread riots among Palestinians
(Palestine)
June 2000: Assad of Syria dies and is
succeeded by his son Bashir (Syria)

Oct 2000: Islamic terrorists with ties to

Osama bin Laden attack an American
aircraft off the port of Aden killing 17
sailors (the bomb was made by
Lebanon-based terrorist organization
Hezbollah and delivered through the
radical cleric Sheik Abdul Majid
Zandani under the supervision of
Saudi-born Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri)
(Yemen)
June 2000: Israel withdraws from
Lebanon (Lebanon)
Jul 2000: Mohammed Atta and the
other members of his cell move to the
USAwhere they take flight lessons
(USA)
Sep 2000: the new "intifada" rapidly
escalates and gets out of control (319
Israelis will be killed by suicide
bombers by april 2002) (Palestine)
2000: Assad of Syria dies and is
succeeded by his son Bashir
2000: Saad Eddin Ibrahim is arrested

by Egypt and the Ibn Khaldun Center

is shut down
2000: a second "intifada" is started
after Israeli-Palestinian negotiations
break down
2000: 70% of Palestinian children
interviewed by the Arab psychologist
Fadal Abu-Hin want to become
martyrs
Oct 2000: The "Dubai Internet City"
opens in the United Emirates
2001: Algerian suicide bombers kill
Ahmad Shah Mas'ud, the leader of the
anti-Taliban resistance or "Northern
Alliance"
2001: Youstol Dispage Fromscaruffi
dies
2001: suicide bombings in several
Israeli cities are carried out by Hamas
and Islamic Jihad and Israeli prime
minister Ariel Sharon retaliates with
bombings, assassinations and
invasions

Sep 2001: The military leader of the

Northern Alliance, Ahmed Shah
Masood/Mas'ud/ Massoud, is killed by
Algerian suicide bombers
2001: The Gulf states of the GCC (Gulf
Cooperation Council) pledge to adopt
a unified currency
2001: The United Arab Emirates post
an average growth rate of 14.8%
between 2001 and 2008, with Dubai
alone posting an average 21.9%
growth rate.
2001: The USA signs free-trade
agreements with Jordan
Dec 2001: Al Zarqawi flees
Afghanistan and moves to Iran
(Afghanistan)
Feb 2001: Ariel Sharon wins the
elections and becomes prime minister
of Israel (Israel)
Oct 2001: Ayman al-Zawahri issues a
videotape in which he claims that
Andalusia (southern Spain) must

return to the Muslims (Afghanistan)

Sep 2001: Interpol issues a warrant for
Ayman al-Zawahrinow considered
Osama Bin Laden's number two man
and main ideologue of his organization
(France)
Sep 2001: Islamic terrorists led by
Mohammed Atta hijack four planes
that crash into the Pentagon and the
World Trade Centerkilling 4,000 people
(USA)
2001: Khaled Meshaala member of
Hamasmoves to Damascus to avoid
assassination by Israel (Palestine)
Nov 2001: Mahmoud Abu
Hanoudleader of the Hamas military
wing in the West Bankis killed by an
Israeli missile (Palestine)
Dec 2001: Osama bin Laden escapes
from Tora Bora (Afghanistan)
Oct 2001: Pakistan arrests Sultan
Bashiruddin Mahmoodthe forner
director of its nuclear programunder

suspicion that he may have provided

nuclear information to Osama Bin
Laden (Pakistan)
Sep 2001: reports emerge that Osama
Bin Laden's network of terrorists may
be planning chemical and/or biological
attacks on the American population
(USA)
Dec 2001: Richard Reid (the "shoe
bomber") tries to blow up a
transatlantic flight from Paris to Miami
(USA)
2001: Sharon retaliates against the
new Palestinian intifada and growing
numbers of suicide bombings and
thousands of Palestinians are killed
(including assassinations of influential
Palestinians) in the worst fighting
since the first intifada (Israel)
June 2001: suicide bombings in
several Israeli cities are carried out by
Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement)
and the Syria-based Islamic Jihad (the

deadliest suicide bombings kill 20

people in june 200115 people in
august 2001over 20 in november)
(Palestine)
August 2002: Abu Nidal is
assassinated in Baghdadamid rumours
that he was plotting a coup against
Saddam Hussein (Iraq)
March 2002: Abu Zubaydaha
Palestinian born in Saudi Arabia and a
chief operative of Al Qaedais captured
in Pakistan and reveals that Kuwaiti
terrorist Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
was the mastermind of the September
11 attacks (Pakistan)
May 2002: Al Qaeda targets French
citizens in Karachi and kills 12 people
(Pakistan)
March 2002: Al Qaeda terrorist
Mohammed Mansour Jabarah is
arrested in Oman and reveals plans by
Al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiyah to
attack bars and discos popular with

westerners in Southeast Asia (his

associates Omar al-Faruq and Riduan
Isamuddin Hambali are still at large)
(Oman)
April 2002: Al Qaeda terrorists kill 25
people at a synagogue in Tunisia
Nov 2002: Al Qaeda terrorists loyal to
Fazul Abdullah Mohammed carry out
an attack against Israeli tourists in
Kenya (Kenya)
May 2002: Al Zarqawi is expelled from
Iran and relocates to Iraq (Iraq)
Feb 2002: dozens of foreign Islamic
scholars are expelled as part of a
crackdown on suspected al-Qaeda
members (Yemen)
Jan 2002: former militia leader Elie
Hobeika is killed in Beirut (Lebanon)
Sep 2002: in retaliation for suicide
bombings in IsraelIsraeli troops
demolish Yasser Arafat's compound in
Ramallah (Palestine)
2002: Israel begins construction of a

360-km border fence ("security

barrier") that annexes Palestinian land
(Israel)
April 2002: Israel invades Palestinian
territory and arrests thousands of
suspected terroristsincluding Marwan
Barghoutimembers of the Popular
Front for the Liberation of PalestineGeneral Command (PFLP-GC)now led
by Ahmad Jibriland the Popular Front
for the Liberation of Palestine
(PFLP)now led by Ahmed Sa'adat
(Israel)
March 2002: Israel is hit by 16 suicide
bombings that kill 80 people
("Passover massacres") carried out by
suicide bombers of the Al Aqsa
Martyrs Brigades (possibly under the
control of Marwan Barghouti) (Israel)
June 2002: Omar al-Faruqa Kuwaiti
member of Al-Qaeda and of Jemaah
Islamiyahis arrested in Indonesiaand
reveals plans to attack targets in

SingaporeMalaysia and Indonesia

(Indonesia)
Jul 2002: Sheik Salah Shehadafounder
of the military wing of Hamas
(Izzedine al Qassam)is killed by an
Israeli missile (Palestine)
Dec 2002: the CIA foils a plan by Al
Zarqawi's group to carry out poison
attacks in several European capitals
(Western Europe)
March 2002: the League of Arab
States approves a proposal by Saudi
Arabia to recognize Israel and make
peace in return for all the occupied
lands (Lebanon)
2002: the population of Israel is 6
millionof which 1 million are Arabs;
the population of the West Bank and
Gaza is 3 million; and Palestinian
birthrates are much higher than
Jewish ones (Israel)
Nov 2002: the USA kills Qaed Salim
Sinan al-Harethi (Abu Ali)one of Al

Qaeda's top operativesand capture Al

Qaeda's chief of operations in the
Persian GulfAbd al-Rahim al-Nashiri
(Yemen)
Dec 2002: USA-born Muslim cleric
Anwar al-Awlaki moves from the USA
to Britain (USA)
Sep 2002: Yemeni terrorist Ramzi
Binalshibhsuspected of being the link
between Al Qaeda and the September
11 cellis arrested in Pakistan
(Pakistan)
Nov 2002: Youssef Aayyiri becomes
commander of Al Qaeda in the Gulf
region (Saudi Arabia)
2002: the Kurdish independence
movement PKK changes name to
"Kurdish Freedom and Democracy
Congress" (KADEK)
2003: George W Bush orders the
invasion of Iraq to depose Saddam
Hussein, following which hundreds of
people are killed in terrorist attacks in

Iraq, with Sunnis fighting the USA and

Shiites (especially Al-Sadr's Mahdi
militias) killing both Sunnis and the
USA
2003: 34 people die in a suicide
bombing attack on westerners in
Riyahd, Saudi Arabia
2003: 41 people die in a suicide
bombing attack on westerners in
Casablanca, Morocco, carried out by
members of Al Qaeda's affiliate Salafia
Jihadia
2003: Hamas and Al-Aqka Brigades
unleash five suicide attacks within 48
hours in Israel the day after the first
meeting between Israeli prime
minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian
prime minister Mahmoud Abbas
2003: Militias of cleric Moktada AlSadr kill rival cleric Majeed Al-Khoei
who just returned from his exile in Iran
2003: 17 people die in a suicide
bombing attack on foreign Arab

workers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

2003: terrorists attack an Italian
peacekeepers' base in Nasiriya, Iraq
2003: The Egyptian government
allows the Ibn Khaldun Center,
founded in 1988 by Saad Eddin
Ibrahim to promote democracy in the
Arab world, to reopen (Near
International)
2003: Qaddafi of Libya admits a broad
program of weapons of mass
destruction and accepts to destroy it
in return for an end to USA sanctions
2003: Jordanian terrorist Abu-Musab
al-Zarqawi begins a campaign of
terror in Iraq
May 2003: Hamas and Al-Aqka
Brigades unleash five suicide attacks
within 48 hours in Israel the day after
the first meeting between Israeli
prime minister Ariel Sharon and
Palestinian prime minister Mahmoud
Abbas (Israel)

Nov 2003: 17 people die in a suicide

bombing attack on foreign Arab
workers in RiyadhSaudi Arabia (Saudi
Arabia)
May 2003: 34 people die in a suicide
bombing attack on westerners in
RiyahdSaudi Arabiaand Saudi Arabia
kills Youssef Aayyirithe commander of
Al Qaeda in the Gulf region (Saudi
Arabia)
May 2003: 41 people die in a suicide
bombing attack on westerners in
CasablancaMoroccocarried out by Al
Qaeda-affiliate Salafia Jihadia
(Morocco)
Jan 2003: 47 soldiers are killed in an
ambush by Islamic terroriststhe worst
carnage in six years (Algeria)
May 2003: a bomb kills 6 people in
Ankara (Turkey)
April 2003: Abu Abbas is captured by
the USA in Baghdad (Iraq)
August 2003: Abu Musab Al Zarqawi

begins a terrorist campaign against

the USA occupation of Iraq and their
Shiite and Kurdish allies (Iraq)
Oct 2003: Al Qaeda in the Arabian
Peninsula launches the Internet
magazine "Voice of Jihad" (Saudi
Arabia)
Nov 2003: bombs against western
institutions kill 60 people in Istanbul
(Turkey)
Nov 2003: bombs in synagogues kill
25 people in IstanbulTurkey (Turkey)
March 2003: Ibrahim al-Maqadmaa
senior leader of Hamasis killed by an
Israeli missile (Palestine)
Feb 2003: Israel increases its raids in
Gaza and the West Bank to quell the
two-year-old intifada that has already
cost the lives of 1,800 Palestinians
and 700 Israelis (Palestine)
April 2003: Israel tries Palestinian
leader Marwan Barghouti in an Israeli
court (Israel)

August 2003: Israeli air strikes kill

members of Hamas' military wing
(Israel)
2003: Jamaican-born Muslim cleric
Abdullah al-Faisal is arrested for
urging Muslims worldwide to kill
JewsHindus and Christians (Britain)
Feb 2003: Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is
arrested at the house of Ahmed Abdul
Qadoosa leader of Pakistan's party
Jamaat-e-Islami (Pakistan)
August 2003: Libya accepts
responsibility for the Lockerbie
terrorist bombing and accepts to pay
reparation to the families (Libya)
March 2003: Mahmoud Abbasa critic
of the Palestinian intifadais appointed
prime minister of the Palestinian
Authority (Palestine)
2003: Nabil Sahraouileader of the
Groupe Salafiste pour la Predication et
le Combat (GSPC)announces an
alliance with Al Qaeda (Algeria)

March 2003: over 85 people are killed

by a car bomb in the holy city of Najaf
(Iraq)
Dec 2003: Qaddafi of Libya admits a
broad program of weapons of mass
destruction and accepts to destroy it
in return for an end to USA sanctions
(Libya)
Dec 2003: Saddam Hussein is arrested
by the USA while he was hiding in a
hole (Iraq)
2003: Sayf Adel becomes Al Qaeda's
military commander (Afghanistan)
Nov 2003: terrorists attack an Italian
peacekeepers' base in NasiriyaIraq
(Iraq)
March 2003: terrorists blow up the
United Nations building in
Baghdadkilling 23 people (Iraq)
March 2003: the USA and the UK
invade Iraq and remove Saddam
Hussein from power (Iraq)
2003: Mokhtar Belmokhtar earns

millions of dollars in ransoms when he

kidnaps 32 European tourists in
Algeria
Feb 2004: 181 Shia Muslims die in
terrorist attacks in Karbala and
Baghdad during the yearly holy
festivaland the civil war escalates
(Iraq)
March 2004: 202 people are killed by
synchronized bombs planted on trains
near Madrid by Islamic terrorists (led
by Serhane ben Abdelmajid Farkhet
and Rabei Osman Ahmed)andtwo days
latertheir targetprime minister Jose
Maria Aznaris defeated by Jose Luis
Rodriguez Zapaterothe first time that
Islamic terrorists decide the outcome
of a European election (Spain)
March 2004: 23 people are killed by
terrorist attacks in Tashkent and
Bukhara (Uzbekistan)
Feb 2004: 43 Shiite Muslims die in a
bombing masterminded by Khalid's

nephew Musaad Aruchi (Pakistan)

April 2004: a car bomb explodes in
Saudi Arabia's capital (Saudi Arabia)
2004: a Shiite Muslim rebellion led by
Abdel-Malek al-Hawthi erupts in
Yemen that will kill thousands over the
next four years (Yemen)
2004: Qassem Suleimani's al-Quds
funds and arms the Shiite militias in
Iraq like the Mahdi Army to fight the
USA
March 2004: Abdulaziz al Muqrin (Abu
Hajjer) becomes Al Qaeda's
commander in Saudi Arabia (Saudi
Arabia)
March 2004: Abu Abbas dies in USA
custody (Iraq)
Nov 2004: Arafat dies and is replaced
by Muhammad Abbas as chairman of
the PLOwho wins the first multi-party
elections in Palestine (Palestine)
April 2004: Britain foils a chemical
terrorist attack by Islamic extremists

in London (Britain)
March 2004: Britain foils a massive
terrorist attack by Islamic extremists
in London (Britain)
2004: car bombs set by Abu-Musab alZarqawi's terrorists and by Saddam
Hussein loyalists explode in several
cities of Iraq killing hundreds of
civilians (Iraq)
Jul 2004: co-ordinated bombings by
the Islamic Jihad Union target the USA
and Israeli embassies in Tashkent
(Uzbekistan)
2004: Djibouti becomes a counterterrorism base for the USA (Djibouti)
Oct 2004: Islamic fundamentalists kill
16 people (Algeria)
Oct 2004: Islamic terrorists attack an
Egyptian hotel killing 34 people
(Egypt)
April 2004: Israel kills Hamas' leader
Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi (Palestine)
March 2004: Israel kills Hamas'

spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed

Yassinwho is replaced by Khaled
Meshaal (Palestine)
April 2004: Jordan foils a terrorist
attack by Islamic extremist Abu-Musab
al-Zarqawi that would have detonated
a chemical bomb (Jordan)
2004: Khalid's nephew Musaad Aruchi
is arrested (Pakistan)
May 2004: London-based Egyptianborn radical cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri
is arrested (Britain)
June 2004: Rabei Osman
Ahmedmastermind of the Madrid
bombingis arrested in Italy (Italy)
April 2004: Serhane ben Abdelmajid
Farkhet blows himself up rather than
surrender to the police (Spain)
Feb 2004: Sharon announces Israeli's
unilateral withdrawal from Gaza
(Israel)
May 2004: terrorists attack a
compound for foreigners in the

eastern Saudi Arabian city of Khobar

killing 22 people (Saudi Arabia)
Dec 2004: terrorists attack the USA
consulate in Jeddahand then two
bombs explode in the capital (Saudi
Arabia)
June 2004: the Algerian army kills the
leader of the Groupe Salafiste pour la
Predication et le Combat (GSPC)Nabil
Sahraoui (Algeria)
June 2004: the head of Al Qaeda in
Saudi ArabiaAbdul Aziz al-Muqrinis
killed by the police and Saleh al-Oufi
succeeds him (Saudi Arabia)
2004: The Islamic terrorists of Algeria
under the command of Abdelmalek
Droukda join Al Qaeda (Algeria)
March 2004: the Philippines foil a
massive terrorist attack by Abu Sayyaf
against stations and malls in Manila
(Uzbekistan)
August 2004: two bus bombs kill 15
people in Israel (Palestine)

Jan 2004: USA-born Muslim cleric

Anwar al-Awlaki moves from Britain to
Yemen (Yemen)
Sep 2004: Yemeni forces kill
fundamentalist cleric Hussein alHouthi and hundreds of his supporters
(Yemen)
2004: dozens of Iraqi Kurds are killed
by suicide bombers of the Muslim
militant group Ansar al-Islam
(affiliated with Al Qaeda)
2004: Dubai begins construction of
Burj Dubai, the tallest skyscraper in
the world
2004: 251 pilgrims die in a stampede
at Mina, Saudi Arabia
2004: the USA calls for Syria's
withdrawal from Lebanon
TM, , Copyright 2005 Piero
Scaruffi All rights reserved.
2004: 244 people die in a A stampede
at the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia
2004: 181 Shia Muslims die in terrorist

attacks in Karbala and Baghdad (Iraq)

during the yearly holy festival
2004: 50 Shias die in terrorist attacks
in Basra Baghdad (Iraq)
2004: in one year, about 300
thousand bodies have been found
buried in mass graves, victims of
Saddam Hussein's regime
2004: former exile Iyad Allawi is
named prime minister of Iraq by the
USA
2004: terrorists attack a compound for
foreigners in the eastern Saudi
Arabian city of Khobar killing 22
people
2004: car bombs set by Abu-Musab alZarqawi's terrorists and by Saddam
Hussein loyalists explode in several
cities of Iraq killing hundreds of
civilians
2004: the USA and Britain admit that
Saddam Hussein had no weapons of
mass destruction (which was the

reason to invade Iraq)

2004: Islamic fundamentalists kill 16
people in Algeria
2004: Arafat dies and is replaced by
Muhammad Abbas as chairman of the
PLO
2004: Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahayan
dies and his son Khalifa ibn-Zayed
succeeds him as president of the
United Arab Emirates
2004: the first "Democratic Forum for
Arab Women" is held in Yemen
2004: Arafat dies in France, of causes
that are kept secret (probably AIDS),
and is replaced by Muhammad Abbas
as chairman of the PLO, who wins the
first multi-party elections in Palestine
2004: Dubai International Capital is
established as the foreign investment
arm of Dubai
2004: a Shiite rebellion led by AbdelMalek al-Hawthi erupts in Yemen (the
Houthis), that will kill thousands over

the next four years

2004: Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan of
the UAE dies and is succeeded by his
son Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
2004: The Zaydis of North Yemen
begin an insurrection under the
leadership of Abdul-Malik al-Houthi
2005: Muhammad Abbas wins the first
democratic elections in Palestine and
restarts peace negotiations with Israel
2005: Kurdish rebels in Turkey call off
the 1999 truce and begin an offensive
against Turkish soldiers (Turkey)
2005: the first democratic elections in
Iraq are won by an alliance of Shiite
parties (48%), followed by an alliance
of Kurdish parties (26%) and by the
party of prime minister Allawi (14%)
Feb 2005: a car bomb kills former
Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri,
who opposed Syrian occupation of the
country
2005: car bombs and suicide bombers

kill hundreds of Iraqis every month

2005: the Iraqi parliament elects a
Shiite, Ibrahim Jaafari, prime minister,
and a Kurd, Jalal Talabani, president
2005: Egyptian archeologists discover
the funerary complex at
Hierakonpolis, dating from 3600 BC
2005: street demonstrations ("Cedar
Revolution") force Syrian troops to
leave Lebanon
2005: the Gulf states of the GCC (Gulf
Cooperation Council) meet in Bahrein
to discuss a unified currency and a
free trade zone with the USA
2005: more than 8 thousand people
are killed in Iraq by suicide bombings,
car bombings and shootings in the
first six months of 2005
2005: Hundreds of thousands of
people (mainly from Asia) are still sold
into slavery in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia,
the United Arab Emirates and Qatar
2005: The opposition wins the first

free elections in Lebanon since the

civil war and Fouad Siniora, Rafik
Hariri's right-hand man, becomes the
new prime minister
2005: suicide bombers kill 83 people
at the tourist resort of Sharm el-Sheik,
Egypt
2005: riots caused by an increase in
the price of gasoline kill more than 30
people in Yemen
2005: King Fahd of Saudi Arabia dies
and is replaced by his half brother
Prince Abdullah
2005: the price of oil jumps from $35
at the beginning of the year to an alltime record of $67 a barrel
2005: 965 shia pilgrims die in a
stampede at Baghdad, Iraq
2005: Israel withdraws from the Gaza
strip after 38 years of occupation
2005: thousands are arrested after
riots erupt in Morocco-occupied
Western Sahara

2005: a campaign of bombings targets

anti-Syrian figures in Lebanon
2005: Ghazi Kenaan, Syria's interior
minister, who effectively controlled
Lebanon for two decades, "commits
suicide"
2005: Iraqi suicide bombers affiliated
with Abu Musib al-Zarqawi kill 57
people in three Amman hotels
2005: Israeli prime minister Ariel
Sharon founds a new centrist party
2005: Lebanese anti-Syrian politician
Gibran Tueni is killed by a car bomb
2005: Dutch businessman Frans van
Anraat is jailed for selling thousands
of tons of chemicals that Saddam
Hussein's Iraq used to build chemical
weapons
August 2005: 350 bombs are
detonated by Islamic fundamentalists
of Jamayetul Mujahedin (Bangladesh)
August 2005: 434 bombs by Islamic
terrorists of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen

target politiciansjournalists and judges

in Bangladesh (Bangladesh)
Feb 2005: a car bomb kills former
Lebanese prime minister Rafik
Haririwho opposed Syrian occupation
of the country and street
demonstrations force the resignation
of the Syria-installed government
(Lebanon)
Sep 2005: a Palestinian terrorist
accidentally sets off a bomb in a
crowded Palestinian areakilling 22
people (Palestine)
2005: Anti-USA conservative cleric
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wins
presidential elections in Iran and calls
for the destruction of Israel (Iran)
Nov 2005: Australia foils a terrorist
attackarresting 17 people including
Muslim cleric Abu Bakr (Australi)
August 2005: Britain bans Hizb utTahrir members (Britain)
2005: car bombs set by Abu-Musab al-

Zarqawi's terrorists and by Saddam

Hussein loyalists kill hundreds of
civilians in Iraq (Iraq)
Jul 2005: four Pakistani suicide
bombers kill 55 people in London and
Muslim cleric Omar Bakri Muhammad
is expelled from Britain for supporting
the terrorist bombings (Britain)
Oct 2005: Ghazi KenaanSyria's interior
ministerwho effectively controlled
Lebanon for two decades"commits
suicide" (Syria)
Nov 2005: Iraqi suicide bombers
affiliated with Abu Musib al-Zarqawi
kill 57 people in three Amman hotels
(Jordan)
Feb 2005: Israel and Palestinians
declare a truce (Israel)
Sep 2005: Israel withdraws from the
Gaza strip (Israel)
Dec 2005: Lebanese anti-Syrian
politician Gibran Tueni is killed by a
car bomb (Lebanon)

Jan 2005: Muhammad Abbas wins the

first democratic elections in Palestine
and restarts peace negotiations with
Israel (Palestine)
April 2005: Palestinians claim that
Israel killed hundreds of civilians in
the Jenin refugee campbut it turns out
to be a lie (the death were 23 Israeli
soldiers22 Palestinian civilians and 30
Palestinian fighters) (Palestine)
August 2005: police kill Saleh AwfiAl
Qaeda's leader in Saudi Arabia (Saudi
Arabia)
April 2005: popular demonstrations
("Cedar Revolution") force Syrian
troops to leave Lebanon (Lebanon)
Nov 2005: Seven people are killed by
Islamic terrorists of Jamaat-ulMujahideen in Bangladeshthe first
suicide bombing in the country's
history (Bangladesh)
Nov 2005: Sharon founds a new
centrist party in Israel (Israel)

Jul 2005: suicide bombers kill 83

people at the tourist resort of Sharm
el-SheikEgypt (Egypt)
Jan 2005: the first democratic
elections in Iraq are won by an
alliance of Shiite parties
(48%)followed by an alliance of
Kurdish parties (26%) and by the party
of prime minister Allawi (14%) (Iraq)
June 2005: The opposition wins the
first free elections in Lebanon since
the civil war (Lebanon)
April 2005: Vladimir Putin is the first
Russian president to visit Israel (Israel)
2006: 34,452 Iraq civilians are killed in
2006 (Iraq)
2006: China inaugurates the Three
Gorges Dam
2006: a Kurdish militant group claims
responsibility for bombs in several
Turkish cities that wound several
people (Turkey)
April 2006: a suicide bomber by

Islamic Jihad kills nine people in

Israelthe first major terrorist attack
since Hamas won the elections (Israel)
June 2006: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is
killed by USA bombs in Iraq (Iraq)
Sep 2006: Al Jazeera broadcasts a
video of 2001 in which Osama bin
Laden is shown planning the terrorist
attacks on the USA (Qatar)
August 2006: Al Qaeda strikes an
alliance with the Algerian terrorists of
the Groupe Salafiste pour la
Predication et le Combat (GSPC) and
declares war against France (Algeria)
Feb 2006: Bangladesh arrests Abdur
Rahmanleader of Jamaat-ulMujahideen (Bangladesh)
April 2006: bombs kill 23 people at the
tourist resort of DahabEgypt (Egypt)
August 2006: British police disrupts a
plot by Islamic terrorists led by
Abdulla Ahmed Ali to blow up seven
planes in flight from the Britain to the

US (Britain)
June 2006: Canadian police arrests 18
Islamic radicalsinspired by Muslim
cleric Anwar al-Awlakiwho are
planning targets in and around Toronto
(Canada)
March 2006: in march alone1313 Iraqi
civilians are victims of sectarian
violence (Iraq)
Jul 2006: in response to an incursion
by Hezbollah militantsIsrael invades
southern Lebanon killing more than
1,000 Lebanese civilians while
Hezbollah kills 116 Israeli soldiers and
43 Israeli civilians (Lebanon)
Jul 2006: in response to an incursion
by Palestinian militantsIsrael invades
Gaza killing 220 Palestinians
(Palestine)
March 2006: in the first Israeli
elections after prime minister Sharon
suffered a strokehis new party Kadima
becomes the biggest party and Ehud

Olmert the new prime minister (Israel)

Jan 2006: Israel's prime minister
Sharon suffers a stroke (Israel)
June 2006: Israeli artillery is blamed
by Palestinians for the massacre of a
family on a beach near Beit Lahiya
(Israel)
August 2006: Israeli forces withdraw
after expelling Hezbollah from
southern Lebanon and the Lebanese
army takes control for the first time of
the region (Lebanon)
Nov 2006: Lebanese Christian
politician Pierre Gemayel is
assassinated (Lebanon)
April 2006: Lebanon arrests people
who were plotting to assassinate the
leader of HezbollahHassan Nasrallah
(Lebanon)
2006: more than 350 Palestinians are
killed in internal fighting in Gaza after
Israel withdraws (Palestine)
August 2006: Muslim cleric Al-Awlaki

is arrested in Yemen (Yemen)

2006: Nouri al-Maliki forms a
government of national unity in Iraq
(Iraq)
August 2006: Palestinian militants
declare a unilateral end to attacks
against Israel (Palestine)
Dec 2006: Saddam Hussein is
executed in Iraq for the crimes
committed by his regime (Iraq)
2006: Taliban militants adopt the
suicide attacks used by insurgents in
Iraq and launch 78 suicide bombings
across Afghanistan in the first nine
monthskilling close to 200 people
(Afghanistan)
Jan 2006: terrorist group Hamas wins
the first multi-party elections in
Palestine and its leader Ismail Haniya
becomes the new prime minister
(Palestine)
Feb 2006: The leader of Al Qaeda in
Saudi ArabiaFahd Bin Faraj Al Joweiris

killed by the police (Saudi Arabia)

March 2006: two terrorists are killed in
Saudi Arabia before they could
detonate bombs against the Abqaiq oil
complex (Saudi Arabia)
2006: 362 Muslim pilgrims are killed in
a crush during the Hajj pilgrimage in
Saudi Arabia
2006: Sectarian violence kills on
average 180 people per day in Iraq
2006: terrorist group Hamas, famous
for suicide bombings targeting Israeli
civilians, wins the first multi-party
elections in Palestine and its leader
Ismail Haniya becomes the new prime
minister
2006: Muslims riot worldwide because
a Danish newspaper published
cartoons of Mohammed
2006: in the first Israeli elections after
prime minister Sharon suffered a
stroke, his new party Kadima becomes
the biggest party and Ehud Olmert the

new prime minister

2006: a ferry capsizes in Egypt killing
about 1 thousand people
2006: Sunni terrorists in Iraq blow up
the golden dome of Samarra's AlAskareyya Shrine
2006: two terrorists are killed in Saudi
Arabia before they could detonate
bombs against the Abqaiq oil complex
2006: in march alone, 1313 Iraqi
civilians are victims of sectarian
violence
2006: bombs kill 23 people at the
tourist resort of Dahab, Egypt
2006: Nouri al-Maliki forms a
government of national unity in Iraq
2006: Abu Musib al-Zarqawi is killed in
Iraq
2006: in response to an incursion by
Hezbollah militants, Israel invades
southern Lebanon killing more than 1
thousand Lebanese civilians while
Hezbollah kills 116 Israeli soldiers and

43 Israeli civilians
2006: the opposition wins
parliamentary elections in Kuwait
2006: Israeli forces withdraw from
Lebanon without having destroyed
Hezbollah
2006: Muslims riot worldwide against
anti-Islamic comments made by Pope
Benedict
2006: Lebanese Christian politician
Pierre Gemayel is assassinated
2006: more than 350 Palestinians are
killed in internal fighting in Gaza after
Israel withdraws
2006: Saddam Hussein is executed in
Iraq for the crimes committed by his
regime
2006: 34,452 Iraqi civilians are killed
in 2006
2006: Maktoum bin Rashid Al
Maktoum dies and is succeeded by his
brother Mohammed bin Rashid Al
Maktoum as ruler of Dubai

2006: The USA signs free-trade

agreements with Morocco, Oman and
Bahrain
2006: Shiite militias kill an average of
50 Sunnis a day by power drills
inserted in their skulls
2007: the Salafist Group for Preaching
and Combat (GSPC) renames itself as
Al Qaeda In The Maghreb and begins a
campaign of terrorist attacks in
Algeria
2007: Hamas and Fatah fight in the
streets of Gaza
2007: Hamas militants shoot rockets
at Israel
2007: Lebanon's militant group Fatah
Islam kills 23 soldiers in clashes in
Tripoli's Palestinian refugee camp
2007: Former British prime minister
Tony Blair is appointed Middle Eastern
envoy on behalf of the USA, Russia,
the UN and the EU
2007: seven western tourists are killed

by a suicide bomber in Yemen

2007: the Taliban carry out more than
140 suicide attacks
2007: the price of oil reaches an alltime record of $83 a barrel
2007: Al Qaeda carries out more than
30 suicide bombings per month in Iraq
2007: Al Qaeda bombs kill 62 people
in Algiers
2007: Iraqis have suffered from 667
suicide attacks since may 2005
Jan 2007: the Salafist Group for
Preaching and Combat (GSPC)
renames itself as Al Qaeda In The
Maghreb and begins a campaign of
terrorist attacks in Algeria (Algeria)
2007: ://www.scaruffi.com>Youstol
Dispage dies (Pakistan)
April 2007: A bomba by Al Qaeda In
The Maghreb kills 33 people in Algiers
(Algeria)
June 2007: a car bomb kills five United
Nations peacekeepers (Lebanon)

Sep 2007: a car bomb kills the third

anti-Syrian politician in a yearleaving
Lebanon's government with only a
slim majority over the pro-Syrian
opposition (Lebanon)
Jul 2007: a suicide bomber kills 10
Algerian soldiers (Algeria)
Jul 2007: a suicide bomber kills 7
Spanish tourists (Yemen)
May 2007: al-Qaeda's second-incommandAyman al-Zawahricalls on
Muslims in North Africa to cleanse
their lands of Spanish and French
citizens (Afghanistan)
2007: at the peak Al Qaeda carries out
more than 30 suicide bombings per
month in Iraq (Iraq)
May 2007: Britain releases Jamaicanborn Muslim cleric Abdullah al-Faisal
and deports him to Jamaica (Britain)
April 2007: British Muslims are
convicted of planning to attack civilian
targets with a giant fertiliser bomb

(Britain)
April 2007: Hamas and the al-Qassam
Brigades break a truce with Israel with
a sustained barrage of rockets and
mortars from Gaza into Israel
(Palestine)
April 2007: Saudi Arabia foils a suicide
terrorist attack against its oil fields
and military bases (Saudi Arabia)
May 2007: Hamas militants shoot
rockets at Israel (Israel)
May 2007: Lebanon's militant group
Fatah Islaminspired by radical Muslim
cleric Omar Bakri Muhammad kills 23
soldiers in clashes in Tripoli's
Palestinian refugee campbut the army
eventually regains control of the camp
killing 400 people (Lebanon)
June 2007: dozens of militants are
killed as Hamas defeats Fatah and
takes control of Gaza (Palestine)
June 2007: explosives-rigged cars are
found in London (Britain)

June 2007: former British prime

minister Tony Blair is appointed Middle
Eastern envoy on behalf of the
USARussiathe UN and the EU (Britain)
Jul 2007: seven western tourists are
killed by a suicide bomber in Yemen
(Yemen)
Sep 2007: suicide bomber kills 20 in
Batna and 28 in DellysAlgeria (Algeria)
Sep 2007: Denmark arrests Muslims
who were plotting a terrorist attack
(Denmark)
Sep 2007: Following the killing of a
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)
leaderKurdish separatists kill 12
people in Turkey (Turkey)
Sep 2007: Mercenaries from
Blackwater hired by the USA as
"guards" in Iraq massacre 17 unarmed
civilians at Baghdad's Nisour Square
Sep 2007: Osama bin Laden urges a
revolution against Musharraf in
Pakistan (Pakistan)

Sep 2007: Israel bombs a secret

nuclear site in Syria built with help
from North Korea (Algeria)
Sep 2007: Israel strikes targets inside
Syria for the first time since 2003
(Syria)
Nov 2007: Saudi Arabia thwarts
several planned terrorist attacks and
arrests 208 Al Qaeda terrorists (Saudi
Arabia)
Dec 2007: Almost 8 thousand people
are killed in terrorist attacks in one
year in Iraq (peak of the Iraqi civil
war)
Dec 2007: 37 people are killed by two
bombs in Algiers (Algeria)
Dec 2007: 68 countries in Paris pledge
billions of dollars of aid to the
Palestinians (France)
Dec 2007: Almost 8,000 people are
killed in terrorist attacks in one year in
Iraq (peak of the Iraqi civil war) (Iraq)
Dec 2007: Lebanon's general Francois

al-Hajj who had led the attack against

the group Fatah Islam is killed by a car
bomb while the parties cannot agree
on a new president (Lebanon)
Dec 2007: Iraqis have suffered from
667 suicide attacks since may 2005
(Iraq)
Dec 2007: Iraqis have suffered from
667 suicide attacks since may 2005
(Iraq)
Dec 2007: Muslim cleric Al-Awlaki is
released by Yemen (Yemen)
2007: suicide bombers launched a
campaign of terror in Afghanistan
similar to the one staged in Iraq
(Afghanistan)
2007: The population of Gaza has
increased from one million people in
1997 to 1.4 million in just ten years
(Palestine)
Jul 2007: the USA accuses Iran of
helping insurgents kill USA soldiers in
Iraq (Iraq)

May 2007: The USA arrests six radical

Muslims whoinspired by Muslim cleric
Anwar al-Awlakiare plotting to stage
an attack on the Fort Dix military base
in New Jersey (three ethnic Albanians
from Macedoniaa Palestinian from
Jordana Turk and an Albanian from
Kosovo) (USA)
Sep 2007: Turkish-born members of
the Islamic Jihad Union are arrested
while they are planning an attack
against a USA military base
(Germany)
Jul 2007: USA government agencies
declare that Al Qaeda has regrouped
in Pakistan and that the terrorist
threat against the USA has increased
(USA)
Dec 2007: USA president Bush
convenes a conference at Annapolis to
start talks about an independent
Palestinian state (USA)
Mar 2008: Iran's Suleimani helps

arrange a ceasefire between the Iraqi

Army and the Mahdi Army
Jul 2008: 15 people are killed by
bombs of Kurdish separatists in
IstanbulTurkey (Turkey)
Sep 2008: A car bomb kills 17 people
in Syria (Syria)
Feb 2008: a car bomb kills Imad
Mughniyeh (Mugniyah) (Syria)
August 2008: A roadside bomb by
Fatah Islam kills 18 people in
TripoliLebanon (Lebanon)
August 2008: A roadside bomb kills
more than 20 people in Somalia's
capital Mogadishu (Somalia)
August 2008: A suicide bomb attack in
Algeria's capital kills 43
peoplefollowed by car bomb attacks in
eastern Algeria that kill at least 12
people (Algeria)
july 2008: A suicide bomber of
Sirajuddin Haqqani's Taliban kills 54
people in an attack on the Indian

embassy in Afghanistan (Afghanistan)

Dec 2008: A suicide bomber of the
anti-Iranian group Jundaliah kills four
people in Iran (Iran)
Dec 2008: An Israeli invasion of
Hamas-controlled Gaza kills more than
1,300 Palestinians (Palestine)
Oct 2008: Blowing himself up in
SomaliaShirwa Ahmed is the first USA
citizen to become a suicide bomber
(Somalia)
Feb 2008: Hezbollah military
commander Imad Mughniyeh is killed
by a car bomb while in Syria (Syria)
Sep 2008: Islamic extremists led by
Said Ali al-Shihri kill 16 people in
SanaYemenduring an attack on the
USA embassy (Yemen)
Sep 2008: Israeli prime minister Ehud
Olmertfacing a corruption scandalis
forced to resignand is replaced by
Tzipi Livni (Israel)
May 2008: Lebanon's opposition led

by Shia group Hezbollah seizes of

most of western Beirut over a power
struggle with the Sunni and Christian
members of the government
(Lebanon)
June 2008: Muslim cleric Al-Awlaki
opens his website anwar-alawlaki.com
to preach jihad (Yemen)
Dec 2008: Nidal Hasana major in the
USA armycorresponds via email with
Yemen-based Muslim cleric Al-Awlaki
(USA)
Feb 2008: responding to mortar
attacksIsrael attacks Gaza killing more
than 100 Palestinians in a few days
(Palestine)
May 2008: Shiite Muslim rebels led by
Abdel-Malek al-Hawthi attack a Sunni
mosque and kill 18 people (Yemen)
Jan 2008: Spain arrests 12 Pakistanis
and 2 Indians who are planning a
chain of terrorist attacks in Europe
(Spain)

Oct 2008: The USA carries out a raid

into Syria to fight Al Qaeda (Syria)
August 2008: Uighur Islamic
separatists kill 16 Chinese border
policemen in East Turkestan (Xinjiang)
(China)
Jul 2008: Violence resumes between
Fatah and Hamas (Palestine)
2008: Shiite Muslim rebels led by
Abdel-Malek al-Hawthi attack a Sunni
mosque and kill 18 people
2008: Islamists win elections in Kuwait
june 2008: oil price hits $139 a barrel
sep 2008: Israeli prime minister Ehud
Olmert, facing a corruption scandal, is
forced to resign, and is replaced by
Tzipi Livni
sep 2008: Islamic extremists led by
Said Ali al-Shihri kill 16 people in
Sana, Yemen, during an attack on the
USA embassy
sep 2008: Having repaired relations,
Condy Rice becomes the first USA

secretary of state to visit Libya since

1953
sep 2008: A car bomb kills 17 people
in Syria
2008: Fouad Ali El Himma founds the
anti-Islamist Authenticity and
Modernity Party (PAM) in Morocco
Dec 2008: the price of oil plunges to
$34 per barrel amid the world
recession
Dec 2008: An Israeli invasion of
Hamas-controlled Gaza kills more than
1,300 Palestinians, including 252
children
Dec 2008: Arab countries lose 2.5
trillion dollars in the global financial
crisis of 2008
Apr 2009: Tareq al-Fadhi, a former
jihadist in Afghanistan, joins the
secessionist movement of South
Yemen
Jun 2009: Saad Hariri's governing proWestern coalition wins parliamentary

election in Lebanon
Jun 2009: Islamic extremists kill nine
European tourists in Yemen
Jun 2009: As the deadline approaches
for the USA to withdraw troops from
Iraqi cities, a spate of terrorist attacks
kills hundreds of Iraqis
Aug 2009: About 600 people are killed
in Iraq by sectarian violence in the two
months since USA troops withdrew
from cities
Aug 2009: Hamas attacks radical
cleric Abdul-Latif Moussa's al-Qaedalinked group Jund Ansar Allah, killing
13 people
Sep 2009: almost 100 people are
killed in a air raid by the Yemeni
government against a Shiite refugee
camp in Adi
Sep 2009: The King Abdullah
University of Science and Technology
opens in Saudi Arabia
Dec 2009: Saudi Arabia bombs

Houthis in the north of Yemen, killing

more than 70 people
Dec 2009: The government of Yemen
claims to have killed 34 al-Qaida
members
Dec 2009: 103 thousand civilians have
been killed in Iraq since the 2003
invasions by the USA, Britain and
Australia
Dec 2009: The number of people
killed in terrorist attacks in Iraq has
decreased from the 2007 peak of
almost 8 thousand to about 1,400
2009: Between august and october
suicide bombers of Al-Qaeda affiliate
"Islamic State of Iraq" kill hundreds of
people in Iraq
Dec 2009: 103,000 civilians have
been killed in Iraq since the 2003
invasions by the USABritain and
Australia (Iraq)
Oct 2009: 42 people including several
members of Iran's Revolutionary

Guards are killed in a suicide bombing

in the Baluchi region by Sunni group
Jundallah (Iran)
Dec 2009: A joint USA-Yemeni
operation bombs an Al Qaeda camp in
Yemenkilling 30 people but missing
Muslim cleric Al-Awlaki (Yemen)
Nov 2009: A Muslim in the USA
armyNidal Hasaninspired by Muslim
cleric Anwar al-Awlakikills 13 people at
the Fort Hood base in Texas (USA)
Dec 2009: A series of car bombings by
Al Qaeda kills at least 127 people in
Baghdad (Iraq)
Jul 2009: Al Qaeda ambushes a patrol
in Mali and kills 11 (Mali)
Jun 2009: As the deadline approaches
for the USA to withdraw troops from
Iraqi citiesa spate of terrorist attacks
kills hundreds of Iraqis (Iraq)
August 2009: Australian police arrest
four people linked to the Somali-based
al-Shabab group who were planning a

terrorist attack. (Australia)

April 2009: British police arrest at
least ten Pakistanis who were plotting
bombings in British cities (Britain)
Aug 2009: Hamas attacks radical
cleric Abdul-Latif Moussa's al-Qaedalinked group Jund Ansar Allahkilling 13
people (Palestine)
Dec 2009: Jordanian suicide bomber
and Al Qaeda secret agent Humam
Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi kills seven
CIA agents and a Jordanian secret
agent in Afghanistan in revenge for
the killing of Pakistani Taliban's chief
Baitullah Mahsud (Afghanistan)
Jan 2009: Muslim cleric Al-Awlaki
publishes "44 Ways to Support JihadEssay" on his website (Yemen)
August 2009: Suicide bombers of AlQaeda affiliate "Islamic State of Iraq"
kill 100 people in Baghdad (Iraq)
Oct 2009: Suicide bombers of AlQaeda affiliate "Islamic State of Iraq"

kill 160 people in Baghdad (Iraq)

Dec 2009: The government of Yemen
claims to have killed 34 al-Qaida
members (Yemen)
Dec 2009: The number of people
killed in terrorist attacks in Iraq has
decreased from the 2007 peak of
almost 8,000 to about 1,400 (Iraq)
Dec 2009: Umar Farouk
Abdulmutallaba Nigerian-born Muslim
trained by Al Qaeda in Yemen and
inspired by Muslim cleric Anwar alAwlaki in Yementries to blow up a USA
airliner (USA)
Dec 2009: A US drone strike kills 14
women and 21 children in Yemen
August 2010: A bomb set off by a
Uighur kills seven people in
AksuXinjiangmainland China (China)
2010: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi becomes
leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq
2010: There are 500,000 Jews living in
the occupied West Bank in more than

100 settlementsnext to 2.5 million

Palestinianswhile 1.4 million
Palestinians live in the Gaza strip
(Israel)
Dec 2010: A car bomb placed by the
Al Qaeda affiliate Army of Islam based
in Gaza kills 21 Christians at a church
in AlexandriaEgypt (Egypt)
Dec 2010: A Muslim dies trying to
carry out a suicide attack in
StockholmSweden (Sweden)
June 2010: A terrorist attack by Somali
Islamists of al-Shabab kills more than
70 people in Uganda (Uganda)
Sep 2010: Al-Qaeda's chief of
operations for Afghanistan and
PakistanEgyptian-born Sheikh Fateh is
killed by a USA drone (Pakistan)
March 2010: Al-Qaeda's chief of
operations for Afghanistan and
PakistanMustafa Abu al-Yazidis killed
by a USA drone (Pakistan)
Oct 2010: bombs manufactured by

Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri are found in

Dubai and London en route to Chicago
(Pakistan)
Dec 2010: Danish authorities prevent
a terrorist attack by Muslims who
wanted to kill as many people as
possible in the building where the
newspaper Jyllands-Posten is
published (the newspaper published
cartoons deemed offensive by some
Muslims) (Denmark)
Jan 2010: Hamas's co-founder
Mahmoud Al Mabhouh is assassinated
in Dubai (Palestine)
Aug 2010: Hamas gunmen kill four
Israeli settlers in their car outside the
West Bank city of Hebron (Israel)
May 2010: Indonesia uncovers a plot
by Islamic terrorists to kill the
president (Indonesia)
March 2010: Indonesian police kill
Dulmatina member of Jemaah
Islamiyah who assisted Azahari Husin

(Indonesia)
June 2010: Iran executes the leader of
the Sunni Muslim group
JundollahAbdolmalek Rigi (Iran)
Jan 2010: Kenya expels Jamaican-born
Muslim cleric Abdullah al-Faisal
(Kenya)
Nov 2010: Lebanon arrests radical
Muslim cleric Omar Bakri Muhammad
(Lebanon)
June 2010: Norway arrests three
members of Al Qaeda accused of
plotting terrorist attacks (a Uighur
from Chinaan Iraqi and an Uzbek)
(Norway)
May 2010: Pakistani-born Faisal
Shahzadtrained by Pakistani
Talibantries to blow up a car bomb in
Times SquareNew York (USA)
Sep 2010: The USA convenes a peace
conference between Israel and Fatah
(West Bank) (USA)
Dec 2010: Two suicide bombers of the

Sunni Muslim group Jundollah kill 35

people in Chabahar (southeastern
Iran) during a Shiite ceremony in
retaliation for the execution of the
group's leader (Iran)
Nov 2010: USA-born cleric Anwar alAwlaki calls for killing USA citizens
anywhere (Yemen)
Jan 2010: Yemen arrests Muhammad
al-Hanqthe leader of Al Qaeda in the
Arabian peninsula (Yemen)
Jan 2010: Dubai inaugurates the
tallest skyscraper in the world, the
Burj Dubai (818 meters), which for the
first time belongs to a Muslim and
Arab country
Jan 2010: A drive-by shooting leaves
six Coptic Christians dead in Nag
Hammadi, Egypt
Jan 2010: Muhammad Badeen is
elected leader of the Muslim
Brotherhood in Egypt
Mar 2010: Ayad Allawi's party

narrowly wins Iraq's parliamentary

election
May 2010: Israeli troops attack ships
that are carring humanitarian aid to
Gaza and slaughters nine people on
board
Jun 2010: Islamic militants kill 11
Algerian police officers in the Sahara
desert
Aug 2010: The number of Israeli
civilians killed by Palestinians drops to
2 from a high of 452 in 2002
Aug 2010: The USA declares a formal
end to its combat mission in Iraq
Nov 2010: 58 people are killed after
Islamic terrorists attack a Christian
church in Baghdad, Iraq
Nov 2010: A Kurdish suicide bomber
detonates in the centre of Istanbul
injuring 32 people
Nov 2010: Riots erupt between
Moroccan police and Western Sahara
refugees near Laayoune

Nov 2010: A suicide car bomb kills 17

Shiites in Yemen
Dec 2010: A jobless graduate,
Mohammed Bouazizi, sets himself on
fire, igniting student riots in Tunisia
("Arab Spring")
Dec 2010: A car bomb placed by the
Al Qaeda affiliate Army of Islam based
in Gaza kills 21 Christians at a church
in Alexandria, Egypt
Dec 2010: after police confiscate his
goods, a young fruit vendor,
Muhammad Al Bouazizi, sets himself
on fire in Tunisia
2010: The number of civilians killed in
terrorist attacks in Iraq is 2,500 down
from 23 thousand in 2007
Jan 2011: Dozens of protesters, mainly
students, are killed in riots in Tunisia
against youth unemployment, causing
president Ben Ali to flee the country
and prime minister Mohammed
Ghannouchi Foued Mebazaa

announces democratic reforms

Jan 2011: Tunisian-style protests
spread to Algeria, Yemen and
especially Egypt
Jan 2011: Hezbollah causes the fall of
the Saad Hariri government in
Lebanon and the appointment of Najib
Miqati as new prime minister
Feb 2011: Hosni Mubarak is forced to
resign by massive popular protests,
while Tunisian-style protests spread to
Libya and Bahrain
Mar 2011: Oman's sultan grants
parliament legislative powers, while
hundreds of demonstrators die in
Yemen, Syria and Bahrein and NATO
bombs Libya to defend the antiQaddafi rebels
Apr 2011: A suicide bomber in the
Moroccan city of Marrakesh kills 16
people
Apr 2011: USA forces kill Osama bin
Laden and Ayman al-Zawahir becomes

the new leader of Al Qaeda

May 2011: Members of Egypt's radical
Salafi movement kill 12 Christians
Jun 2011: Israeli troops kill 20
protesters marking the anniversary of
Israel's capture of the Golan Heights
in 1967
Jun 2011: Saleh of Yemen flees the
country after scores of protesters
have been killed, whereas Assad of
Syria massacres hundreds of
protesters
Jul 2011: Syria bombs rebel cities,
killing 2200 people in two months
Jul 2011: About two thirds of Iraq's
counterterrorism missions are aimed
at Iranian-backed militias
Aug 2011: 42 coordinated attacks by
Sunni extremists linked to Al Qaeda
kill 89 people in Iraq and a suicide
bomber kills 24 at a Sunni mosque
Aug 2011: Anti-Qaddafi rebels helped
by NATO and trained by Qatar and the

United Arab Emirates reach Tripoli,

end Qaddafi's dictatorship over Libya
and install Mahmoud Jibril and Mustafa
Abdul Jalil as prime minister and
chairman of the transitional
government
Sep 2011: Saleh of Yemen returns to
Yemen, opposed by the troops of
general Ali Mohsin al-Ahmar, and
promising to surrender power
Sep 2011: Saudi Arabia grants women
limited rights to vote
Oct 2011: 24 people are killed during
clashes between Copts and security
forces
Oct 2011: The USA foils a plot by the
Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards
to assassinate the Saudi ambassador
to the USA and to bomb the embassy
of Saudi Arabia in the USA
Oct 2011: The world's population is 7
billion
Oct 2011: Israel swaps more than one

thousand Palestinian prisoners for one

Israeli soldier detained by Hamas
Oct 2011: Former dictator Qaddafi is
assassinated by the rebels who have
conquered Libya and Abdul-Rahim alKeeb is appointed prime minister
Oct 2011: Rachid Ghannouchi's
Islamist Ennahda party wins the first
free elections in Tunisia
Dec 2011: The USA withdraws the last
soldiers from Iraq, after more than
100 thousand civilians have been
killed in the occupation and civil war,
with 15000 civilians killed directly by
the USA or allies, plus about 50
thousand non-civilian "insurgents" for
a grand total of about 162 thousand
Dec 2011: Saudi billionaire prince
Alwaleed bin Talal invests a huge sum
in social media Twitter
Dec 2011: After the Iraqi government
indicts Sunni vice president, Tariq alHashimi for running a death squad, a

series of explosions destroy schools,

markets and apartments killing 63
people in Baghdad's deadliest day in
more than a year
Dec 2011: The Syrian government
carries out massacres in Jabal alZawiya while two suicide car
bombings kill at least 40 people in
Syria's capital Damascus
2011: 4,083 civilians are killed in Iraq
in 2011 by bombs and sectarian
violence, almost the same number as
in 2010
Dec 2011: Hamas celebrates 24 years
of armed resistance that have killed
1,365 Israeli soldiersfired 11,093
rockets and mortars at Israeland
carried out 87 suicide bombings
(Palestine)
Feb 2011: Hosni Mubarak is forced to
resign by massive popular protests
(Egypt)
Apr 2011: Salafists in Gaza kill Italian

peace activist Vittorio Arrigoni in

retaliation for the detention of their
leader Hisham Saidani (Palestine)
August 2011: A car bomb by Boko
Haram kills 18 people at the United
Nations building in the Nigerian
capital Abuja (Nigeria)
April 2011: A suicide bomber in
Marrakesh kills 16 people (Morocco)
Dec 2011: After the Iraqi government
of Nouri al-Maliki indicts Sunni vice
presidentTariq al-Hashimi for running
a death squada series of explosions
destroy schoolsmarkets and
apartments killing 63 people in
Baghdad's deadliest day in more than
a year (Iraq)
June 2011: Al Qaeda terrorist Fazul
Abdullah Mohammedthe most wanted
man in Africa after the 1998 embassy
bombings in East Africais killed by
Somali government troops (Somalia)
Mar 2011: Hamas arrests Hisham

Saidani/ al-Suedanithe leader of a

Salafist and Al Qaeda affiliate
organization (Palestine)
jan 2011: Hezbollah causes the fall of
the Saad Hariri government in
Lebanon and the appointment of Najib
Miqati as new prime minister
(Lebanon)
Apr 2011: Hundreds of people are
killed and thousands arrested in
violent anti-government protests in
Syria (Syria)
Oct 2011: Israel decides to build 2000
settler homes on Palestinian land in
retaliation for Palestine's membership
in United Nations agencies (Israel)
Oct 2011: Israel swaps more than one
thousand Palestinian prisoners for one
Israeli soldier detained by Hamas
(Israel)
Apr 2011: Israeli bombings against
Hamas militants kill at least 17
peopleincluding several civilians

(Palestine)
June 2011: Israeli troops kill 20
protesters marking the anniversary of
Israel's capture of the Golan Heights
in 1967 (Israel)
August 2011: Militants from Gaza kill
eight Israeli people in Eilat and Israel
retaliates killing 16 people in
Gazaincluding Popular Resistance
Committees' leader Kamal al-Nayrab/
Abu Awad and al-Quds Brigades'
leader Ismael al-Ismarand accidentally
killing three Egyptian soldiers (Israel)
Jan 2011: Morocco arrests 27
members of Al Qaeda in Western
Sahara (Morocco)
Sep 2011: Rezwan Ferdausa USA
citizen living near Boston is arrested
for plotting to blow up the Pentagon
and the Capitol using remotecontrolled drones filled with explosives
(USA)
Dec 2011: The collapse of the

Lebanese Canadian Bank reveals that

Hezbollah is involved in teh illegal
drug trade in Latin America (Lebanon)
Apr 2011: The new Egyptian
government fosters reconcilation
between Hamas and Fatah (Palestine)
Apr 2011: US forces kill Osama bin
Laden and Ayman al-Zawahir becomes
the new leader of Al Qaeda
Dec 2011: The USA withdraws from
Iraq (Iraq)
Jul 2011: Turkey arrests members of
an Al Qaeda affiliate who were
planning a terrorist attack in Ankara
(Turkey)
Sep 2011: US-born al-Qaeda leader
Anwar al-Awlaki is assassinated by a
US drone strike in Yemen (Yemen)
Jan 2012: A USA drone kills 12 al
Qaeda militants in southern Yemen
(Yemen)
2012: Qasem Soleimani leads Iran's
efforts to help Assad of Syria against

the rebels
Jan 2012: Al Qaeda's Iraqi affialite, the
Islamic State of Iraq, launches a
campaign of terrorist attacks against
Shiites
Jan 2012: 72 people are killed after
attacks on pilgrims in southern Iraq,
and in Shia areas of the capital
Baghdad
Jan 2012: More than 200 people are
killed in sectarian violence in the first
month since the withdrawal of the
USA from Iraq
Jan 2012: A suicide attack in the
Syrian capital Damascus kills at least
26 people, while 5 thousand civilians
have been killed since protests began
in 2011
Jan 2012: Jobless protesters set
themselves on fire in Morocco
Jan 2012: The Muslim Brotherhood's
Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) wins
the largest number of seats in Egypt's

first democratic elections, and the

hardline Salafist Nour party comes
second
Jan 2012: A USA drone kills 12 al
Qaeda militants in southern Yemen
Jan 2012: 79 people die during a
football riot in Port Said, Egypt
Feb 2012: Suicide bomb kills 15 at
Baghdad police academy
Feb 2012: Saleh's vicepresident
Abdurabu Mansur Hadi is inaugurated
as the new president of Yemen
Mar 2012: About 90 soldiers are killed
by Al Qaeda-affiliate Ansar al-Sharia in
Yemen
Mar 2012: A series of co-ordinated
attacks in a number of Iraqi cities kill
at least 45 people
Apr 2012: Fighting between troops
and rebels leaves 64 people dead in
Lawdar, Yemen
May 2012: The USA thwarts a plot to
blow up an airplane and kills Fahd al-

Quso, al-Qaeda's leader in Yemen, and

other militants with drone attacks
May 2012: More than 90 people are
killed in a suicide bomb by al-Qaeda
on soldiers in the Yemeni capital Sana
May 2012: The Alawite Shabiha
militia, allied with the Syrian
government, kills more than 100
Sunni civilians, including dozens of
children, in Houla
Jun 2012: 2101 Iraqis are killed in the
first half of 2012, up from 1832 the
previous year, mostly Shiites killed by
Al Qaeda
Jun 2012: Muslim Brotherhood's
Mohammed Mursi wins presidential
elections in Egypt
Jun 2012: Libyan Islamist group Ansar
al-Sharia attacks the US embassy in
Benghazi and kills the ambassador
Jul 2012: Mahmoud Jibril, head of a
secular party, wins the first free
elections in Libya after Islamists won

both in Tunisia and Egypt

Jul 2012: A suicide bomber kills about
20 people in front of a Yemeni police
academy in the capital Sanaa
Jul 2012: A terrorist attack in Bulgaria
kills seven Israelis, and Israel accuses
Iran
Jul 2012: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the
leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, unleashes a
wave of bomb attacks and shootings
in Iraq targeting security forces that
kills at least 107 people
Aug 2012: Islamists attack a
checkpoint on the Egyptian-Israeli
border, killing 16 Egyptian policemen,
and in retaliation Egypt launches air
strikes that kill 20 people
Aug 2012: An Al Qaeda suicide
bomber kills 45 people at a funeral in
southern Yemen, the first time that Al
Qaeda targets civilians
Aug 2012: al-Qaeda militants attack
the intelligence headquarters in

Yemen's southern city of Aden, killing

at least 14 people
Aug 2012: Libyan Islamists destroy
Sufi shrines and mosques in Zlitan and
Tripoli
Sep 2012: Iraq's fugitive vicepresident Tariq al-Hashemi, formerly
the most senior Sunni Muslim in the
Shia-dominated government, is
sentenced to death in absentia for
running death squads, while at least
92 people are killed in Sunni attacks
across the country
Sep 2012: The ambassador of the USA
in Libya is killed by Muslim terrorists
Sep 2012: Dozens of people are killed
in the Islamic world during violent
protests against an anti-Islamic
amateur video posted online in the
USA
Sep 2012: Islamic terrorists kill the US
ambassador in Libya
Sep 2012: The Middle East respiratory

symptom coronavirus, or MERS-CoV,

begins spreading outside the Middle
East
Oct 2012: A car bomb kills eight
people including anti-Syrian politician
Wissam al-Hassan in Lebanon's capital
Beirut
Nov 2012: An Israeli air strike kills
Hamas' military chief Ahmed al-Jabari
and other ten people, the beginning of
an eight-day war that leaves 166
Palestinans and six Israelis dead
Nov 2012: An Egyptian court issues
death sentences against eight people
in connection to an anti-Islamic film
Nov 2012: The United Nations
recognizes the state of Palestine with
only nine countries voting against it
Dec 2012: Atheists can be executed in
Afghanistan, Iran, Maldives,
Mauritania, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and
Sudan, and atheist views are illegal in
Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Kuwait

and Jordan
Dec 2012: The death toll in Syria's
civil war passes 46,000
Dec 2012: More than 100 people are
killed in two days of attacks across
northern and central Iraq (mainly
Kirkuk and Tuz Khormato), bringing
the total for 2012 to more than 4,000
Dec 2012: The Islamic militants of
Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant
(ISIS), an Al-Qaeda affiliate led by Abu
Bakr al-Baghdadi and attracting
Islamists from all over the world, joins
the fight against Assad in Syria
Jan 2013: Mokhtar Belmokhtar's
Masked Brigade attacks a gas field in
Algeria and takes 132 foreign workers
hostage, 37 of which are killed
(together with 29 terrorists) when the
Algerian army tries to rescue them
Jan 2013: Al-Qaeda's affiliate Islamic
State of Iraq, a Sunni group,
assassinates Sunni tribal leader Efan

al-Esawi for cooperating with the USA,

17 people are killed by a series of car
bombings in the Baghdad area and 42
people are killed by a suicide bomber
at a Shia mosque in Tuz Khurmato
Jan 2013: 26 people die in the
Egyptian city of Port Said in clashes
sparked by the sentencing to death of
21 local people over football riots
Feb 2013: Tunisia's anti-Islamist
activist Chokri Belaid is murdered
Feb 2013: A hot air balloon incident
near Luxor in Egypt kills 19 tourists
Mar 2013: Scores of people are killed
in a series of coordinated car and
suicide bombings in Shiite areas of
Iraq's capital targeting markets,
restaurants and buses on the 10th
anniversary of the USA and British
invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein
Apr 2013: April 2013 is Iraq's bloodiest
month for almost five years with 712
people killed

Apr 2013: The Islamic militants of

Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant
(ISIS), led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,
announce that they intend to operate
in Iraq besides Syria
May 2013: Nine people are killed by a
car bomb at a hospital in the Libyan
city of Benghazi
May 2013: The civil war in Syria
intensifies as Hezbollah vows to
defend president Assad, Russia sells
advanced weapons to Assad, Israel
bombs Syria, Islamists join the rebels
and the European Union lifts an
embardo on selling weapons to the
rebels
May 2013: April 2013 is Iraq's
bloodiest month for almost five years
with 1000 people killed
Jun 2013: Western Europe, the USA,
Arab states and Turkey form the
Friends of Syria group to arm Syrian
rebels

Jun 2013: Qatar's emir Hamad bin

Khalifa Al Thani hands over power to
his son Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani,
having turned Qatar into one of the
richest places on Earth ($80,000 GDP
per person) with a population of two
million
Jun 2013: A mob of fanatical Sunnis
kills four Shiite Egyptians near Cairo
Jun 2013: The Egyptian opposition
movement Tamarod (Rebel) organizes
protests to bring down president Morsi
Jul 2013: Egypt's army general Abdel
Fattah al-Sisi removes democratically
elected president Morsi from power,
arrests the Muslim Brotherhood's
supreme leader Mohammed Badie,
and appoints top judge Adly Mahmud
Mansour as new president at the head
of a liberal and technocratic
government while demonstrations pro
and against Morsi cause the death of
dozens of people

Jul 2013: Mohamed Brahmi, founder of

the secular leftist Movement of the
People party, is killed in Tunisia, five
months after another prominent
secular politician, Chokri Belaid, has
been killed
Jul 2013: 1057 Iraqis (mostly Shiites)
are killed in the month of july, making
it the most violent month in five years
Aug 2013: Three US drone strikes kill
about 14 al-Qaeda militants in southeastern Yemen, following four such
strike in two weeks, after Al Qaeda
theatened to seize two ports and
attack Western embassies
Aug 2013: More than 500 Muslim
Brotherhood protesters are killed by
the military regime in Egypt
Aug 2013: In retaliation for
Hezbollah's support of Assad, a car
bomb place by Syrian rebels of the
Battalions of Ayesha in a Shiite suburb
of Beirut kills 22 people

Aug 2013: Sinai rebels kill 24 Egyptian

policemen near Rafah
Aug 2013: At least 29 people are killed
by two car bombs in Lebanon's
northern city of Tripoli, probably
targeting Sunni leader Salem Rafii
Sep 2013: More than 40 people are
killed in southern Yemen by al-Qaeda
attacks on army installations
Sep 2013: Islamic militants carry kill
seven people in an attack on a
security forces of Iraqi Kurdistan,
usually spared the violence that
affects the rest of Iraq
Oct 2013: Gunmen attack a military
checkpoint south-east of the Libyan
capital Tripoli killing 15 soldiers, and
the USA captures al-Qaeda leader
Anas al-Libi, accused of the 1998
bombings of the embassies in Kenya
and Tanzania
Oct 2013: The military in Egypt kill
scores of Muslim Brotherhood

protesters and Islamic militias kill six

soldiers near the Suez Canal
Nov 2013: Eleven Egyptian military
personnel are killed in a car bomb
attack in the Sinai
Nov 2013: 23 people are killed by a
bomb against the Iranian embassy in
Lebanon's capital Beirut, in retaliation
for Hezbollah's support of Assad's
regime in Syria, and later Hezbollah
commander Hassan al-Laqees is
assassinated in Beirut
Dec 2013: A US drone kills 17 civilians
in Yemen by mistake
Dec 2013: Al-Qaeda in the Arabian
Peninsula carries out an attack on a
military hospital that kills 52 people,
but later the leader, Qasim al-Raymi,
apologizes publicly
Dec 2013: Libya's first suicide attack
(by Islamist militia group Ansar alSharia) kills seven people near
Benghazi

Dec 2013: A car bomb kills 14 people

at the police headquarters in the
Egyptian city of Mansoura
Dec 2013: A car bomb kills Sunni
leader Mohamad Chatah, opposed to
Hezbollah and Syria
Dec 2013: Violence between Yemen's
soldiers and separatist group Hiraak
al-Janoubi kills dozens of people in
southern Yemen
Dec 2013: More than 130,000 people
have died in Syria's civil war
2013: Algeria's unemployment is
about 40%, virtually all goods are
imported and corruption is rampant
2013: 2013 is the bloodiest year in
Iraq since 2008, with about 9000
people killed in sectarian violence and
terrorist attacks
2013: The USA has carried out more
than 80 attacks in Yemen, killing
almost 500 people, since 2009
2013: Saudi women must still cover

themselves from head to toe, are still

forbidden to drive, and still need
permission from a male guardian to
travel, work and marry
Dec 2013: Lebanon captures Saudiborn Majid al-Majid, commander of the
al-Qaeda-affiliated Abdullah Azzam
Brigades responsible for the bomb
attack on Iran's embassy
2013: Egypt's Islamist group Ansar
Beit al-Maqdis kills scores of soldiers
and police officers since the overthrow
of Morsi
2013: According to a Pew Foundation
poll, 74% of Egyptians support making
Shariah law the state law, as do 91%
of Iraqi Muslims
Jan 2014: The Iraqi government loses
control of Fallujah to Islamic fighters
and local Sunni militia
Jan 2014: Tunisian prime minister Ali
Larayedh resigns and is replaced by
Mehdi Jomaa

Jan 2014: Dozens of Muslim

Brotherhood supporters are killed in
Egypt during rallies marking the
anniversary of the overthrow of Hosni
Mubarak
Jan 2014: A government is formed in
Lebanon under president Michel
Suleiman with prime minister
Tammam Salam after 10 months of
talks between Hezbollah the March
14th movement of Saad Hariri
Feb 2014: Militants of Ansar Beit alMaqdis fighting the Egyptian
government kill four foreign tourists in
the Sinai
Feb 2014: Moktada al-Sadr announces
his retirement from Iraqi politics
Mar 2014: Saudi Arabia declares the
Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group
and withdraws its ambassador from
Qatar accusing it of supporting the
Muslim Brotherhood
Mar 2014: Seven Egyptian traders are

killed in Libya, and more than 100

prominent Libyans have been
assassinated in two years
Mar 2014: Islamists kill 20 Yemeni
soldiers
Mar 2014: An Egyptian court
sentences 528 supporters of the
Muslim Brotherhood to death
Apr 2014: Islamist militants kill 14
Algerian soldiers
Apr 2014: More than 100 people
infected with the MERS (Middle East
Respiratory Syndrome) coronavirus
have died in Saudi Arabia since the
outbreak began in 2012
Apr 2014: An Egyptian court
sentences 680 Muslim Brotherhood
supporters to death for the killing of a
police officer
May 2014: Former general Khalifa
Haftar launches a war on terrorism
against Libya's Islamists accusing
them of having assassinated 70

people in a few months

May 2014: Sinai's Islamist leader
Shadi al-Menei is killed by the
Egyptian military
May 2014: Almost 2,000 people are
killed by Syrian government air
attacks in the northern city of Aleppo
since the beginning of the year
May 2014: Ex-army chief Abdul Fattah
al-Sisi wins Egypt's presidential
election
Jun 2014: Former army chief Abdul
Fattah al-Sisi is elected Egypt's new
president
Jun 2014: Islamic militants of Islamic
State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), led
by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, seize control
of key parts of Iraq's second largest
city Mosul and Tikrit while about 800
people a month are still killed across
Iraq by sectarian violence
Jun 2014: The USA captures Ahmed
Abu Khattala, responsible for the 2012

attack on the Benghazi embassy

Jun 2014: Syrian warplanes bomb Iraqi
towns held by Islamic State in Iraq and
Syria (ISIS), killing 57 Iraqi civilians
Jun 2014: ISIS massacres 700 soldiers,
mostly Shia, at Camp Speicher near
Tikrit in Iraq
Jun 2014: The last of Syria's chemical
weapons are shipped out of the
country for destruction
Jun 2014: ISIS declares a caliphate
under Abu Bakr el-Baghdadi
Jul 2014: Rocket attacks by Islamists
kill seven civilians and one soldier in
Egypt's Sinai peninsula, and an attack
by Islamist group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis
kills 22 border guards near the
borders with Libya
Jul 2014: Islamists kill 14 Tunisian
soldiers near the Algerian border, the
heaviest death toll registered by the
army since independence in 1956
Jul 2014: The murder of three Israeli

teenagers and of one Palestinian

teenager in retaliation cause a war
between Israel and Hamas that kills
more than 1,800 Palestinians
Jul 2014: More than 100 people are
killed in fighting between rival militia
groups for control of Libya's main
airport
Aug 2014: The USA launches air strike
against the Islamic State of Iraq and
Syria
Aug 2014: ISIS attacks Syrian
Kurdistan, thus drawing the Kurds into
the civil war
Aug 2014: The Kurdish president of
Iraq appoints Haider al-Abadi prime
minister instead of Maliki
Sep 2014: The Islamic State of Iraq
and Syria beheads two journalists
from the USA and US president Barack
Obama de facto declares war on ISIS
with the support of ten Arab states
Sep 2014: After 50 days of fighting in

which more than 2,100 Palestinians

died (70% of them civilians), Israel
withdraws from Gaza and accepts
Hamas' demands to ease the embargo
on Gaza
Sep 2014: Islamists seize control of
Libya's capital Tripoli and parliament
moves to Tobruk, near the Egyptian
border
Sep 2014: Israel announces its biggest
seizure of occupied Palestinian land in
a generation
Sep 2014: Jabhat al-Nusra, an Al
Qaeda affiliate, seizes the Golan
Heights, a contested territory between
Israel and Syria
Sep 2014: Yemen's prime minister
Mohammed Basindwa resigns amid
escalating violence between Shia
Houthi rebels, supported by former
president Saleh, and the government
forces, and the new government signs
a peace agreement with the rebels

Oct 2014: At least 43 people die in a

suicide bomb attack on supporters of
the Shia rebel group Houthi in Yemen's
capital Sanaa while another suicide
bomb attack on an army checkpoint in
the eastern province of Hadramawt
kills 20 soldiers
Oct 2014: Islamists in Libya's city
Derna declare loyalty to ISIS
Oct 2014: The secular Nidaa Tounes
party wins parliamentary elections in
Tunisia, ahead of the Islamist party
Ennahda
Oct 2014: Sunni gunmen kill five
Shiites in in the Shiite-majority town of
Dalwah town of eastern Saudi Arabia
Oct 2014: An Attack by Egypt's
Islamist group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis
kills 33 soldiers
Nov 2014: Egypt's Islamist group
Ansar Beit al-Maqdis pledges
obedience to ISIS
Dec 2014: Beji Caid Essebsi wins

Tunisia's first free presidential election

Dec 2014: Algeria kills the leader of
the Islamist group Jund al-Khilafa
(Soldiers of the Caliphate) that
kidnapped and beheaded French
tourist Herve Gourdel
Dec 2014: An Al-Qaeda suicide
bomber kills more than 30 Houthi
rebels in Yemen's southern city of Ibb
Dec 2014: More than 76,000 people
are killed in Syria's civil war in 2014,
almost a quarter of them civilians, in
the deadliest year yet
Dec 2014: Iraqi civilian deaths roughly
double in 2014 to 17,000
Dec 2014: ISIS destroys Iraq's oldest
Christian monastery, St Elijah, near
Mosul
Jan 2015: A bomb by Al Qaeda kills 37
people outside a police academy in
Yemen's capital Sanaa
Jan 2015: Saudi Arabian blogger Raif
Badawi, co-founder of the Liberal

Saudi Network, is sentenced to 1,000

lashes and 10 years in jail after being
convicted of insulting Islam
Jan 2015: A suicide bomber of the
Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's Syrian
affiliate, kills 7 people in the northern
Lebanese city of Tripoli
Jan 2015: An Israeli strike on Syria kills
an Iranian general and Hezbollah
fighters
Jan 2015: Yemen's president
Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi resigns after
Houthi rebels seize the presidential
palace and become de facto rulers of
the country, while Al Qaeda captures
the headquarters of a Yemeni army
brigade
Jan 2015: Saudi king Abdullah dies
and is succeeded by his half-brother
Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud
Jan 2015: Government troops kill the
leader of Libyan Islamist group Ansar
al-Sharia, Mohammad al-Zahawi

Jan 2015: Egyptian rebeles of Ansar

Beit al-Maqdis pledge loyalty to ISIS,
change name to Sinai Province, and
carry out a series of strikes against
military targets in Sinai that leave
more than 30 people dead
Jan 2015: ISIS burns inside a cage
Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasasbeh
Feb 2015: ISIS captures 21 Egyptian
Christians in Libya and beheads them,
and Egypt retaliates bombing ISIS
targets
Feb 2015: The Islamic State of Iran
and Syria (ISIS) kidnaps 220 members
of an Assyrian Christian community in
north-eastern Syria
Mar 2015: ISIS demolishes the ancient
Assyrian city of Nimrud
Mar 2015: Islamic terrorists attack the
Bardo Museum in Tunisia, leaving 25
people dead, mostly foreign tourists
Mar 2015: Suicide bombers of the
Islamic State kill 137 people in two

Shiite mosques in Yemen's capital

Sanaa
Mar 2015: A coalition led by Saudi
Arabia launches air strikes against
Shia-led Houthi rebels in Yemen, while
the Houthis storm the presidential
palace in Aden
Apr 2015: Al Qaeda captures the port
of Al Mukalla in Yemen
Apr 2015: Terrorists of the Ansar Beit
al-Maqdis or Sinai Province (affiliated
to ISIS) kill 12 people in Egypt's Sinai
Apr 2015: An Egyptian court
condemns Muslim Brotherhood's
leader Mohamed Badie and other
senior members to death
Apr 2015: ISIS kills 30 Ethiopian
Christians in Libya
Apr 2015: Houthi rebels attack Saudi
Arabia from Yemen
May 2015: ISIS kills 300 Yazidi
captives in Iraq
May 2015: Yemen's ex-president Saleh

denounces Arab coalition and declares

alliance with Houthis
May 2015: Egypt sentences to death
Muslim cleric Youssef al-Qaradawi,
former president Mohamed Mursi and
105 supporters of the Muslim
Brotherhood
May 2015: ISIS captures Ramadi in
Iraq and Palmyra in Syria
May 2015: ISIS suicide bombers kill 4
people in a Shiite mosque in eastern
Saudi Arabia and 26 in a Shiite
mosque in the Saudi town of
Dammam
May 2015: A US drone strike in Yemen
kills Al Qaeda in Yemen's leader Nasr
bin Ali al-Ansi, responsible for the
Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris
Jun 2015: A drone strike by the USA in
Lybia targets Al Qaeda's regional
leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar and a
drone strike in Yemen kills Al-Qaeda's
leader in the Arabian Peninsula,

Nasser al-Wuhayshi
Jun 2015: A series of car bombs by
ISIS kills more than 20 people in
Yemen's capital controlled by Houthis
Jun 2015: An Islamic State suicide
bomber from Saudi Arabia kills 27
people in a Shia mosque in Kuwait
Jun 2015: An Islamist gunman kill 38
people, mostly British tourists, at a
beach resort in the Tunisian town of
Sousse
Jun 2015: Egypt's chief prosecutor
Hisham Barakat, who led the
crackdown on the Muslim
Brotherhood, is assassinated
Jun 2015: A car-bomb by ISIS kills Shia
Houthi rebels at a funeral in Yemen
Jul 2015: More than 100 people are
killed when Sinai Province. allied to
the Islamic State, attacks military
checkpoints in Egypt's Sinai
Jul 2015: Clashes between Arab and
Berber communities in the Algerian

city of Ghardaia kill 22 people

Jul 2015: An ISIS car bombing at Khan
Bani Saad in Iraq kills at least 115
people celebrating the end of Muslim
month of Ramadan.
Jul 2015: Saudi Arabia arrests 431
suspected members of ISIS who were
preparing suicide attacks on in various
cities
Jul 2015: A suicide bombers from ISIS
kills 28 people in the Turkish town of
Suruc near the Syrian border
Aug 2015: Movements in 30 countries
have pledged allegiance to ISIS,
notably in Nigeria and Libya, and ISIS
now counts on 20,000 foreign
volunteers (Scandinavia, Gulf
countries, France, Britain, Turkey and
North Africa)
Aug 2015: An ISIS suicide bomber kills
15 people in a mosque in the Saudi
town of Abha
Aug 2015: Oil prices fall below $40 a

barrel for first time since 2009

Aug 2015: Italian energy group Eni
discovers one of the world's largest
natural gas fields off Egypt's coast
Aug 2015: An air strike by the Saudiled coalition backing pro-government
forces in Yemen kills 31 civilians at a
bottling plant in Yemen's northern
province of Hajjah.
Aug 2015: ISIS destroys the ancient
temple of Palmyra in Syria
Sep 2015: A Saudi bombing strike kills
135 civilians in Yemen who are
attending a wedding
Sep 2015: A collapsed crane kills more
than 100 people in Saudi Arabia's
Masjid al-Haram mosque
Sep 2015: More than 700 people
taking part in the Hajj pilgrimage are
killed in a stampede near Mecca
Sep 2015: An ISIS suicide bomber kills
25 people in a mosque of Yemen's
capital Sanaa

Sep 2015: The civil war in Syria

causes an exodus of thousands of
people towards Europe
Oct 2015: ISIS attacks a hotel used by
Saudi Arabia's anti-Houthi coalition in
Aden and kills 22 people
Oct 2015: ISIS in Sinai blows up a
Russian airplane killing 224 people,
mostly Russian tourists
Oct 2015: 18,800 people have been
killed in the Iraqi civil war between
January 2014 and October 2015
Nov 2015: A United Nations report
details how ISIS is committing
genocide, torture, rape and slavery
against the Yazidis in Iraq
Nov 2015: ISIS suicide bombers kill 43
people in Beirut's Shiite suburb, the
deadliest attack since the end of
Lebanon's civil war in 1990
Nov 2015: A US air strike kills Abu
Nabil, the ISIS leader in Lybia
Nov 2015: Islamists kill 12 people in

Tunisia on a military bus

Nov 2015: Islamists kill 7 magistrates
in Egypt's Sinai
2015: 3,589 people have been killed
by ebola in Sierra Leone
Dec 2015: Islamists kill 18 people in a
nightclub of the Egyptian capital Cairo
Dec 2015: ISIS kills the governor of
Yemen's city of Aden, Jaafar
Mohammed Saad
Dec 2015: Women are allowed to vote
for the first time in Saudi Arabia, but
only in municipal elections
Dec 2015: The price of oil declines to
$36/barrel, the lowest in 11 years
Dec 2015: Russian air strikes on Syria
have killed more than 1,000 civilians
since they began in september
2015: More than 3,000 people are
killed by the Egyptian forces in the
Sinai during 2015 trying to quell
Sinai's rebels
2015: About 6,000 people have been

killed by the civil war in Yemen

2015: Only 4% of the Middle Eastern
population is Christian, down from
14% in 1910
Jan 2016: Saudi Arabia executes 47
people as "terrorists" including Shiite
leader Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, sparking
protests in the Shite world
Jan 2016: Oil prices fall below $30 a
barrel for the first time since April
2004
Jan 2016: 155 Palestinians and 26
Israelis have been killed in Israel and
the Palestinian territories since unrest
began in october 2015
Jan 2016: Uganda bans housemaids
from working in Saudi Arabia because
they are often abused and even
tortured
Jan 2016: Islamic terrorists kill 1,700
people worldwide in january alone
Feb 2016: The USA begins bombing
ISIS territory in Lybia, killing more than

40 people including Noureddine

Chouchane, who masterminded the
terrorist attacks in Tunisia
Feb 2016: Jordan foils an ISIS terrorist
plot, killing 8 terrorists
Mar 2016: ISIS stages attacks from
Lybia into Tunisia and Tunisia kills 28
militants in a cross-border raid
Mar 2016: Saudi Arabia's intervention
in Yemen has killed more than 6,000
people
Mar 2016: ISIS kills 13 policemen in
Egypt's Sinai
Mar 2016: Since 2014 ISIS has staged
75 attacks in 20 countries (outside
Iraq and Syria) that have killed 1,280
people
Mar 2016: More than 40 Al Qaeda
suspects are killed by a US drone
strike in Yemen
Apr 2016: A unity government is
installed in Lybia's capital Tripoli,
headed by Fayez el-Serraj

Apr 2016: Followers of Shia cleric

Moqtada Sadr storm the Iraqi
parliament to protest political inaction
Mar 2016: Russia and Assad's Syrian
forces reconquer Palmyra from ISIS
Mar 2016: The top military
commander of Lebanon's Hezbollah is
killed in Syria
Jun 2016: The Libyan government
expels ISIS from the city of Sirte
Mustafa Badreddine
Also see a timeline of the modern
Middle East
Caliphs:
632-34 Abu Bakr
634-44 Umar ibn al-Khattab
644-56 Uthman ibn Affan
656-61 Ali ibn Abi Talib
661-80 Muawiya I
680-82 Yazid I
683 Mu'awiya II
684-85 Marwan I

685-705 Abd al-Malik

705-15 Walid I
715-17 Sulaiman
717-20 Umar ibn Abdul-Aziz
720-24 Yazid II
724-43 Hisham
743-44 Walid II
744 Yazid III
744 Ibrahim
744-50 Marwan II
750-54 Abu al Abbas al-Saffah
754-75 Al-Mansur
775-85 Al-Mahdi
785-86 Al-Hadi
786-809 Harun Al-Rashid
809-13 Al-Amin
813-33 Al-Mamun
833-42 Al-Mu'tasim
842-47 Al-Wathiq
847-61 Al-Mutawakkil
861-62 Al-Muntasir
862-66 Al-Musta'in
866-69 Al-Mu'tazz

869-70 Al-Muqtadi
870-92 Al-Mu'tamid
892-902 Al-Mu'tadid
902-8 Al-Muqtafi
908-32 Al-Muqtadir
932-34 Al-Qahir
934-40 Al-Radi
940-44 Al-Muttaqi
944-46 Al-Mustaqfi
946-74 Al-Muti
974-91 Al-Ta'i
991-1031 Al-Qadir
1031-75 Al-Qa'im
1075-94 Al-Muqtadi
1094-1118 Al-Mustazhir
1118-35 Al-Mustarshid
1135-36 Al-Rashid
1136-60 Al-Muqtafi
1160-70 Al-Mustanjid
1170-80 Al-Mustadi
1180-1225 Al-Nasir
1225-26 Al-Zahir
1226-42 Al-Mustansir

1242-56 Al-Musta'sim
Cordoba
756-88 Abd ar-Rahman I
788-96 Hisham I
796-822 Al-Hakam I
822-52 Abd ar-Rahman II
852-86 Muhammad I
886-88 Al Mundhir
888-912 Abdallah
912-61 Abd ar-Rahman III
961-76 Al-Hakam II al Mustansir
976-1009 Hisham II al Muayyad
1009-10 Muhammad II al-Mahdi
1009-10 Sulaiman al-Mustain
1010-13 Hisham II
1013-16 Sulaiman
1016-18 Ali ben Hammud
1018 Abd ar-Rahman IV
1018-21 Al-Qasim
1021-22 Yahya
1022-23 Al-Qasim

1023-24
1024-25
1025-27
1027-31

Abd ar-Rahman V
Muhammad III
Yahya
Hisham III

Egypt
909-34 Al-Mahdi
934-45 Al-Qaim
945-52 Al-Mansur
952-75 Al-Muizz
975-96 Al-Aziz
996-1021 Al-Hakim
1021-36 Az-Zahir
1036-94 Al-Mustansir
1094-1101 Al-Mustadi
1101-30 Al-Amir
1130-49 Al-Hafiz
1149-54 Az-Zafir
1154-60 Al-Faiz
1160-71 Al-Adid
Egypt monarchy and republic

King Fuad (1922-1936)

King Farouk (1936-1952)
Muhammad Naguib (1952-1956)
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Anwar Sadat (1970-1981)
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World News | Politics | History | Editor
(Copyright 1999 Piero Scaruffi)

Nubia Region Today

Nubia was also called:

Upper & Lower Nubia,
Kush,
Land of Kush,

Te-Nehesy,
Nubadae,
Napata, or
the Kingdom of Meroe.
The region referred to as Lower Egypt
is the northernmost portion. Upper
Nubia extends south into Sudan and
can be subdivided into several
separate areas such as:
Batn El Hajar or "Belly of Rocks",
the sands of the Abri-Delgo Reach, or
the flat plains of the Dongola Reach.
Nubia, the hottest and most arid
region of the world, has caused many
civilizations to be totally dependent on
the Nile for existence.
Historically Nubia has been a nucleus
of diverse cultures. It has been the
only occupied strip of land connecting
the Mediterranean world with

"tropical" Africa. Thus, this put the

people in close and constant contact
with its neighbors for long periods of
history and Nubia was an important
trade route between sub-Saharan
Africa and the rest of the world.
800 BC Nubian/Kush, which endured
from about 800 BC to about 320 AD.
The Nubians of Kush assumed rule
over all of Nubia as well as Upper and
Lower Egypt. There being a Lower
Nubia and Upper Nubia is because the
Nile flows downward towards the
north, so Upper Nubia was further
upstream and of higher elevation,
even though it lies geographically
south of Lower Nubia.
The regions of Nubia, Sudan and
Egypt are the cradle of civilization.
Nubia is divided into three regions:
Lower Nubia, was in modern southern

Egypt, which lies between the first

and second cataract.
Upper Nubia (geographically south of
Lower Nubia), and
Southern Nubia.
Upper Nubia and Southern Nubia were
in modern-day northern Sudan,
between the second cataract and
sixth cataracts of the Nile river.
2016 CE Today the term Nubian has
become inclusive of Africans, African
Arabs, African Americans and people
of color in general.

History of Nubia
Prehistory

Early settlements sprouted in both

Upper and Lower Nubia. The flood
plains of Lower Nubia (the people from
this area are referred to as the Agroup culture by modern scholars)
were restricted. Egyptians referred to
Nubia as "Ta-Suti (land of the bow).
The Nubians were expert
archers/bowman.
5000 BC Fertile farmland just south of
the third cataract is known as the
Pre-Kerma culture in Upper Nubia.
This ancestral civilization originated in
5000 BC in Upper Nubia.. From the
pre-Kerma culture, the first kingdom
to unify much of the region arose. The
Kingdom of Kerma, named for its
presumed capital at Kerma, was one
of the earliest urban centers in the
Nile region.

The Neolithic people in the Nile valley

came from Sudan, as well as the
Sahara, and there was shared culture
with the two areas and with that of
Egypt during this time period.
By the 5th millennium BC, the people
who inhabited what is now called Nubi
sparked the Neolithic revolution.
Saharan rock reliefs depict scenes
that have been thought to be
suggestive of a cattle cult, typical of
those seen throughout parts of
Eastern Africa and the Nile Valley even
to this day.
Megaliths discovered at Nabta Playa
are early examples of what seems to
be one of the world's first
astronomical devices, predating
Stonehenge by almost 2000 years.
This complexity as observed at Nabta

Playa, and as expressed by different

levels of authority within the society
there, formed the basis for the
structure of both the Neolithic society
at Nabta and the Old Kingdom of
Egypt.
3800 BC Around 3800 BC, the second
"Nubian" culture, termed the A-Group,
arose. It was a contemporary of, and
ethnically and culturally very similar
to, the polities in predynastic Naqada
(of Upper Egypt.
3300 BC Around 3300 BC, there is
evidence of a unified kingdom, as
shown by the finds at Qustul, that
maintained substantial interactions
(both cultural and genetic) with the
culture of Naqadan Upper Egypt. The
Nubian culture may have even
contributed to the unification of the
Nile valley. Also, the Nubians very

likely contributed some pharaonic

iconography, such as the white crown
and serekh, to the Northern Egyptian
kings.
Around the turn of the proto-dynastic
period, Naqada, in its bid to conquer
and unify the whole Nile valley, seems
to have conquered Ta-Seti (the
kingdom where Qustul was located)
and harmonized it with the Egyptian
state. Thus, Nubia became the first
nome of Upper Egypt. At the time of
the first dynasty, the A-Group area
seems to have been entirely
depopulated most likely due to
immigration to areas west and south.
28th century BCE This culture began
to decline in the early 28th century
BC.
3100 BC. The succeeding culture is

known as B-Group. The B-Group

people were merely A-Group but far
poorer. The causes of this are
uncertain, but it was perhaps caused
by Egyptian invasions and pillaging
that began at this time. Nubia is
believed to have served as a trade
corridor between Egypt and tropical
Africa long before 3100 BC. Egyptian
craftsmen of the period used ivory
and ebony wood from tropical Africa
which came through Nubia.
In 2300 BC, Nubia was first mentioned
in Old Kingdom Egyptian accounts of
trade missions. From Aswan, right
above the First Cataract, southern
limit of Egyptian control at the time,
Egyptians imported gold, incense,
ebony, ivory, and exotic animals from
tropical Africa through Nubia. As trade
between Egypt and Nubia increased
so did wealth and stability.

By the Egyptian 6th dynasty, Nubia

was divided into a series of small
kingdoms.
2240 BC to c. 2150 BC C-Group
peoples, flourished from c. 2240 BC to
c. 2150 BC. There are definite
similarities between the pottery of AGroup and C-Group, so it may be a
return of the ousted Group-As, or an
internal revival of lost arts. At this
time, the Sahara Desert was
becoming too arid to support human
beings, and it is possible that there
was a sudden influx of Saharan
nomads. C-Group pottery is
characterized by all-over incised
geometric lines with white infill and
impressed imitations of basketry.
2040-1640 BC During the Egyptian
Middle Kingdom (c. 2040-1640 BC),

Egypt began expanding into Nubia to

gain more control over the trade
routes in Northern Nubia and direct
access to trade with Southern Nubia.
They erected a chain of forts down the
Nile below the Second Cataract. These
garrisons seemed to have peaceful
relations with the local Nubian people
but little interaction during the period.
A contemporaneous but distinct
culture from the C-Group was the Pan
Grave culture, so called because of
their shallow graves associated with
the East bank of the Nile. The Pan
Graves and C-Group definitely
interacted. Their pottery is
characterized by incised lines of a
more limited character than those of
the C-Group, generally having
interspersed undecorated spaces
within the geometric schemes.
Medja Temple Relief..The history of

the Nubians is closely linked with that

of ancient Egypt. Ancient Egypt
occupied Nubian territory and the
Nubians directly ruled Egypt in its
25th Dynasty. Relations between the
two peoples show peaceful cultural
interchange and cooperation,
including mixed marriages.
The Medjay represents the name
Ancient Egyptians gave to a region in
northern Sudan where an ancient
people of Nubia inhabited. They
became part of the Ancient Egyptian
military as scouts and minor workers.
During the Middle Kingdom "Medjay"
no longer referred to the district of
Medja, but to a tribe or clan of people.
It is not known what happened to the
district, but, after the First
Intermediate Period, it and other
districts in Nubia were no longer

mentioned in the written record.

Written accounts detail the Medjay (a
region in northern Sudan) as nomadic
desert people. Over time they were
incorporated into the Egyptian army
where they served as garrison troops
in Egyptian fortifications in Nubia and
patrolled the deserts. This was done in
the hopes of preventing their fellow
Medjay (Masai) tribespeople from
further attacking Egyptian assets in
the region.
??? The Medjay (Masai) were used
during Kamoses campaign against
the AKasut (Hyksos) and became
instrumental in making the Egyptian
state into a military power.
By the 18th Dynasty of the New
Kingdom the Medjay were an elite
paramilitary police force. The term no

longer referred to an ethnic group and

over time the Medjay became
synonymous with the policing
occupation in general. Being an elite
police force, the Medjay were often
used to protect valuable areas,
especially royal and religious
complexes. Though they are most
notable for their protection of the
royal palaces and tombs in Thebes
and the surrounding areas, the Medjay
(Masai) were known to have been
used throughout Upper and Lower
Egypt.
Pharaohs of Nubian origin played an
important part in particularly the 12th
Dynasty. These rulers handled matters
in typical Egyptian fashion, reflecting
the close cultural influences between
the two regions.
1991-1786 B.C.E. The XII Dynasty

(1991-1786 B.C.E.) originated from

the Aswan region. As expected, strong
Nubian features and dark coloring are
seen in their sculpture and relief work.
This dynasty ranks as among the
greatest, whose fame far outlived its
actual tenure on the throne. A
member of this dynasty supposedly
decreed that no Nehsy (riverine
Nubian of the principality of Kush),
except such as came for trade or
diplomatic reasons, should pass by
the Egyptian fortress and cops at the
southern end of the Second Nile
Cataract.
In the New Kingdom, Nubians and
Egyptians are indistinguishable, as the
two cultures combined.
750-655 B.C.E. In the Kushite Period,
when Nubians ruled as Pharaohs in

their own right, the material culture of

Dynasty XXV (about 750-655 B.C.E.)
was decidedly Egyptian in character.
Nubia's entire landscape up to the
region of the Third Cataract was
dotted with temples indistinguishable
in style and decoration from
contemporary temples erected in
Egypt. The same observation obtains
for the smaller number of typically
Egyptian tombs in which these elite
Nubian princes were interred.

Kingdom of Kerma
1750 BC By 1750 BC, the kings of
Kerma were powerful enough to
organize the labor for monumental
walls and structures of mud brick.
They also had rich tombs with

possessions for the afterlife and large

human sacrifices. Large tombs and a
palace-like structures were found at
Kerma (George Reisner). The
structures, named (Deffufa), alluded
to the early stability in the region.
Egypt suffered a serious defeat at the
hands of the Kushites.
1532-1070 BC When Lower Egyptian
power revived under the New
Kingdom (c. 1532-1070 BC) they
began to expand further southwards
to the Fourth Cataract.
1520 BC By the end of the reign of
Thutmose I (1520 BC), all of northern
Nubia had been annexed. The
Egyptians built a new administrative
center at Napata, and used the area
to produce gold. The Nubian gold
production made Egypt a prime

source of the precious metal in the

Middle East.
1160 BC One of the oldest maps
known is of a gold mine in Nubia, the
Turin Papyrus Map dating to about
1160 BC.

At the site known as Kerma, near the

third cataract of the Nile a ditch was
discovered within a temple from the
ancient city of Pnoubs, which
contained seven monumental black
granite statues (archaeologist Charles
Bonnet and his team: Rare Nubian
King Statues Uncovered in Sudan
National Geographic - February 27,
2003) The finding revealed the art of
making antibiotics (officially dated to
the discovery of penicillin in 1928),
was common practice nearly 2,000

years ago. The statues were found in

a pit in Kerma, south of the Third
Cataract of the Nile. The ancient
statues are described as sculptural
masterpieces in northern Sudan.
Seven statues stood between 1.3 to
2.7 meters (4 to 10 feet) tall, were
inscribed with the names of five of
Nubia's kings: Taharqa,
Tanoutamon,
Senkamanisken,
Anlamani, and
Aspelta.
Taharqa and Tanoutamon ruled Egypt
as well as Nubia.
760 B.C. to 660 B.C. Nubian kings
ruled Egypt from roughly 760 B.C. to
660 B.C.

Kingdom of Kush
The Kingdom of Kush was an ancient
African kingdom situated on the
confluences of the Blue Nile, White
Nile and River Atbara in what is now
the Republic of Sudan.
8th century BC Established after the
Bronze Age collapse and the
disintegration of the New Kingdom of
Egypt, it was centered at Napata in its
early phase. After king Kashta ("the
Kushite") invaded Egypt in the 8th
century BC, the Kushite kings ruled as
Pharaohs of the Twenty-fifth dynasty
of Egypt for a century.
656 BC Psamtik I expels the Kushite
kings in 656 BC. The Kushites held
sway over their northern neighbors for

nearly 100 years, until they were

eventually repelled by the invading
Assyrians. The Assyrians forced them
to move farther south, where they
eventually established their capital at
Meroe. The Egyptians of the Napata
region, reflected the indigenous
customs that formed the kingdom of
Kush. The Kushites were buried there.
Kush was the source of many Egyptian
practices, such as their religion.
7?? BCE The Kingdom of Kush
survived longer than that of Egypt,
invaded Egypt (under the leadership
of king Piye), and controlled Egypt
during the 8th century, Kushite
dynasty.
690 CE Taharqa is perhaps the best
known Nubian king of this era.
Taharqa, a son and the third successor
of King Piye, was crowned king in

Memphis in c.690. Taharqa ruled over

both Nubia and Egypt, restored
Egyptian temples at Karnak, and built
new temples and pyramids in Nubia,
before being driven from Lower Egypt
by the Assyrians.
800 BC - c. AD 350 century AD During
Classical Antiquity, the Kushite
imperial capital was at Meroe. In early
Greek geography, the Meroitic
kingdom was known as Ethiopia.
The Kushite kingdom with its capital at
Meroe persisted until the 4th century
AD, when it weakened and
disintegrated due to internal rebellion.
The Kushite capital was subsequently
captured by the Beja Dynasty, who
tried to revive the empire. The Kushite
capital was eventually captured and
destroyed by the kingdom of Axum.
After the collapse of the Kushite

empire several states emerged in its

former territories, among them Nubia.
Meroe (800 BC - c. AD 350) in
southern Nubia lay on the east bank of
the Nile about 6 km north-east of the
Kabushiya station near Shendi, Sudan,
ca. 200 km north-east of Khartoum.
The people there preserved many
ancient Egyptian customs but were
unique in many respects. They
developed their own form of writing,
first utilizing Egyptian hieroglyphs,
and later using an alphabetic script
with 23 signs.
Many pyramids were built in Meroe
during this period and the kingdom
consisted of an impressive standing
military force. The Meroitic language
is an Eastern Sudanic language.
Strabo describes a clash with the
Romans in which the Romans were

defeated by Nubian archers under the

leadership of a "one-eyed" (blind in
one eye) queen. During this time, the
different parts of the region divided
into smaller groups with individual
leaders/Generals, each commanding
small armies of mercenaries. They
fought for control of what is now
Nubia and its surrounding territories.
Meroe would eventually meet defeat
by a new rising kingdom to their
south, Aksum, under King Ezana.
4th century CE At some point during
the 4th century, the Sudan/Mero
region was conquered by the Noba
people (from either Naba as is
master teacher or Nub, the Egyptian
word for gold), from which the name
Nubia may derive. From then on, the
Romans referred to the area as the
Nobatae. Nubia was very rich in gold.

Trade in "exotic" animals from farther

south in Africa was another feature of
their economy.
400 BC Meroe was the base of a
flourishing kingdom whose wealth was
due to a strong iron industry, and
international trade involving India and
China. So much metalworking went on
in Meroe, through the working of
bloomeries and possibly blast
furnaces, that it has even been called
"the Birmingham of Africa" because of
its vast production and trade of iron to
the rest of Africa, and other
international trade partners.
400 BC At the time, iron was one of
the most important metals worldwide,
and Meroitic metalworkers were
among the best in the world. Meroe
also exported textiles and jewelry.
Their textiles were based on cotton

and working on this product reached

its highest achievement in Nubia
around 400 BC.

The Egyptian sakia, a water-moving

wheel was used to move water, in
conjunction with irrigation, to increase
crop production.
At the peak, the rulers of Meroe
controlled the Nile valley north to
south over a straight line distance of
more than 1,000 km (620 mi).
The King of Meroe was an autocrat
ruler who shared his authority only
with the Queen Mother, or
Candace/Kantaka, the Queen Mother.
The administration consisted of
treasurers, seal bearers, heads of
archives, and chief scribes, among

others.
3rd century BC By the 3rd century BC
a new indigenous alphabet originally
derived from Egyptian hieroglyphs
used to write the Meroitic language of
the Kingdom of Meroe/Kush. The
Meroitic script, consisting of twentythree letters, replaced Egyptian script.
The Meroitic script first appears in the
2nd century BC.
700-300 BC The Meroitic script is
developed in the Napatan Period
(about 700-300 BC), and first appears
in the 2nd century BC. For a time, it
was also possibly used to write the
Nubian language of the successor
Nubian kingdoms.
2nd century BC The Meroitic script
first appears in the 2nd century BC.

For a time, it was also possibly used to

write the Nubian language of the
successor Nubian kingdoms.
Although the people of Meroe had
southern deities such as:
Apdmk, the lion-son of Sakmt (or
Bast, depending upon the region),
Amn,
TaBnut (Tefnut),
Are (Horus),
Ast (Isis),
Tut (Thoth), and
Satis (Suti), ect.
1821 CE The site of Meroe was
brought to the knowledge of
Europeans in 1821 by the French
mineralogist Frederic Cailliaud (17871869), who published an illustrated infolio describing the ruins.
1834 CE Treasure-hunting excavations

in the site of Meroe were executed on

a small scale in 1834 by Giuseppe
Ferlini, who discovered (or professed
to discover) various antiquities, chiefly
in the form of jewelry, now in the
museums of Berlin and Munich.
1844 CE The ruins of Meroe were
examined more carefully in 1844 by
Karl Richard Lepsius, who took many
plans, sketches, and copies, besides
actual antiquities, to Berlin.
1902 and 1905 Further excavations
were carried on the site of Meroe by E.
A. Wallis Budge in the years 1902 and
1905, the results of which are
recorded in his work, The Egyptian
Sudan: its History and Monuments
(London, 1907). Troops furnished by
Sir Reginald Wingate, governor of
Sudan, made paths to and between
the pyramids, and sank shafts. It was

found that the pyramids were

commonly built over sepulchral
chambers, containing the remains of
bodies, either burned, or buried
without being mummified. The most
interesting objects found were the
reliefs on the chapel walls, already
described by Lepsius, which present
the names and representations of
their queens, Candaces, or the Nubian
Kentakes, some kings, and some
chapters of the Book of the Coming
Forth (Dead); some stelae with
inscriptions in the Meroitic language;
and some vessels of metal and
earthenware. The best of the reliefs
were taken down stone by stone in
1905, and set up partly in the British
Museum, and partly in the museum at
Khartoum.
1910 CE In 1910, in consequence of a
report by Archibald Sayce,

excavations were commenced in the

mounds of the town, and in the
necropolis, by John Garstang, on
behalf of the University of Liverpool.
Garstang discovered the ruins of a
palace and several temples built by
the Meroite rulers.
2012 Ancient Carving from the city of
Meroe shows Stylishly Plump African
Princess Live Science - January 3,
2012. A 2,000-year-old relief carved
with an image of what appears to be
a, stylishly overweight, princess has
been discovered in an "extremely
fragile" palace in the ancient city of
Meroe, in Sudan, archaeologists say.
At the time the relief was made,
Meroe was the center of a kingdom
named Kush. It wasn't unusual for
queens (sometimes referred to as
"Candaces") to rule, facing down the
armies of an expanding Rome. The
sandstone relief shows a woman

smiling, her hair carefully dressed and

an earring on her left ear.

More than fifty ancient pyramids and

royal tombs rise out of the desert
sands at Meroe. Sudan's bestpreserved pyramids contained images
of early Gods are not unlike those
found on hieroglyphs of Egyptian Gods
- with heads of animals and birds.
4th c. Pyramids from the Northern
Cemetery at Meroe, 3rd c. B.C. to 4th
c. A.D. By the 4th c. B.C., the Kushite
kings had moved south to the
Sudanese savannah and built a capitol
at Meroe. The southern cultural
traditions are the source of the
cultural heritage of Egypt.
The Kushites believed in a life after

death (like the so-called Egyptians).

This was thought to be a continuation
of life on earth. For them, the afterlife
resembled this one, and they built
huge graves as an enduring home for
the dead. The unique social position of
the pharaoh, as god on earth, was
reflected in his tomb.
The king was the son of Amun-Ra
(hidden sun) the sun god and as such
embodied the sun on earth. Like the
sun, his life followed a cyclical plan.
His youth resembled the sun rising,
his maturity was like the sun at noon
and his old age was comparable with
the setting sun.
When the king died the sun
disappeared below the horizon and
darkness fell. The dying or setting sun
travelled through the underworld in its
journey towards the Ast (east) where

it was to be reborn at the dawn of the

day. The pyramid represented the
rising sun and the resurrection, and
people believed that a tomb in this
shape would offer the dead king the
chance of rising out of death. The
pyramid was seen as a ladder up to
heaven enabling the king's soul to
travel and join the gods in the
heavens.
At night, the king, having become one
with the god Ra, assumed the shape
of Asar/Osiris, god of the afterlife and
resurrection and descended in the
barque of Ra, sailing through the
region of darkness.
The Kushites and their descendants
stopped building pyramids towards
the end of the Middle Kingdom period.
The number of pyramids in Nubia,
where a total of 223 bas been found,

far exceeds that of Lower Egypt. The

pharaohs of the New Kingdom
constructed their graves in caves with
underground rooms and passages
symbolizing the nightly sojourn of the
sun god.
The pyramids of Nubia have three
sections:
1) an underground burial place
symbolizing the underworld, where
the mummy lies;
2) a massive steep pyramid above,
symbolizing the ladder up to heaven;
3) a small chapel on the eastern side
where sacrifices could bc placed,
intended to sustain the dead king on
his travels. The chapel thus also
functioned as a place of prayer.
The underground graves of the Nubian
pyramids were richly decorated. The
mummified kings and queens were

laid upon beds in accordance with the

ancient tradition of Kerma. So that the
dead monarch would not have to work
in the afterlife, their tombs were filled
with sabtis, small statues of people
summoned by the gods to perform
tasks.
2015 16 Pyramids Discovered in
Ancient Sudan Cemetery Live
Science - September 16, 2015. The
remains of 16 pyramids with tombs
underneath have been discovered in a
cemetery near the ancient town of
Gematon in Sudan.
4th century AD. Pyramid building was
popular among the Kushites. They
built them until their kingdom
collapsed in the fourth century AD.
Wealthy and powerful individuals built

some of the pyramids, which are not

just the upper-elite burials. Not all the
tombs in the cemetery have pyramids:
Some are buried beneath simple
rectangular structures called
"mastaba," whereas others are topped
with piles of rocks called "tumuli."
800 B.C. and the fourth century A.D.
The Kushite kingdom controlled a vast
amount of territory in Sudan between
800 B.C. and the fourth century A.D.
There are a number of reasons why
the Kushite kingdom collapsed. A
number of trade routes that had kept
the Kushite rulers wealthy bypassed
the Nile Valley, and instead went
through areas that were not part of
Kush. As a result, Kush lost out on the
economic benefits, and the Kush
rulers lost out on revenue
opportunities. Additionally, as the

economy of the Roman Empire

deteriorated, trade between the
Kushites and Romans declined, further
draining the Kushite rulers of income.
As the Kushite leaders lost wealth,
their ability to rule faded. Gematon
was abandoned, and pyramid building
throughout Sudan ceased. Wind-blown
sands, which had always been a
problem for those living at Gematon,
covered both the town and its nearby
pyramids.

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Ruins of the Merotic temple at
Musawwarat es-Sufra.

A number of major sites dot the

Sudanese map of great Kushite and
Meroitic archaeological sites.
Khartoum to Atbara is connected by
the tarmac road and a two or three
hours ride will bring you to
Musawwarat Es Sufra (Musawwarat;
an Arabic word that translates to
depictions):
One school of thought believes Es
Sufra is an adaptation of Es Safra/Ast
SabRa suggesting The Yellow (most
of the remaining ruins are actually
yellowish in color). The Great Mother
Ast was also often depicted as yellow,
and the corolation may suggest the
Sudan as the Mother Culture,
Mother Land or land of the Divine
Queens in their role as Ast manifest.
Es Sufra is also said to mean The

Dinning Table, an association to a

table-like mountain located at a short
distance.

MusaArat Ast Sabra/Musawwarat

Es Sufra, the largest temple complex
dating back to the Meroitic Period,
consists of two main parts:
the Great Enclosure (a vast structure
consisting of low walls, a colonnade,
two reservoirs and two inclined long
ramps) and
the Lion Temple.
The Great Enclosure may have been a
pilgrammage center or a royal palace,
or even an elephant training camp.
The two ramps might have been used
for the big animals to go up and down.
In addition to the elephants' statues
found in the vicinity, the greatest

collection of elephant carvings in the

Sudan is in the Great Complex.
The nearby Lion Temple might have
actually been a place of pilgrimage.
The pilgrims were housed in the Great
Complex. This is backed by ancient
graffiti and carvings depicting
Apedemak. A human body with a lion
head, Apedemak was the most widely
worshipped local deity throughout the
entire Kushite Kingdom.
230 BC Built by King Arnekhamani
around 230 BC, the Lion Temple in
Musawwarat Es Sufra is one of the
most well preserved sites in Sudan.
The Lion Temple might have actually
been a place of pilgrimage. The
pilgrims were housed in the Great
Complex. This is backed by ancient
graffiti and carvings depicting
Apedemak, a human body with a lion

head. Apedemak (ApiTmAk) was the

most widely worshipped local deity
throughout the entire Kushite
Kingdom.
Next to the Lion Temple is an
unidentified edifice known as the
Kiosk, reflecting an amalgam of
different cultures. Kushite, Egyptian,
along with Roman, have all left a
distinctive mark on its architecture.
Also near the Lion Temple is a temple
dedicated to the god Amun. built by
King Natakamani (N.Ata.Kam.Ani).
During this period most of the Kushite
kings' names end with the syllable
"amani" while the majority of the
queens' start with it. "Amani" is a
linguistic derivative from Amun. The
Temple of Amun in Naqa Sudan follows
the same overall structure of other
Amun temples, mainly Jabal Barrkal in

Sudan and Karnak in Egypt. The

carving of the rams in Sudan has a
distinct style when compared to those
in Karnak.
They loom from a distance, a
congregation of pyramids on both
sides of the road, a living history that
bears witness to the greatness of the
Kushite Civilization; these are the
Pyramids of Meroe, made up of three
groups -- western, southern and
northern.
The Pyramids of Meroe, make up of
three groups:
western,
southern and
northern.
The northern is the best preserved,
containing more than 30 pyramids.

The Pyramids of Meroe are much

smaller in size when compared to
those in Giza, with the largest being
just under 30 metres in height.
Another difference is the location of
the tomb. Contrary to the Egyptian
style, the Kushites had their deceased
buried in tombs underneath the
pyramid, not inside it, with the
majority of the pyramids having a
funerary chamber in front and facing
eastward.
1834 CE Most of the pyramids of
Meroe have a chopped-off top,
because in 1834 after concurrence of
the ruling Turco-Egyptians, an Italian
treasure hunter by the name of
Guiseppe Ferlini convinced there was
gold started the shameful destruction.
To the surprise of everybody, including
historians, he hit the jackpot, striking

gold in his first attempt at Pyramid

Six, that of Queen Amanishakheto.
That encouraged him to go further
with the mayhem. But it yielded no
gold; just smashed pyramids and an
ugly mark in the book of history.
15th century BC. At Jabal Barkkal in
Naka/Naga/Naqa Sudan, Pharaoh
Tuthmoses III built the first Temple of
Amun in Sudan around the 15th
century BC.
The Temple of Amun at Jabal Barkkal
in Naka/Naga/Naqa Sudan (built by
Pharaoh Tuthmoses III around the 15th
century BC) is expanded by the
prominent Ramses II, turning the site
into a major centre for the cult of
Amun.
Right next the Temple of Amun at
Jabal Barkkal in Naka/Naga/Naqa

Sudan is another monument, the

Temple of Mut. Built to the order of
Taharqa, and dedicated to Mut/Nut,
the Egyptian Sky goddess and bride of
Amun, the temple is engraved into
Jabal Barkkal itself.
The two temples are very interesting
from the top of the mountain. On the
western side of Jabal Barkkal lies a
small royal cemetery of 20 pyramids
at the mountain's foot. Kushites buried
their royals at Napata before shifting
to Meroe.
Not far from Jabbal Barkkal exist the
Pyramids of Nuri where Taharqa is
buried in the largest of its pyramids.
Also near is the Tombs of Al-Kurru.
Only two tombs are opened to visitors,
that of King Tanwetamani, Taharqa's
successor and nephew, and that of

Tanwetamani's mother Qalhata. Both

include fabulous paintings that enjoy a
great level of preservation.
1917 CE When the Pyramids of Nuri
(not far from Jabbal Barkkal) where
Taharqa is buried was excavated in
1917 archaeologist George Reisner
uncovered a cache of over 1,000 small
statues of the late king.Yahweh is
Amen and his consort is Mut/Nut.
1960s The Lion Temple in Musawwarat
Es Sufra, one of the most well
preserved sites in Sudan is elegantly
restored by the Humboldt University in
Berlin in the 1960s.
Around AD 350 the Sudan was
invaded by the Ethiopian kingdom of
Aksum and the kingdom collapsed.
Eventually three smaller kingdoms
replaced it:

northernmost was Nobatia between

the first and second cataract of the
Nile River, with its capital at Pachoras
(modern day Faras);
in the middle was Makuria, with its
capital at Old Dongola;
and southernmost was Alodia, with its
capital at Soba (near Khartoum).
500 CE King Silky of Nobatia (Sudan)
crushed the Blemmyes, and recorded
his victory in a Greek inscription
carved in the wall of the temple of
Talmis (modern Kalabsha) around AD
500.
360 CE- 373 CE While bishop
Athanasius (AtnAsa) of Alexandria
consecrated one Marcus as bishop of
Philae before his death in 373,
showing that Christianity had
penetrated the region by the 4th
century.

545 CE John of Ephesus records that a

Monophysite priest named Julian
converted the king and his nobles of
Nobatia around 545.
569 CE John of Ephesus writes that the
kingdom of Alodia (Sudan) was
converted around 569. But doubt is
cast on John's testimony by an later
entry in the chronicle of the Greek
Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria
Eutychius, which states that in 719
the church of Nubia transferred its
allegiance from the Greek to the
Coptic Church.
569 CE John of Biclarum records that
the kingdom of Makuria was
converted to Catholicism in this year,
suggesting that John of Ephesus might
be mistaken.

719 CE John's testimony in the

chronicle of the Greek Orthodox
Patriarch of Alexandria Eutychius,
states that in 719 the church of Nubia
transferred its allegiance from the
Greek to the Coptic Church.
By the 7th century Makuria expanded
becoming the dominant power in the
region. It was strong enough to halt
the southern expansion of Islam after
the Arabs had taken Egypt. After
several failed invasions the new rulers
agreed to a treaty with Dongola
allowing for peaceful coexistence and
trade. This treaty held for six hundred
years. Over time the influx of Arab
traders introduced Islam to Nubia and
it gradually supplanted Christianity.
1317 CE The cathedral of Dongola had
been converted to a mosque in 1317.

1372 A bishop at Qasr Ibrims (Ibrim:

the people of Ibr or Abir/Abiru)see
had come to include that located at
Faras.
1504 CE The influx of Arabs and
Nubians to Egypt and Sudan had
contributed to the suppression of the
Nubian identity following the collapse
of the last Nubian kingdom around
1504. A major part of the modern
Nubian population became totally
Arabized and some claimed to be
Arabs (Jaa'leen the majority of
Northern Sudanese and some
Donglawes in Sudan). A vast majority
of the Nubian population is currently
Muslim, and the Arabic language is
their main medium of communication
in addition to their indigenous old
Nubian language. The unique
characteristic of Nubian is shown in
their culture (dress, dances, traditions,

and music).
In the history of Sudan, the coming of
Islam eventually changed the nature
of Sudanese society and facilitated
the division of the country into north
and south. Islam also fostered political
unity, economic growth, and
educational development among its
adherents; however, these benefits
were restricted largely to urban and
commercial centers.
632 CE The spread of Islam began
shortly after the Prophet Muhammad's
death in 632. By this time, he and his
followers had converted most of
Arabia's tribes and towns to Islam,
which Muslims maintained united the
individual believer, the state, and
society under God's will. Islamic
rulers, therefore, exercised temporal
and religious authority. Islamic law
(sharia), which was derived primarily

from the Qur'an, encompassed all

aspects of the lives of believers, who
were called Muslims ("those who
submit" to God's will).
Within a generation of Muhammad's
death, Arab armies had carried Islam
north and west from Arabia into North
Africa. Muslims imposed political
control over conquered territories in
the name of the caliph (the Prophet's
successor as supreme earthly leader
of Islam).
643 CE The Islamic armies won their
first North African victory in 643 in
Tripoli (in modern Libya).
643 CE 718 CE From the time that the
Islamic armies won their first North
African victory in 643 in Tripoli (in
modern Libya), it took the Muslim
about seventy-five years to subjugate

all of North Africa took .

642 CE The Arabs invade Nubia for the
first time in 642.
652 CE The Arabs invade Nubia again
in 652, when they laid siege to the
city of Dunqulah and destroyed its
cathedral but the Nubians put up a
stout defense, causing the Arabs to
accept an armistice and withdraw
their forces.
10th Cen CE- 632 CE Contacts
between Nubians and Arabs long
predated the coming of Islam, but the
arabization of the Nile Valley was a
gradual process that occurred over a
period of nearly 1,000 years. Arab
nomads continually wandered into the
region in search of fresh pasturage,
and Arab seafarers and merchants
traded in Red Sea ports for spices and

slaves. Intermarriage and assimilation

also facilitated arabization.
After the initial attempts at military
conquest failed, the Arab commander
in Egypt, Abd Allah ibn Saad,
concluded the first in a series of
regularly renewed treaties (known as
the baqt) with the Nubians that, with
only brief interruptions, governed
relations between the two peoples for
more than 600 years. So long as Arabs
ruled Egypt, there was peace on the
Nubian frontier; however, when nonArabs (for example, the
Mamluks/Turks) acquired control of the
Nile Delta, tension arose in Upper
Egypt.
The Arabs realized the commercial
advantages of peaceful relations with
Nubia and used the baqt to ensure
that travel and trade proceeded

unhindered across the frontier. The

baqt also contained security
arrangements whereby both parties
agreed that neither would come to the
defense of the other in the event of an
attack by a third party. The baqt
obliged both to exchange annual
tribute as a goodwill symbol, the
Nubians in slaves and the Arabs in
grain. This formality was only a token
of the trade that developed between
the two, not only in these
commodities but also in horses and
manufactured goods brought to Nubia
by the Arabs and in ivory, gold, gems,
gum arabic, and cattle carried back by
them to Egypt or shipped to Arabia.
Acceptance of the baqt did not
indicate Nubian submission to the
Arabs, but the treaty did impose
conditions for Arab friendship that
eventually permitted Arabs to achieve

a privileged position in Nubia. Arab

merchants established markets in
Nubian towns to facilitate the
exchange of grain and slaves. Arab
engineers supervised the operation of
mines east of the Nile in which they
used slave labor to extract gold and
emeralds. Muslim pilgrims en route to
Mecca traveled across the Red Sea on
ferries from Aydhab and Suakin, ports
that also received cargoes bound from
India to Egypt.
7th- Traditional genealogies trace the
ancestry of most of the Nile Valley's
mixed population to Arab tribes that
migrated into the region during this
period. Even many non-Arabicspeaking groups claim descent from
Arab forebears. The two most
important Arabic-speaking groups to
emerge in Nubia were the Ja'Alin and
the Juhayna. Both showed physical

continuity with the indigenous preIslamic population:

The Ja'Alin claimed descent from the
Quraysh, the Prophet Muhammad's
tribe. Historically, the Jaali have been
sedentary farmers and herders or
townspeople settled along the Nile
and in Al Jazirah.
The nomadic Juhayna comprised a
family of tribes that included the:
Kababish,
Baqqara (BaKara), and
Shukriya. They were descended from
Arabs who migrated after the 13th
century into an area that extended
from the savanna and semidesert
west of the Nile to the Abyssinian
foothills east of the Blue Nile. Both
groups formed a series of tribal
shaykhdoms that succeeded the
crumbling Christian Nubian kingdoms
and that were in frequent conflict with

one another and with neighboring

non-Arabs.
In some instances, as among the Beja,
the indigenous people absorbed Arab
migrants who settled among them.
Beja ruling families later derived their
legitimacy from their claims of Arab
ancestry.
Although not all Muslims in the region
were Arabic-speaking, acceptance of
Islam facilitated the Arabizing process.
There was no policy of proselytism,
however. Islam penetrated the area
over a long period of time through
intermarriage and contacts with Arab
merchants and settlers.
16th Cen CE At the same time that the
Ottomans brought northern Nubia into
their orbit, a new power, the Funj, had
risen in southern Nubia and had

supplanted the remnants of the old

Christian kingdom of Alwa.
1504 In this year, a Funj leader,
Amara Dunqas, founded the Kingdom
of Sennar. This Sultanate eventually
became the keystone of the Funj
Empire.
16th Cen CE By the mid-sixteenth
century, Sennar controlled Al Jazirah
and commanded the allegiance of
vassal states and tribal districts north
to the third cataract and south to the
rainforests. The Funj state included a
loose confederation of sultanates and
dependent tribal chieftaincies drawn
together under the suzerainty of
Sennar's mek (sultan). As overlord,
the mek received tribute, levied taxes,
and called on his vassals to supply
troops in time of war. Vassal states in
turn relied on the mek to settle local

disorders and to resolve internal

disputes. The Funj stabilized the
region and interposed a military bloc
between the Arabs in the north, the
Abyssinians in the east, and the nonMuslim blacks in the south.
The sultanate's economy depended on
the role played by the Funj in the
slave trade. Farming and herding also
thrived in Al Jazirah and in the
southern rainforests. Sennar
apportioned tributary areas into tribal
homelands (each one termed a dar;
pl., dur), where the mek granted the
local population the right to use arable
land. The diverse groups that
inhabited each dar eventually
regarded themselves as units of
tribes. Movement from one dar to
another entailed a change in tribal
identification (Tribal distinctions in
these areas in modern Sudan can be

traced to this period.) The mek

appointed a chieftain (nazir; pl.,
nawazir) to govern each dar. Nawazir
administered dur according to
customary law, paid tribute to the
mek, and collected taxes. The mek
also derived income from crown lands
set aside for his use in each dar.
17th Cen CE At the peak of its power
in the mid-17th century, Sennar
(founded by the Funj leader, Amara
Dunqas in 1504), repulsed the
northward advance of the Nilotic
Shilluk people up the White Nile and
compelled many of them to submit to
Funj authority. After this victory, the
mek Badi II Abu Duqn (1642-81)
sought to centralize the government
of the confederacy of Sennar. To
implement this policy, Badi introduced
a standing army of slave soldiers that
would free Sennar from dependence

on vassal sultans for military

assistance and would provide the mek
with the means to enforce his will. The
move alienated the dynasty from the
Funj warrior aristocracy (1718 CE).
1718 CE In 1718 the Funj warrior
aristocracy deposed the reigning mek
and placed one of their own ranks on
the throne of Sennar. The mid-18th
century witnessed another brief
period of expansion when the Funj
turned back an Abyssinian invasion,
defeated the Fur, and took control of
much of Kurdufan. But civil war and
the demands of defending the
sultanate had overextended the
warrior society's resources and
sapped its strength.
1761 CE Sennar's decline may have
been caused by the growing influence
of its hereditary viziers (chancellors),

chiefs of a non-Funj tributary tribe who

managed court affairs. In 1761 the
vizier Muhammad Abu al Kaylak, who
had led the Funj army in wars, carried
out a palace coup, relegating the
sultan to a figurehead role.
19th Cen CE Sennar's hold over its
vassals diminished, and by the early
19th century more remote areas
ceased to recognize even the nominal
authority of the mek.
Darfur was the Fur homeland.
Renowned as cavalrymen, Fur clans
frequently allied with or opposed their
kin, the Kanuri of Borno, in modern
Nigeria.
16th- 17th Cen CE Darfur was the Fur
homeland. Renowned as cavalrymen,
Fur clans frequently allied with or
opposed their kin, the Kanuri of Borno,

in modern Nigeria. After a period of

disorder in the sixteenth century,
during which the region was briefly
subject to the Bornu Empire, the
leader of the Keira clan, Sulayman
Solong (1596-1637), supplanted a
rival clan and became Darfur's first
sultan.
Sulayman Solong decreed Islam to be
the sultanate's official religion.
1682-1722 CE Large-scale religious
conversions occur in the reign of
Ahmad Bakr (1682-1722), who
imported teachers, built mosques, and
compelled his subjects to become
Muslims.
18th Cen Ce In the eighteenth
century, several Islamic sultans
consolidated the dynasty's hold on
Darfur, established a capital at Al

Fashir, and contested the Funj for

control of Kurdufan. The sultans
operated the slave trade as a
monopoly. They levied taxes on
traders and export duties on slaves
sent to Egypt, and took a share of the
slaves brought into Darfur. Some
household slaves advanced to
prominent positions in the courts of
sultans, and the power exercised by
these slaves provoked a violent
reaction among the traditional class of
Fur officeholders in the late eighteenth
century. The rivalry between the slave
and traditional elites caused recurrent
unrest throughout the next century.

14th century CE Ghulam Allah ibn

'A'id one earliest missionaries from
the Yemen to settle at Dunqulah (in
the Sudan) in the 14th century.

15th century Ghulam Allah ibn 'A'id

one earliest missionaries from the
Yemen to settle at Dunqulah (in the
14th century) was followed in the 15th
century by Hamad Abu Danana, who
appears to have emphasized the way
to God through mystical exercises
rather than through the more
orthodox interpretations of the Qur'an
taught by Ghulam Allah.
14th - 16th cen CE The Funj were
originally non-Muslims, but the
aristocracy soon adopted Islam and,
although they retained many
traditional African customs, remained
nominal Muslims. The conversion was
largely the work of a handful of
Islamic missionaries who came to the
Sudan from the larger Muslim world.
The great success of these
missionaries, however, was not

among the Funj themselves but

among the Arabized Nubian
population settled along the Nile.
Among these villagers the
missionaries instilled a deep devotion
to Islam that appears to have been
conspicuously absent among the
nomadic Arabs who first reached the
Sudan after the collapse of the
kingdom of Maqurrah.
16th century CE The spread of Islam
was advanced in the 16th century,
when the hegemony of the Funj (in the
Sudan) enhanced security.
16th and 17th centuries CE In the
16th and 17th centuries, numerous
schools of religious learning were
founded along the White Nile, and the
Shayqiyah confederacy was
converted. Many of the more famous

Sudanese missionaries who followed

them were Sufi holy men, members of
influential religious brotherhoods who
sought the way to God through
mystical contemplation.The Sufi
brotherhoods themselves played a
vital role in linking the Sudan to the
larger world of Islam beyond the Nile
valley.
1700 CE Although the fervor of
Sudanese Islam wanes after 1700.

18th and early 19th CE Although the

fervor of Sudanese Islam waned after
1700, the great reform movements
that shook the Muslim world in the
late 18th and early 19th centuries
produced a revivalist spirit among the
Sufi brotherhoods, giving rise to a new
order, the Mirghaniyah or Khatmiyah,

later one of the strongest in the

modern Sudan. These men, called
faqihs, attracted a following by their
teachings and piety and laid the
foundations for a long line of
indigenous Sudanese holy men. The
faqihs played a vital role in educating
their followers and helped place them
in the highest positions of
government, by which they were able
to spread Islam and the influence of
their respective brotherhoods.
Indigenous Sudanese holy men
passed on the way to God taught
them by their masters, or founded
their own religious schools, or, if
extraordinarily successful, gathered
their own following into a religious
order.
1820- 1821 CE The faqihs held a
religious monopoly until the

introduction, under Egyptian-Ottoman

rule of an official hierarchy of jurists
and scholars, the 'ulama', whose
orthodox legalistic conception of Islam
was as alien to the Sudanese as were
their origins. In July 1820, Muhammad
'Ali, viceroy of Egypt under the
Ottoman Turks, sent an army under
his son Isma'il to conquer the Sudan.
Muhammad 'Ali was interested in the
gold and slaves that the Sudan could
provide and wished to control the vast
hinterland south of Egypt. By 1821 the
Funj and the sultan of Darfur had
surrendered to his forces, and the
Nilotic Sudan from Nubia to the
Ethiopian foothills and from the
'Atbarah River to Darfur became part
of his expanding empire.
This disparity between the mystical,
traditional faqihs, close to the
Sudanese, if not of them, and the

orthodox, Islamic jurists, aloof, if not

actually part of the government
bureaucracy, created a rivalry that in
the past produced open hostility in
times of trouble and sullen suspicion
in times of peace.
The collection of taxes under
Muhammad 'Ali's regime amounted to
virtual confiscation of gold, livestock,
and slaves, and opposition to his rule
became intense, eventually erupting
into rebellion and the murder of
Isma'il and his bodyguard. But the
rebels lacked leadership and
coordination, and their revolt was
brutally suppressed.

21st Cen CE The Sudanese faqih

continues his customary practices
unmolested, while the Sudanese have

acknowledged the position of the

'ulama' in society.
13th Muslim century the end of an age
of darkness coincides with the end of
the 13th Muslim century..
1826 CE A sullen hostility in the
Sudanese was met by continued
repression until the appointment of
'Ali Khurshid Agha as governor-general
in 1826. His administration marked a
new era in Egyptian-Sudanese
relations. He reduced taxes and
consulted the Sudanese through the
respected Sudanese leader 'Abd alQadir wad az-Zayn. Letters of
amnesty were granted to fugitives. A
more equitable system of taxation
was implemented, and the support of
the powerful class of holy men and

sheikhs (tribal chiefs) for the

administration was obtained by
exempting them from taxation.
But 'Ali Khurshid was not content
merely to restore the Sudan to its
previous condition. Under his initiative
trade routes were protected and
expanded, Khartoum was developed
as the administrative capital, and a
host of agricultural and technical
improvements were undertaken.
1838 Ali Khurshid Agha, governorgeneral of Sudan, retires to Cairo in
1838, Khurshid left a prosperous and
contented country behind him. Also
Muhammad 'Ali abolishes state
trading monopolies in the Sudan in
this year (1838) under pressure from
the European powers.
His successor, Ahmad Pasha Abu

Widan, with but few exceptions,

continued his policies and made it his
primary concern to root out official
corruption. Abu Widan dealt ruthlessly
with offenders or those who sought to
thwart his schemes to reorganize
taxation. He was particularly fond of
the army, which reaped the benefits of
regular pay and tolerable conditions in
return for the brunt of the expansion
and consolidation of Egyptian
administration in Kassala and among
the Baqqarah Arabs of southern
Kordofan.
1843 CE Muhammad 'Ali, suspecting
his successor Abu Widan of disloyalty,
recalled him to Cairo in the autumn of
1843, but he died mysteriously before
he left the Sudan, many suspect
poison, .
During the next two decades the

country stagnated because of

ineffective government at Khartoum
and vacillation by the viceroys at
Cairo. If the successors of Abu Widan
possessed administrative talent, they
were seldom able to demonstrate it.
No governor-general held office long
enough to introduce his own plans, let
alone carry on those of his
predecessor. New schemes were
never begun, and old projects were
allowed to languish. Without direction
the army and the bureaucracy
became demoralized and indifferent,
while the Sudanese became
disgruntled with the government.
1856 CE In 1856 the viceroy Sa'id
Pasha visited the Sudan and, shocked
by what he saw, contemplated
abandoning it altogether. Instead, he
abolished the office of governorgeneral and had each Sudanese

province report directly to the

viceregal authority in Cairo. This state
of affairs persisted until the more
dynamic viceroy Isma'il took over the
guidance of Egyptian and Sudanese
affairs in 1862.
During these dormant decades (18431862), two ominous developments
began that presaged future problems.
Reacting to pressure from the Western
powers, particularly Great Britain, the
governor-general of the Sudan was
ordered to halt the slave trade. But
not even the viceroy himself could
overcome established custom with the
stroke of a pen and the erection of a
few police posts. If the restriction of
the slave trade precipitated resistance
among the Sudanese, the
appointment of Christian officials to
the administration and the expansion
of the European Christian community

in the Sudan caused open resentment.

European merchants, mostly of
Mediterranean origin, were either
ignored or tolerated by the Sudanese
and confined their contacts to
compatriots within their own
community and to the Turko-Egyptian
officials whose manners and dress
they frequently adopted. They
became a powerful and influential
group, whose lasting contribution to
the Sudan was to take the lead in
opening the White Nile and the
southern Sudan to navigation and
commerce after Muhammad 'Ali had
abolished state trading monopolies in
the Sudan in 1838 under pressure
from the European powers.
1862 CE The more dynamic viceroy
Isma'il takes over the guidance of
Egyptian and Sudanese affairs in
1862.

1863 CE In 1863, Isma'il Pasha

became viceroy of Egypt. Educated in
Egypt, Vienna, and Paris, Isma'il had
absorbed the European interest in
overseas adventures as well as
Muhammad 'Ali's desire for imperial
expansion and had imaginative
schemes for transforming Egypt and
the Sudan into a modern state by
employing Western technology.
First he hoped to acquire the rest of
the Nile basin, including the southern
Sudan and the Bantu states by the
great lakes of central Africa. To finance
this vast undertaking, and his projects
for the modernization of Egypt itself,
Isma'il turned to the capital-rich
nations of western Europe, where
investors were willing to risk their
savings at high rates of interest in the
cause of Egyptian and African
development. But such funds would

be attracted only as long as Isma'il

demonstrated his interest in reform by
intensifying the campaign against the
slave trade in the Sudan. Isma'il
needed no encouragement, for he
required the diplomatic and financial
support of the European powers in his
efforts to modernize Egypt and
expand his empire. Thus, these two
major themes of Isma'il's rule of the
Nilotic Sudan:
imperial expansion and
the suppression of the slave trade-became intertwined, culminating in a
third major development, the
introduction of an ever-increasing
number of European Christians to
carry out the task of modernization.
1869 CE In 1869 Isma'il
commissioned the Englishman Samuel
Baker to lead an expedition up the
White Nile to establish Egyptian

hegemony over the equatorial regions

of central Africa and to curtail the
slave trade on the upper Nile.
1873 CE Englishman Samuel Baker
remains in equatorial Africa until
1873, where he establishes the
Equatoria province as part of the
Egyptian Sudan. He had extended
Egyptian power and curbed the slave
traders on the Nile, but he had also
alienated certain African tribes and,
being a rather tactless Christian,
Isma'il's Muslim administrators as
well. Moreover, Baker had struck only
at the Nilotic slave trade.
To the west, on the vast plains of the
Bahr Al-Ghazal (now a state of the
Republic of The Sudan), slave
merchants had established enormous
empires with stations garrisoned by
slave soldiers. From these stations the

long lines of human chattels were sent

overland through Darfur and Kordofan
to the slave markets of the northern
Sudan, Egypt, and Arabia. Not only did
the firearms of the Khartoumers (as
the traders were called) establish their
supremacy over the peoples of the
interior but also those merchants with
the strongest resources gradually
swallowed up lesser traders until
virtually the whole of the Bahr AlGhazal was controlled by the greatest
slaver of them all, az-Zubayr Rahma
Mansur, more commonly known as
Zubayr (or Zobeir) Pasha.
1873 CE az-Zubayr Rahma Mansur
(Aka: Zubayr (or Zobeir) Pasha)
became so powerful that in 1873, the
year Baker retired from the Sudan, the
Egyptian viceroy (now called the
khedive) appointed Zubayr governor
of the Bahr Al-Ghazal. Isma'il's officials

had failed to destroy Zubayr as Baker

had crushed the slavers east of the
Nile, and to elevate Zubayr to the
governorship appeared the only way
to establish at least the nominal
sovereignty of Cairo over that
enormous province. The agents of
Zubayr continued to pillage the Bahr
Al-Ghazal under the Egyptian flag,
while officially Egypt extended its
dominion to the tropical rainforests of
the Congo region. Zubayr remained in
detention in Cairo.
1874 CE Isma'il next offered the
governorship of the Equatoria
province to another Englishman,
Charles George Gordon, who in China
had won fame and the sobriquet
Chinese Gordon. Gordon arrived in
Equatoria in 1874. His object was the
same as Baker's--to consolidate
Egyptian authority in Equatoria and to

establish Egyptian sovereignty over

the kingdoms of the great East African
lakes. He achieved some success in
the former and none in the latter.
When Gordon retired from Equatoria,
the lake kingdoms remained
stubbornly independent.
1877 CE In 1877 Isma'il appointed
Gordon, a European and a Christian
governor-general of the Sudan. He
returned to the Sudan to lead a
crusade against the slave trade, and,
to assist him in this humanitarian
enterprise, he surrounded himself with
a cadre of European and American
Christian officials. In 1877 Isma'il had
signed the Anglo-Egyptian Slave Trade
Convention, which provided for the
termination of the sale and purchase
of slaves in the Sudan by 1880.
Gordon set out to fulfill the terms of
this treaty, and in whirlwind tours

through the country he broke up the

markets and imprisoned the traders.
His European subordinates did the
same in the provinces.
Gordon's crusading zeal blinded him
to his invidious position as a Christian
in a Muslim land and obscured from
him the social and economic effects of
arbitrary repression. Not only did his
campaign create a crisis in the
Sudan's economy but the Sudanese
soon came to believe that the
crusade, led by European Christians,
violated the principles and traditions
of Islam.
1879 CE By 1879 a strong current of
reaction against Gordon's reforms was
running through the country. The
powerful slave-trading interests had,
of course, turned against the
administration, while the ordinary

villagers and nomads, who habitually

blamed the government for any
difficulties, were quick to associate
economic depression with Gordon's
Christianity. And then suddenly, in the
middle of rising discontent in the
Sudan, Isma'il's financial position
collapsed. In difficulties for years, he
could now no longer pay the interest
on the Egyptian debt, and an
international commission was
appointed by the European powers to
oversee Egyptian finances. After 16
years of glorious spending, Isma'il
sailed away into exile. Gordon
resigned.
Gordon left a perilous situation in the
Sudan. The Sudanese were confused
and dissatisfied. Many of the ablest
senior officials, both European and
Egyptian, had been dismissed by
Gordon, departed with him, or died in

his service. Castigated and ignored by

Gordon, the bureaucracy had lapsed
into apathy. Moreover, the office of
governor-general, on which the
administration was so dependent,
devolved upon Muhammad Ra'uf
Pasha, a mild man, ill-suited to stem
the current of discontent or to shore
up the structure of Egyptian rule,
particularly when he could no longer
count on Egyptian resources. Such
then was the Sudan in June of 1881
when Muhammad Ahmad declared
himself to be the Mahdi ("the divinely
guided one").
1881 From the Sudan in June of 1881
Muhammad Ahmad declares himself
to be the Mahdi ("the divinely guided
one"). Muhammad Ahmad ibn 'Abd
Allah was the son of a Dunqulahwi
boatbuilder who claimed descent from
the Prophet Muhammad. Deeply

religious from his youth, he was

educated in one of the Sufi orders, the
Sammaniyah, but he later secluded
himself on Aba Island in the White Nile
to practice religious asceticism.
In 1880 Muhammad Ahmad ibn 'Abd
Allah toured Kordofan, where he
learned of the discontent of the
people and observed those actions of
the government that he could not
reconcile with his own religious
beliefs. Upon his return to Aba Island
he clearly viewed himself as a
mujaddid, a renewer of the Islamic
faith, his mission to reform Islam and
return it to the pristine form practiced
by the Prophet.
To Muhammad Ahmad the orthodox
'ulama' who supported the
administration were no less infidels
than Christians, and, when he later

lashed out against misgovernment, he

was referring as much to the
theological heresy as to secular
maladministration.
Once he had proclaimed himself
Mahdi (a title traditionally used by
Islamic religious reformers),
Muhammad Ahmad was regarded by
the Sudanese as an eschatological
figure, one who foreshadows the end
of an age of darkness (which
happened to coincide with the end of
the 13th Muslim century) and heralds
the beginnings of a new era of light
and righteousness. Thus, as a divinely
guided reformer and symbol,
Muhammad Ahmad fulfilled the
requirements of Mahdi in the eyes of
his supporters.
Surrounding the Mahdi were:
his followers,

the ansar, and

foremost among them was 'Abd Allah
ibn Muhammad, the caliph (khalifah;
"deputy"), who came from the
Ta'a'ishah tribe of the Baqqarah Arabs
and who assumed the leadership of
the Mahdist state upon the death of
Muhammad Ahmad.
The holy men, the faqihs, who for long
had lamented the sorry state of
religion in the Sudan brought on by
the legalistic and unappealing
orthodoxy of the Egyptians, looked to
the Mahdi to purge the Sudan of the
faithless ones. Also in his following,
more numerous and powerful than the
holy men, were the merchants
formerly connected with the slave
trade. All had suffered from Gordon's
campaign against the trade, and all
now hoped to reassert their economic
position under the banner of religious

war. Neither of these groups, however,

could have carried out a revolution by
themselves.
The third and vital participants were
the Baqqarah (BaKara) Arabs, the
cattle nomads of Kordofan and Darfur
who hated taxes and despised
government. They formed the shock
troops of the Mahdist revolutionary
army, whose enthusiasm and numbers
made up for its primitive technology.
Moreover, the government itself only
managed to enhance the prestige of
the Mahdi by its fumbling attempts to
arrest him and proscribe his
movement.
1882 CE By September 1882, the
Mahdists controlled all of Kordofan.
1883 CE At Shaykan on Nov. 5, 1883,
Sudanese Mahdists destroyed an

Egyptian army of 10,000 men under

the command of a British colonel.
After Shaykan, the Sudan was lost,
and not even the heroic leadership of
Gordon, who was hastily sent to
Khartoum, could save the Sudan for
Egypt.
1885 CE On Jan. 26, 1885, the
Sudanese Mahdists captured
Khartoum and massacred Gordon and
the defenders.
1885 CE Five months after the fall of
Khartoum, the Mahdi suddenly died on
June 22, 1885 and was succeeded by
the Khalifah 'Abd Allah. The Khalifah's
first task was to secure his own
precarious position among the
competing factions in the Mahdist
state. He frustrated a conspiracy by
the Mahdi's relatives and disarmed
the personal retinues of his leading

rivals in Omdurman, the Mahdist

capital of the Sudan. Having curtailed
the threats to his rule, the Khalifah
sought to accomplish the Mahdi's
dream of a universal jihad (holy war)
to reform Islam throughout the Muslim
world.
With a zeal compounded from a
genuine wish to carry out religious
reform, a desire for military victory
and personal power, and an appalling
ignorance of the world beyond the
Sudan, the forces of the Khalifah
marched to the four points of the
compass to spread Mahdism and
extend the domains of the Mahdist
state.
1889 CE By 1889 this expansionist
drive was spent:
In the west the Mahdist armies had
achieved only an unstable occupation

of Darfur.
In the east they had defeated the
Ethiopians, but the victory produced
no permanent gain.
In the southern Sudan the Mahdists
had scored some initial successes but
were driven from the upper Nile in
1897 by the forces of the Congo Free
State of Leopold II of Belgium.
On the Egyptian frontier in the north
the jihad met its worst defeat at
Tushki in August 1889, when an AngloEgyptian army under General F.W.
(later Baron) Grenfell destroyed a
Mahdist army led by 'Abd ar-Rahman
an-Nujumi.
The Mahdist state had squandered its
resources on the jihad, and a period of
consolidation and contraction
followed, necessitated by a sequence
of bad harvests resulting in famine,
epidemic, and death.

1897 The Sudanese Mahdists had

scored some initial successes but
were driven from the upper Nile in
1897 by the forces of the Congo Free
State of Leopold II of Belgium.
1889 -1892 CE Between 1889 and
1892 the Sudan suffered its most
devastating and terrible years, as the
Sudanese sought to survive on their
shriveled crops and emaciated herds.
After 1892 the harvests improved, and
food was no longer in short supply.
Moreover, the autocracy of the
Khalifah had become increasingly
acceptable to most Sudanese, and,
having tempered his own despotism
and eliminated the gross defects of his
administration he too received the
widespread acceptance, if not
devotion, that the Sudanese had

accorded the Mahdi.

In spite of its many defects, the
Khalifah's administration served the
Sudan better than its many detractors
would admit. Certainly the Khalifah's
government was autocratic, but, while
autocracy may be repugnant to
European democrats, it was not only
understandable to the Sudanese but
appealed to their deepest feelings and
attitudes formed by tribe, religion, and
past experience with the centralized
authoritarianism of the Turks. For
them, the Khalifah was equal to the
task of governing bequeathed him by
the Mahdi.
Only when confronted by new forces
from the outside world, of which he
was ignorant, did 'Abd Allah's abilities
fail him. His belief in Mahdism, his
reliance on the superb courage and

military skill of the ansar, and his own

ability to rally them against an alien
invader were simply insufficient to
preserve his independent Islamic state
against the overwhelming
technological superiority of Britain. As
the 19th century drew to a close, the
rival imperialisms of the European
powers brought the full force of this
technological supremacy against the
Mahdist state.
1882 CE British forces invaded and
occupied Egypt in 1882 to put down a
nationalist revolution hostile to foreign
interests and remained there to
prevent any further threat to the
khedive's government or the possible
intervention of another European
power. The consequences of this were
far-reaching. A permanent British
occupation of Egypt required the
inviolability of the Nile waters without

which Egypt could not survive, not

from any African state, who did not
possess the technical resources to
interfere with them, but from rival
European powers, who could.
Consequently, the British government,
by diplomacy and military maneuvers,
negotiated agreements with the
Italians and the Germans to keep
them out of the Nile valley.
1893 CE They were less successful
with the French, who wanted them to
withdraw from Egypt. Once it became
apparent that the British were
determined to remain, the French cast
about for means to force the British
from the Nile valley; in 1893 an
elaborate plan was concocted by
which a French expedition would
march across Africa from the west
coast to Fashoda (Kodok) on the upper
Nile, where it was believed a dam

could be constructed to obstruct the

flow of the Nile waters.
1896 CE After inordinate delays, the
French Nile expedition set out for
Africa in June 1896, under the
command of Captain Jean-Baptiste
Marchand.
1896-1897 CE As reports reached
London during 1896 and 1897 of
Marchand's march to Fashoda,
Britain's inability to insulate the Nile
valley became embarrassingly
exposed. British officials desperately
tried one scheme after another to
beat the French to Fashoda.
They all failed, and by the autumn of
1897 British authorities had come to
the reluctant conclusion that the
conquest of the Sudan was necessary
to protect the Nile waters from French
encroachment. In October an Anglo-

Egyptian army under the command of

General Sir Horatio Herbert Kitchener
was ordered to invade the Sudan.
1898 CE Sir Horatio Herbert Kitchener
pushed steadily but cautiously up the
Nile. His Anglo-Egyptian forces
defeated a large Mahdist army at the
'Atbarah River on April 8, 1898. Then,
after spending four months preparing
for the final advance to Omdurman,
Kitchener's army of about 25,000
troops met the massed 60,000-man
army of the Khalifah outside the city
on Sept. 2, 1898. By midday the
Battle of Omdurman was over. The
Mahdists were decisively defeated
with heavy losses, and the Khalifah
fled, to be killed nearly a year later.
Kitchener did not long remain at
Omdurman but pressed up the Nile to
Fashoda with a small flotilla. There on
Sept. 18, 1898, he met Captain

Marchand, who declined to withdraw-the long-expected Fashoda crisis had

begun. Both the French and British
governments prepared for war.
Neither the French army nor the navy
was in any condition to fight, however,
and the French were forced to give
way.
1899 CE An Anglo-French agreement
of March 1899 stipulated that French
expansion eastward in Africa would
stop at the Nile watershed.
Having conquered the Sudan, the
British now had to govern it. But the
administration of this vast land was
complicated by the legal and
diplomatic problems that had
accompanied the conquest. The
Sudan campaigns had been
undertaken by the British to protect
their imperial position as well as the
Nile waters, yet the Egyptian treasury

had borne the greater part of the

expense, and Egyptian troops had far
outnumbered those of Britain in the
Anglo-Egyptian army. The British,
however, did not simply want to hand
the Sudan over to Egyptian rule; most
Englishmen were convinced that the
Mahdiyah was the result of 60 years of
Egyptian oppression.
To resolve this dilemma the AngloEgyptian Condominium was declared
in 1899, whereby the Sudan was given
separate political status in which
sovereignty was jointly shared by the
khedive and the British crown, and the
Egyptian and the British flags were
flown side by side. The military and
civil government of the Sudan was
invested in a governor-general
appointed by the khedive of Egypt but
nominated by the British government.
In reality, there was no equal

partnership between Britain and Egypt

in the Sudan.
From the first the British dominated
the condominium and set about
pacifying the countryside and
suppressing local religious uprisings,
which created insecurity among
British officials but never posed a
major threat to their rule. The north
was quickly pacified and modern
improvements were introduced under
the aegis of civilian administrators,
who began to replace the military as
early as 1900. In the south, resistance
to British rule was more prolonged;
administration there was confined to
keeping the peace rather than making
any serious attempts at
modernization.
The first governor-general was Lord
Kitchener himself, but in 1899 his
former aide, Sir Reginald Wingate, was

appointed to succeed him. Wingate

knew the Sudan well and during his
long tenure as governor-general
(1899-1916) became devoted to its
people and their prosperity. His
tolerance and trust in the Sudanese
resulted in policies that did much to
establish confidence in Christian
British rule by a devoutly Muslim,
Arab-oriented people.
Modernization was slow at first. Taxes
were purposely kept light, and the
government consequently had few
funds available for development. In
fact, the Sudan remained dependent
on Egyptian subsidies for many years.
Nevertheless, railways, telegraph, and
steamer services were expanded,
particularly in Al-Jazirah, in order to
launch the great cotton-growing
scheme that remains today the
backbone of The Sudan's economy.
In addition, technical and primary

schools were established, including

the Gordon Memorial College, which
opened in 1902 and soon began to
graduate a Western-educated elite
that was gradually drawn away from
the traditional political and social
framework. Scorned by the British
officials, who preferred the illiterate
but contented fathers to the illeducated, rebellious sons, and adrift
from their own customary tribal and
religious affiliations, these Sudanese
turned for encouragement to Egyptian
nationalists; from that association
Sudanese nationalism in this century
was born.
Its first manifestations occurred in
1921, when 'Ali 'Abd al-Latif founded
the United Tribes Society and was
arrested for nationalist agitation. In
1924 he formed the White Flag
League, dedicated to driving the
British from the Sudan.

Demonstrations followed in Khartoum

in June and August and were
suppressed. When the governorgeneral, Sir Lee Stack, was
assassinated in Cairo on Nov. 19,
1924, the British forced the Egyptians
to withdraw from the Sudan and
annihilated a Sudanese battalion that
mutinied in support of the Egyptians.
The Sudanese revolt was ended, and
British rule remained unchallenged
until after World War II.
n 1936 Britain and Egypt had reached
a partial accord in the Anglo-Egyptian
Treaty that enabled Egyptian officials
to return to the Sudan. Although the
traditional Sudanese sheikhs and
chiefs remained indifferent to the fact
that they had not been consulted in
the negotiations over this treaty, the
educated Sudanese elite were
resentful that neither Britain nor Egypt
had bothered to solicit their opinions.

Thus, they began to express their

grievances through the Graduates'
General Congress, which had been
established as an alumni association
of Gordon Memorial College and soon
embraced all educated Sudanese.
At first, the Graduates' General
Congress confined its interests to
social and educational activities, but
with Egyptian support the organization
demanded recognition by the British
to act as the spokesman for Sudanese
nationalism. The Sudan government
refused, and the Congress split into
two groups: a moderate majority
prepared to accept the good faith of
the government, and a radical
minority, led by Isma'il al-Azhari,
which turned to Egypt. By 1943 Azhari
and his supporters had won control of
the Congress and organized the
Ashiqqa' (Brothers), the first genuine
political party in the Sudan. Seeing

the initiative pass to the militants, the

moderates formed the Ummah
(Nation) Party under the patronage of
Sayyid 'Abd ar-Rahman al-Mahdi, the
posthumous son of the Mahdi, with
the intention of cooperating with the
British toward independence.
Sayyid 'Abd ar-Rahman had inherited
the allegiance of the thousands of
Sudanese who had followed his father.
He now sought to combine to his own
advantage this power and influence
with the ideology of the Ummah. His
principal rival was Sayyid 'Ali alMirghani, the leader of the Khatmiyah
brotherhood. Although he personally
remained aloof from politics, Sayyid
'Ali threw his support to Azhari. The
competition between the AzhariKhatmiyah faction--remodeled in 1951
as the National Unionist Party (NUP)-and the Ummah-Mahdist group quickly
rekindled old suspicions and deep-

seated hatreds that soured Sudanese

politics for years and eventually
strangled parliamentary government.
These sectarian religious elites
virtually controlled The Sudan's
political parties until the last decade
of the 20th century, stultifying any
attempt to democratize the country or
to include the millions of Sudanese
remote from Khartoum in the political
process.
Although the Sudanese government
had crushed the initial hopes of the
congress, the British officials were well
aware of the pervasive power of
nationalism among the elite and
sought to introduce new institutions to
associate the Sudanese more closely
with the task of governing. An
Advisory Council was established for
the northern Sudan consisting of the
governor-general and 28 Sudanese,
but Sudanese nationalists soon began

to agitate to transform the Advisory

Council into a legislative one that
would include the southern Sudan.
The British had facilitated their control
of the Sudan by segregating the
animist or Christian Africans who
predominated in the south from the
Muslim Arabs who were predominant
in the north. The decision to establish
a legislative council forced the British
to abandon this policy; in 1947 they
instituted southern participation in the
legislative council.
The creation of this council produced a
strong reaction on the part of the
Egyptian government, which in
October 1951 unilaterally abrogated
the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 and
proclaimed Egyptian rule over the
Sudan. These hasty and ill-considered
actions only managed to alienate the
Sudanese from Egypt until the NasserNaguib revolution in July 1952 placed

men with more understanding of

Sudanese aspirations in power in
Cairo.
On Feb. 12, 1953, the Egyptian
government signed an agreement
with Britain granting self-government
for the Sudan and self-determination
within three years for the Sudanese.
Elections for a representative
Parliament to rule the Sudan followed
in November and December 1953. The
Egyptians threw their support behind
Isma'il al-Azhari, the leader of the
National Unionist Party, who
campaigned on the slogan "Unity of
the Nile Valley." This position was
opposed by the Ummah Party, which
had the less vocal but pervasive
support of British officials. To the
shock of many British officials and to
the chagrin of the Ummah, which had
enjoyed power in the Legislative
Council for nearly six years, Azhari's

NUP won an overwhelming victory.

Although Azhari had campaigned to
unite the Sudan with Egypt, the
realities of disturbances in the
southern Sudan and the
responsibilities of political power and
authority ultimately led him to disown
his own campaign promises and to
declare The Sudan an independent
republic with an elected
representative Parliament on Jan. 1,
1956.

The Republic of The Sudan

The triumph of liberal democracy in
The Sudan was short-lived. Compared
with the strength of tradition, which
still shaped the life of the Sudanese,
the liberalism imported from the West,
disseminated through British
education and adopted by the

Sudanese intelligentsia, was a weak

force.
At first parliamentary government had
been held in high esteem as the
symbol of nationalism and
independence. But at best Parliament
was a superficial instrument. It had
been introduced into The Sudan at
precisely the time parliamentary
forms were rapidly disappearing from
other countries in the Middle East.
Political parties were not wellorganized groups with distinct
objectives, but loose alliances
motivated primarily by personal
interests and loyalty to the various
religious factions. When the tactics of
party management were exhausted,
Parliament became debased,
benefiting only those politicians who
reaped the rewards of power and
patronage. Disillusioned with their
experiment in liberal democracy, the

Sudanese turned once again to

authoritarianism.

The Abbud Government

On the night of Nov. 16-17, 1958, the
commander in chief of the Sudanese
army, General Ibrahim Abbud, carried
out a bloodless coup d'etat, dissolving
all political parties, prohibiting
assemblies, and temporarily
suspending newspapers. A Supreme
Council of the Armed Forces,
consisting of 12 senior officers, was
set up, and army rule brought rapid
economic improvements. The Abbud
government at once abolished the
fixed price on cotton and sold all the
Sudanese cotton, rebuilding the
nation's foreign reserves.
On Nov. 8, 1959, the government
concluded an agreement with Egypt

on the Nile waters, by which Egypt not

only recognized but also appeared to
be reconciled to an independent
Sudan. In the southern Sudan,
Abbud's policies were less successful.
In the name of national unity the army
officers introduced many measures
designed to facilitate the spread of
Islam and the Arabic language.
Important positions in the
administration and police were staffed
by northern Sudanese. Education was
shifted from the English curriculum of
the Christian missionaries, who had
long been solely responsible for
education in the south, to an Arabic,
Islamic orientation. Foreign Christian
missionaries were expelled between
1962 and 1964.
In the southern Sudan itself, the
measures of the central government
met ever-increasing resistance. In
October 1962 a widespread strike in

southern schools resulted in

antigovernment demonstrations
followed by a general flight of
students and others over the border.
In September 1963 rebellion erupted
in eastern Al-Istiwa'iyah (Equatoria)
and in the A'ali An-Nil (Upper Nile)
province led by the Anya Nya, a
southern Sudanese guerrilla
organization that believed that only
violent resistance would make the
government of General Abbud seek a
solution acceptable to the
southerners. In return the generals in
Khartoum increased repression.
Although the northern Sudanese had
little sympathy for their countrymen in
the south, the intelligentsia was able
to use the government's failure there
to assail authoritarian rule in the north
and to revive demands for democratic
government. By 1962, numerous
urban elements, including the

intelligentsia, the trade unions, and

the civil service, as well as the
powerful religious brotherhoods, had
become alienated from the military
regime. Moreover, the tribal masses
and growing proletariat had become
increasingly apathetic toward the
government. In the end the regime
was overwhelmed by boredom and
overthrown by the reaction to its
lassitude. The means of its overthrow
was the southern problem.
In October 1964, students at the
University of Khartoum held a
meeting, in defiance of a government
prohibition, in order to condemn
government action in the southern
Sudan and to denounce the regime.
Demonstrations followed, and, with
most of its forces committed in the
southern Sudan, the military regime
was unable to maintain control. The
disorders soon spread, and General

Abbud resigned as head of state; a

transitional government was
appointed to serve under the
provisional constitution of 1956.

The Sudan since 1964

Under the leadership of Sirr al-Khatim
al-Khalifah, the transitional
government held elections in April and
May 1965 to form a representative
government. A coalition government
headed by a leading Ummah
politician, Muhammad Ahmad Mahjub,
was formed in June 1965. As before,
parliamentary government was
characterized by factional disputes.
On the one hand, Mahjub enjoyed the
support of the traditionalists within
the Ummah Party, represented by the
Imam al-Hadi, the spiritual successor
to the Mahdi, while on the other he

was challenged by Sayyid Sadiq alMahdi, the young great-grandson of

the Mahdi, who led the more
progressive forces within the Ummah.
Unable to find common objectives,
Parliament failed to deal with the
economic, social, and constitutional
problems in The Sudan. Moreover, the
earlier hopes expressed by the
transitional government of
cooperation with the southerners soon
vanished. Conflict continued in the
south, with little hope of resolution. A
group of young officers led by Colonel
Gaafar Mohamed el-Nimeiri--tired of
having no workable constitution, a
stagnant economy, a political system
torn by sectarian interests, and a
continuing civil conflict in the south-seized the government on May 25,
1969.

The Early Nimeiri Regime

When Nimeiri and his young officers
assumed power they were confronted
by threats from communists on the
left and the Ummah on the right.
Nimeiri disbanded the Sudanese
Communist Party, which went
underground, and in his government's
struggles with the Ummah Party under
Imam al-Hadi, the latter was killed and
his supporters dispersed. An abortive
coup by the resilient communists in
July 1971 collapsed after popular and
foreign support held steadfast for the
reinstallation of Nimeiri. The abortive
coup had a profound effect on Nimeiri.
He promised a permanent constitution
and National Assembly, established
himself as president of the state, and
instituted the Sudanese Socialist
Union (SSU) as the country's only
party. The affair also produced the

incentive to press for a resolution to

the southern rebellion.

The Addis Ababa Agreement

In 1971 the southern Sudanese rebels,
who had theretofore consisted of
several independent commands, were
united under General Joseph Lagu,
who combined under his authority
both the fighting units of the Anya
Nya and its political wing, the
Southern Sudan Liberation Movement
(SSLM). Thereafter, throughout 1971
the SSLM, representing General Lagu,
maintained a dialogue with the
Sudanese government over proposals
for regional autonomy and the ending
of hostilities. These talks culminated
in the signing of the Addis Ababa
Agreement on Feb. 27, 1972. The
agreement ended the 17-year conflict

between the Anya Nya and the

Sudanese army and ushered in
autonomy for the southern region,
which would no longer be divided into
the three provinces of Al-Istiwa'iyah
(Equatoria), Bahr Al-Ghazal, and A'ali
An-Nil (Upper Nile). The region's
affairs would be controlled by a
separate legislature and executive
body, and the soldiers of the Anya Nya
would be integrated into the Sudanese
army and police. The Addis Ababa
Agreement brought Nimeiri both
prestige abroad and popularity at
home.

Economic Development
The signing of the Addis Ababa
Agreement enabled economic
development in The Sudan to proceed
using funds that had previously been

allocated for the civil war. This

diversion of government resources to
peaceful projects coincided with the
dramatic growth of petroleum
revenues in the Persian Gulf, and the
Arab states there began investing
large sums in The Sudan in order to
transform it into the "breadbasket" of
the Arab world. The resulting spate of
development projects in the 1970s
was followed by investments from
private multinational corporations and
generous loans from the International
Monetary Fund. The highest priority
was placed on expanding The Sudan's
production of sugar, wheat, and
cotton in order to provide foreign
exchange. The new projects were
accompanied by efforts to expand the
national infrastructure and to
construct the Junqali (Jonglei) Canal
through the great swamps of As-Sudd.
Though these projects were laudable

in conception, their flawed

implementation plunged The Sudan
into a severe economic crisis by 1980
from which it had yet to recover in the
1990s. Few projects were completed
on time, and those that were never
met their production targets. The
steady decline of The Sudan's gross
domestic output from 1977 left the
country in a cycle of increasing debt,
severe inflation, and an everdiminishing standard of living.
There were two fundamental causes
for the failure of The Sudan's
economic development. First, planning
was deficient, and decisions were
increasingly precipitous and mercurial.
There was no overall control, so
individual ministries negotiated
external loans for projects without the
approval of the central planning
authority. The result was not only
incompetent management but also

innumerable opportunities for

corruption. The second cause of
economic failure lay in external events
over which The Sudan had no control.
Rising oil prices dramatically
increased The Sudan's bill for
petroleum products, while the
concomitant development projects in
the Persian Gulf siphoned off from The
Sudan its best professional and skilled
workers, who were lured by high
wages abroad only to create a "brain
drain" at home. Neither the Nimeiri
regime nor its successors proved
successful in breaking this cycle of
persistent economic decline.

The Rise of Muslim Fundamentalism

In the elections of 1965, the Islamic
Charter Front, a political party that
espoused the principles of the Muslim

Brotherhood (Ikhwan Al-Muslimin),

received only an insignificant portion
of the popular vote. But the election
roughly coincided with the return from
France of Hassan at-Turabi, who
assumed the leadership of the party,
now known as the Islamic National
Front (NIF).
Turabi methodically charted the
Brotherhood and the NIF on a course
of action designed to seize control of
the Sudanese government despite the
Muslim fundamentalists' lack of
popularity with the majority of the
Sudanese people. Tightly disciplined,
superbly organized, and inspired by
the resurgence of Islam in the Middle
East, the Muslim Brotherhood
consciously sought to recruit disciples
from the country's youth. It was
relentlessly successful, and by the
1980s the Muslim Brotherhood and
the NIF had successfully infiltrated the

country's officer corps, the civil

service, and the ranks of secondaryschool teachers.
Despite its relatively small size, the
Muslim Brotherhood began to exert its
influence, a fact not unnoticed by
President Nimeiri. The Sudanese
Socialist Union, which he had
established as the sole political party
in The Sudan, had failed to galvanize
popular support. In the face of
deteriorating relations with both the
southern Sudanese and the
traditionalists of the Ummah-Mahdi
grouping, Nimeiri turned increasingly
to the Muslim Brotherhood for
support. He appointed Turabi attorney
general and did not object to the
latter's designs for a new constitution
based partly on Islamic law. In
September 1983 Nimeiri modified the
nation's legal codes to bring them into
accord with Islamic law, the Shari'ah.

This measure was bound to be

resisted by the Christians and animists
of the southern Sudan. Moreover,
Nimeiri was coming to accept the
arguments of the Muslim Brotherhood
and other northern political groups
that the Addis Ababa Agreement had
been a mistake. In June 1983 Nimeiri
unilaterally divided the southern
region again into three provinces,
thereby effectively abrogating the
Addis Ababa Agreement.

Southern reaction
Even before the official demise of the
agreement, the civil war between the
African Christians of the south and the
Muslim Arabs of the north had
resumed with even greater ferocity
than before. There had been sporadic
uprisings in the south since the

signing of the Addis Ababa Agreement

in 1972, but they had been quickly
suppressed. In May 1983, however, an
army battalion stationed at Bor
mutinied and fled into the bush under
the leadership of Colonel John Garang
de Mabior. The rebels had become
disenchanted with Nimeiri and his
government, which was riddled with
corruption and was contemptuous of
southerners. Led by Garang, the ranks
of the Bor garrison, which had taken
up sanctuary in Ethiopia, were soon
swollen by discontented southerners
determined to redress their
grievances by force of arms under the
banner of the Sudanese People's
Liberation Army (SPLA) and its
political wing, the Sudan People's
Liberation Movement (SPLM).

Nimeiri's overthrow and its aftermath

Although Nimeiri at first sought to
crush the rebels by military force, his
deployment of the Sudanese army
only succeeded in disrupting the
distribution of food, which, when
coupled with drought and diminished
harvests, created widespread famine
in the southern Sudan. Without
popular support, Nimeiri found himself
facing a successful armed rebellion in
the south and growing criticism in the
north over the rigour with which he
sought to carry out the brutal corporal
punishments prescribed under the
Shari'ah.
In response, Nimeiri softened his hardline policies; he annulled the state of
emergency that he had invoked five
months earlier, he rescinded the
tripartite division of the south, and he
suspended the more brutal aspects of
the Islamic courts. But these futile

gestures were too late. Nimeiri was

overthrown in a bloodless coup in April
1985 by his chief of staff, General
'Abd ar-Rahman Siwar ad-Dahab.
Although the new military government
held elections in 1986 that returned
Sadiq al-Mahdi as prime minister, the
next three years were characterized
by political instability, indecisive
leadership, party manipulations
resulting in short-lived coalitions, and
abortive attempts to reach a peaceful
settlement with the SPLA. These years
of indecision came to an end on June
30, 1989, when a Revolutionary
Command Council for National
Salvation led by Lieutenant General
'Umar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir seized
power.

Emergence of the National Islamic

Front
The Revolutionary Command Council
(RCC) was in fact the vehicle for the
NIF, the political party of the Muslim
Brotherhood. Bashir and his
colleagues realized that, as a minority
with little popular support, they would
have to resort to harsh measures to
curtail the educated elites who had
been instrumental in organizing
populist revolutions in the past. With a
ruthlessness to which the Sudanese
were unaccustomed, the RCC
imprisoned hundreds of political
opponents, banned trade unions and
political parties, silenced the press,
and dismantled the judiciary. It sought
to prosecute the war in the south with
vigour, inhibited only by the
deterioration of the national economy.
With the support of the NIF, the
Muslim Brotherhood, and a ruthless

and efficient security system, the

most unpopular government in the
modern history of The Sudan
remained firmly in power as the
country entered the last decade of the
20th century.
The confidence of the RCC and its
supporters in the Muslim Brotherhood
enabled President Bashir to
reintroduce Islamic law (Shari'ah),
including corporal punishment, in
March 1991, and emboldened the
government to support Iraq in the
Persian Gulf War.
Both these acts isolated The Sudan
not only from the West but from its
Arab neighbours as well (although the
Libyan government was supportive).
The economy continued to
deteriorate, precipitated by this
isolation and also by civil war in the
south, fallen productivity, and
rampant inflation. There were

widespread shortages of basic

commodities, particularly in the
sensitive urban areas, creating
disturbances which were ruthlessly
suppressed. In the south the army
continued to lose towns to the
Sudanese People's Liberation Army
(SPLA), but it managed to hold the
three provincial capitals of Malakal,
Waw, and Juba.
Unable to defeat the SPLA on the field
of battle, the government armed and
unleashed an Arab militia
(mujahideen) against their traditional
African rivals, principally the Dinka.
Moreover, it consistently ignored pleas
for food and obstructed the efforts of
Western humanitarian relief agencies
to provide food aid. Caught between
two armies, plundered by the Arab
militia, and scourged by a persistent
drought, countless Africans fled to
northern towns and cities or sought

sanctuary in Ethiopia.
Thousands perished fleeing the
endemic East African famine, or in the
camps for the displaced where they
received no relief from the Khartoum
government, which was determined to
crush the SPLA as the initial step in a
policy to Islamize the non-Muslims of
the southern Sudan.

Nubia in the News

Ancient Carving Shows Stylishly Plump
African Princess Live Science January 3, 2012A 2,000-year-old relief
carved with an image of what appears
to be a, stylishly overweight, princess
has been discovered in an "extremely
fragile" palace in the ancient city of
Meroe, in Sudan, archaeologists say.
At the time the relief was made,

Meroe was the center of a kingdom

named Kush, its borders stretching as
far north as the southern edge of
Egypt. It wasn't unusual for queens
(sometimes referred to as "Candaces")
to rule, facing down the armies of an
expanding Rome.
Ancient brew masters tapped drug
secrets PhysOrg - August 31, 2010
Green fluorescence in Nubian
skeletons indicated tetracyclinelabeled bone, the first clue that the
ancients were producing the
antibiotic. A chemical analysis of the
bones of ancient Nubians shows that
they were regularly consuming
tetracycline, most likely in their beer.
The finding is the strongest evidence
yet that the art of making antibiotics,
which officially dates to the discovery
of penicillin in 1928, was common
practice nearly 2,000 years ago.

ShareThis
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2012 THE ALCHEMY OF TIME
The advent of the Prophet Muhammad
(SAW) changed the face of the history
of mankind in a manner that this
world has never seen before. Since
the first man and prophet Adam (AS)
was sent down to Earth, Allah sent
many prophets and messengers to
guide mankind to the Truth and to the
Straight Path. Soon after the deaths of
these prophets, their followers
deviated from the teachings and
corrupted the religion of Allah. He
rejuvenated the Truth as taught by the
previous prophets and messengers,
and re-established the Law of Allah on

Earth through the teachings of the

Qur'an and the practice of the
Sunnah.
At the time of the birth of the Prophet
Muhammad (SAW), two great
prophetic religions were practiced in
the environs of Arabia - namely
Judaism and Christianity. Both of these
religions were born from the basic
teachings of Islam as taught by Musa
(AS) and Isa (AS). However, the
original teachings were lost, and these
religions were born.
Though the Arabs believed in the
concept of a supreme deity as
originally taught by their progenitor
Ibrahim (AS), most of the Arabs had
become polytheists while a minority
amongst them turned towards the
religions of their cousins, i.e. Judaism
and Christianity. The Bait-Al-Haraam in
Makkah, which had been
reconstructed by Ibrahim (AS) for

Allah's worship had been filled with

360 images and idols by these
polytheists.
Most of the Arabs at that time were
illiterate and drenched in pagan
practices. The society was oppressive
and full of vice. Women had no place
in society. They did not inherit any
wealth, and were used by the men
merely for their pleasure. In fact, upon
the death of a man, his sons used to
inherit all of his wives as well along
with his wealth. Birth of girls in a
family was considered to be a curse,
and below the dignity of the family.
Thus, the "honourable" Arabs used to
bury their new born baby girls alive.
The Arabs used to indulge excessively
in wine, gambling and poetry. Having
mastery over the language was
considered to be one of the greatest
pastimes. And the best form was
poetic.

The Arabs led immoral and oppressive

lives. Slavery was rampant, and the
slaves were treated worse than
animals. The weak and poor were
oppressed by the strong. There was
no security of life, property and honor.
The tribes would fight till death over
the smallest problems.
Besides all these defects in their
society, the Arabs possessed some
good qualities too. They were
courageous, wise, and especially
generous towards their guests. They
honored them and were very
hospitable towards them. They were
also great horsemen.
Muhammad's Family - The Quraish
The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was a
direct descendant of the Prophet
Ibrahim (AS) through his eldest son
Isma`il (AS). Makkah continued to be a
thriving city thereafter, and the House

of Allah - the Ka`bah - continued to be

the center of worship in Arabia. It also
attracted traders from all over the
region. The descendents of Isma`il
(AS) - the Arabs - thus settled in
Makkah, and then spread out all over
Arabia. With the passage of time, the
worship of the one Allah was
contaminated and the Ka`bah was
filled with other idols who were
considered to be the daughters of
Allah. Even the well of Zamzam was
forgotten.
Eventually, an Arab tribe called the
Khuza`ah took over the control of
Makkah. They had migrated north
from the Yemen. One of the noblest
tribes of that time was the Quraish
who occupied a prominent place
among the tribes of Arabia. Around
four hundred years after Prophet Isa
(AS), a Quraishi called Qusayy was
married to the daughter of Hulayl, the

chief of the Khuza`ah tribe. Hulayl

preferred Qusayy over his two sons to
succeed him as chief of Makkah, for
Qusayy was an outstanding
personality among the Arabs of his
time. Thus, on the death of Hulayl,
there was a fierce battle, which ended
in arbitration. It was agreed that
Qusayy should rule over Makkah and
be the guardian of the Holy Ka`bah.
Upon his death, Qusayy's mantle was
transferred to his eldest son `Abd alDar, although his younger son `Abdu
Manaf was considered to be a more
honored person even during the
lifetime of Qusayy. The younger
brother `Abdu Manaf continued to
honor his elder brother `Abd al-Dar.
However, the next generation of the
Quraish transferred the leadership of
the tribe from `Abd al-Dar to Hashim,
the son of `Abd Manaf. The Quraish
were divided, and this almost led to a

battle to death between the two sides.

Eventually a compromise was worked
out, allowing the children of `Abdu
Manaf to the rights over levying taxes
and providing food and drink to the
pilgrims, whereas the sons of `Abd alDar would retain the keys of the
Ka`bah and their house would
continue to be the House of Assembly.
Thus peace was restored.
Hashim was the son of `Abdu Manaf.
Thus he gained power and great
respect. It was he who established the
two great caravan journeys from
Makkah - the Caravan of Winter to the
Yemen and the Caravan of Summer to
north-west Arabia and beyond to
Palestine and Syria (see al-Qur'an,
Surah 106). He was married to a
woman from Yathrib name Salma. His
clan was known as the Banu Hashim.
The Banu Hashim were, in particular,
held in high esteem. They were

respected greatly by all.

However Hashim did not live long. He
had two full brothers, `Abdu Shams
and Muttalib, and one half-brother,
Nawfal. `Abdu Shams and Nawfal
were extremely busied with trade, so
the rights of watering and feeding the
pilgrims and also levying taxes fell in
Muttalib's hands. However, more than
anything else, the question of his own
successor worried him most. Hashim
had three sons from wives other than
Salma, and Muttalib himself had sons
himself, but from what he had heard,
none could be compared with
Shaybah, Hashim's son from Salma.
Muttalib had received impressive
reports about Shaybah, who lived in
Yathrib (now Madinah) with his
mother. Therefore, he went to see for
himself, and was thoroughly
convinced that Shaybah had great
qualities of leadership and wisdom. He

convinced Salma to allow Shaybah to

go back to Makkah with him, so that
he would have a chance to succeed
him.
Shaybah came to be known as `Abdul
Muttalib, meaning "Slave of Muttalib".
`Abdul Muttalib impressed the
Makkans greatly, and when Muttalib
died, there was no dispute over the
fact that `Abdul Muttalib was the best
candidate for the job. Thus, he
became the leader of the Banu
Hashim, and was now responsible for
feeding and watering the pilgrims.
`Abdul Muttalib had ten sons. The
youngest, `Abdullah, was his favorite
son. He was married to Amina, the
daughter of Wahb ibn `Abd Manaf ibn
Zuhrah. A few days after his marriage,
`Abdullah had to proceed on business
to Syria with a caravan. While
returning he fell seriously ill and
breathed his last at Madina. Thus,

Amina became a widow. Unfortunately

`Abdullah did not live long enough to
enjoy the happiness of seeing his
expected offspring.
Birth of Muhammad (SAW) - The year
of the Elephant
Over fourteen hundred years ago, the
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was born
to `Abdullah and Amina. He was born
in Makkah, the famed town of the
Arabian Peninsula. According to the
local calendar, it was Monday, 12th
Rabi-ul-Awwal, 571 (there are,
however, some differences with the
dates, although this date is widely
accepted by most people) of the
Christian Era (C.E.). This year is also
known as the Year of the Elephant.
The Year of the Elephant was
celebrated in Arabian history. It was
known as the Year of the Elephant
because that year, Abraha, the vice-

regent of Ethiopia in Yemen attacked

Makkah with an elephant with the
intention of destroying the Ka`bah.
Abraha had made a grand temple in
Sana`a. He wanted to divert all the
attention from the Ka`bah to him
Cathedral. When the Arabs heard of
this, they were angered, and a man if
the tribe of Kinanah secretly defiled
the church one night.
When Abraha heard of this, he was
enraged, and immediately began
planning an attack on the Ka`bah. He
assembled a huge army, which was to
be lead by himself, on the back of an
elephant. On the way to Makkah,
some tribes attacked Abraha's army,
but were easily defeated, and one of
their chiefs, Nufayl was captured. As a
ransom for his life, he was told to
guide the army to Makkah.
When Abraha reached Ta'if, it's
inhabitants rushed out to meet the

army, afraid that Abraha might

mistake their temple of al-Lat is the
Ka`bah and destroy it. They told
Abraha that he had not yet reached
his destination and offered him a
guide, which Abraha accepted.
However, the guide died at a place
called Mughammis, about two miles
south go Makkah, and was buried
there. From Mughammis, Abraha first
sent a detachment of horse to the
outskirts of Makkah. They plundered
the inhabitants there and sent
everything back to Abraha. This
included 200 camels that belonged to
`Abdul Muttalib. Abraha then sent a
messenger to Makkah with the
message that the Abyssinian army
had not come for war, but only to
destroy the Ka`bah, and if bloodshed
was to be avoided, the inhabitants of
Makkah should to send their leader to
the Abyssinian camp. Although

Makkah had no leader after division of

responsibilities between the two clans,
`Abdul Muttalib was considered the
greatest authority n Makkah.
Therefore, `Abdul Muttalib and one of
his sons went to the Abyssinian camp.
When Abraha saw him, he was so
impressed by his appearance, he rose
from his seat to greet him. He sat
beside him on the carpet and asked
the interpreter to inquire if he had any
favor to ask. `Abdul Muttalib replied
that he wanted that his camels be
returned to him. This answer surprised
Abraha, and said he was disappointed
that the camels meant more to `Abdul
Muttalib than his religion. `Abdul
Muttalib replied: "I am the lord of the
camel, and the temple likewise has a
Lord who will defend it." "He cannot
defend it from me," replied Abraha.
"We shall see," said `Abdul Muttalib,
"But give me my camels." The camels

were returned.
`Abdul Muttalib went back, and along
with the other Makkans, prayed to
Allah (SWT) to help them and to
protect the Ka`bah. He then advised
the Makkans to take safety on the
hills surrounding the city. The next
day, Abraha and his army go ready to
march towards Makkah. The elephant
was to lead the army from the front.
However, Nufayl, the reluctant guide,
had learnt some of the words used to
command the elephant, and when
Unays (keeper of the elephant) was
unaware, he commanded the elephant
to kneel. When Unays saw this
happening, he ordered it to get up.
But Nufayl's command had coincided
with a command more powerful the
any man's -- Allah (SWT)'s command.
They beat the elephant with iron bars,
poked hooks in his belly, but the
elephant would just not move. Finally,

they decided to first march toward

Yemen then turn back. At this, the
Elephant rose immediately, but no
sooner were they facing Makkah that
the elephant once again knelt.
This was a clear sign for Abraha to
turn back, but he was blinded by his
personal ambition. It was too late now.
Above, a great wave of darkness
swept over them from the direction of
the sea. The air above their heads, as
high as they could see was full of
birds. These birds moved like swifts,
each carrying three pebbles, one in its
mouth and one between the claws of
each foot. The birds pelted the army
of Abraha with these pebbles, piercing
even their coats of armor. Each pebble
killed the man it struck, and the flesh
began to rot. The plan was a complete
disaster. Abraha's army was routed.
Some men survived including the
elephant. Thus, Makkah and the Holy

Ka`bah were saved by Allah (SWT).

This incident gave the Makkan's more
respect than before. They came to be
known as "the people of God".
The same year, one of the greatest
event of history took place. During
Abraha's attack on the Ka'bah,
`Abdullah, son of `Abdul Muttalib, was
away on a trade journey. On his way
back to Makkah, he stopped over in
Yathrib. There he fell ill. The caravan
returned to Madinah without him.
`Abdul Muttalib sent his son Harith to
Yathrib to accompany his brother
home. But when Harith got to Yathrib,
there was great grief among his
family, for `Abdullah had passed away.
The grief in Makkah was even greater
when Harith returned. Amina was left
a widow, and the only consolation for
her was her unborn child. She was
aware of the intense light within her.
One day she heard a voice say to

her:" You carry in your womb the lord

of this people, and when he is born,
say: "I place him beneath the
protection of the One, from the evil of
every envier"; then name him
Muhammad." Some weeks later, the
child was born, and named
Muhammad. `Abdul Muttalib took the
baby to the Holy Ka'bah, and thanked
God for this gift. A few days later,
`Abdul Muttalib held a feast. When
everyone had eaten, he brought out
his grandson and told them he had
named him Muhammad. A man asked
in surprise why he had named him
Muhammad, for this name had never
been used to name a person before.
`Abdul Muttalib replied: "I wanted
Allah to praise him in Heaven and I
wanted people to praise him on
Earth."
Muhammad's childhood

576 AD: Death of Amina,

Muhammad's (SAW) mother. He was
barely 6 years old then, and became
an orphan. His grandfather, `Abdul
Muttalib becomes his guardian.
578 AD: Death of his grandfather
`Abdul Muttalib. His uncle Abu Talib
becomes his guardian.
582 AD: Travels to Syria where a
Christian monk foretells his
Prophethood.
595 AD: At the age of 25, Muhammad
(SAW) marries Khadija (RA), a noble
widow and a wealthy woman, 15 years
his senior.
602-609 AD
Dissatisfied with the oppression,
immorality and idolatry prevalent in
the society, Muhammad (SAW) used
to go to a cave called Hira on the
Jabal-an-Noor (mountain of light) a few
miles outside Makkah to meditate.

610 AD
Muhammad's (SAW) call to
Prophethood in the Cave of Hira. The
angel Jibra'il (Gabriel) (AS) appears to
him and orders him to read. The first
verses "Read, in the name of thy Lord,
who created..." (96:1-5) are revealed.
613 AD
Beginning of public preaching.
Beginning of persecution of Muslims
by the powerful leaders of Quraysh.
Some Muslims are murdered (Yasir
and his wife Summayah), some burnt
and beaten on the scorching sands
(Bilal, etc.) and some beaten and
whipped (`Uthman, Khabbab,
`Ammar, etc.). (RA)
615 AD
Emigration of around 70 Muslims to
Abyssinia to escape persecution and

to seek refuge under the Christian

King Negus.
616 AD
The Prophet's uncle Hamza (RA) and
Umar (RA) the Great convert to Islam,
boosting the morale of the Muslims.
Seeing the Muslims gaining strength,
the Makkan Quraysh sign an edict to
begin an economic social boycott of
the Muslims and their protecting
clans. The latter are secluded in a
valley called Shi'b Abi Talib. The
Muslims and the protecting clans go
through untold pain and suffering.
619 AD
End of boycott. Deaths of the
Prophet's wife, Khadija (RA) and his
Uncle, Abu Talib - his two greatest
supporters. The Isra' and Mi`raj take
place - Muhammad's (SAW) night
journey to Jerusalem and then to the

Heavens and a meeting with Allah

(SWT). Five times prayers (salat) is
ordained by Allah (SWT) for all
Muslims
620 AD
Muhammad (SAW) seeks refuge in Taif
(south of Makkah), but is chased away
by street urchins throwing stones at
him. Six people from Yathrib (Madina)
convert to Islam.
621 AD
The first Pledge of `Aqabah by a group
of 12 Madinite Muslims, promising to
obey Prophet Muhammad (SAW).
Prophet sends Mus`ab ibn Umayr to
Madina to preach Islam.
622 AD
The second Pledge of `Aqabah by a
group of 72 Madinite Muslims,
promising to stand by him even with

their lives if so required. Mus`ab (RA)

report that every household but 4
have converted to Islam. Madinites
invite Prophet to Madina.
622 AD
The HIJRAH, emigration to Madinah by
the Prophet (SAW) and his Makkan
followers. Having seen to safe exit of
his followers, he was among the last
to leave Makkah. This marks the start
of the Islamic calendar. After his
arrival, the Constitution of Madinah is
framed, outlining the rights and duties
of the Muslims and the Jews within the
Islamic State of Madina. The Prophet
(SAW) is recognized as the ruler, judge
and arbiter of the Islamic State of
Madina.
624 AD
The Battle of Badr between 313 illequipped Muslims and 1000 well-

equipped Makkan (Quraysh) Kuffar

(non believers). The Muslims are
victorious. 13 Muslims are martyred
and prominent leaders of Quraysh are
killed (including Abu Jahl, `Utbah,
Shaybah and Walid, leaders of the
Quraysh) or captured. Banu
Qaynuqa`, one of the Jewish tribes are
expelled from Madina for their breach
of the Constitution of Madina and a
declaration of war on Muslims.
625 AD
The Battle of Uhud between 700
Muslims and 3000 Makkan Quraysh.
Ends in stalement with 72 Muslims
martyred. 300 hypocrites desert
Muslims. The second Jewish tribe of
Banu Nadir, expelled from Madina for
their treachery and conspiracies to kill
the Prophet (SAW) and rebellion.
627 AD

The Battle of the Ditch (Khandaq).

Madina besieged by 10,000 Makkans
and their confederates for a month. A
ditch dug by the Muslims prevents the
advance of the enemy. Eventually,
after some skirmishes, supplies
running short, dissension arose in the
enemy army ranks and the weather
was bad. Seige was lifted. The men of
the third Jewish tribe in Madina - Banu
Qurayzah are executed according to a
judgment of their own law for rebellion
against the state of Madina. Their
women and children are sold into
slavery and move to the oasis of
Khyber.
628 AD
The Treaty of Hudaibiyah signed
between the Muslims and Makkans
with unfavorable terms towards
Muslims. The treaty forced the
Muslims to return to Madina without

performing `umra (lesser pilgrimage).

Other terms of the treaty set peace for
10 years between the Quraysh and
the Muslims, and forcing any
Qurayshis henceforth who would
convert to Islam to be given into the
custody of the Quraysh in Makkah.
The Jews of the oasis of Khyber
prepare to invade Madina. The
Muslims attack Khyber and conquer it.
The Prophet (SAW) sends emissaries
to all neighboring kings and emperors
of the Middle East to accept Islam.
Khalid bin Walid and `Amr ibn al-`Aas
(RA), two of the greatest generals of
the Quraysh embrace Islam but are
unable to come to Madina because of
the Treaty of Hudaybiyah. Also, the
Persian Governor of Yemen accepts
Islam.
629 AD
As per the treaty of Hudaybiyah,

Muslims go to perform `umrah (the

lesser pilgrimage).
630 AD
Allies of the Makkans violate treaty of
Hudaibiyah by attacking a clan that is
allied to the Muslims. In retaliation,
10,000 Muslims march to Makkah and
conquer it without shedding any
blood. Abu Sufyan and many other
Makkan nobles accept Islam. With the
conquest of Makkah, the tribe of
Hawazin feel threatened, and start
amassing a force to subjugate the
Muslims. Two months later, 12,000
Muslims face 30,000 Hawazin at
Hunayn. After an initial setback, the
Muslims are victorious.
630-2 AD
Deputations of tribes from all over
Arabia come to pay allegiance to
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in Madina.

All of Arabia becomes part of the

Islamic State.
631 AD
Hajj delegation led by Abu Bakr (RA).
By this time most of the Arabs all over
Arabia have accepted Islam.
632 AD
The Farewell Hajj and the Farewell
Address or Last Sermon delivered by
the Prophet (SAW) at `Arafat.
632 AD
The completion of the Qur`an and the
Prophet's (SAW) message.
Death of Muhammad (SAW), the Last
Messenger of Allah (SAW), in Madina
on the 12th of Rabi` al-Awwal at the
age of 63.
Discover The Truth
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Home Islam Did Jews Get Expelled

From Arabia?
Did Jews Get Expelled From Arabia?
by DISCOVER THE TRUTH JANUARY
10, 2016
Kaleef K. Karim & Aliyu Musa Misau
This article examines an incident that
occurred at the time of Caliph Umar
ibn Khattab (ra), concerning the
expulsion of Jews from the Hejaz
region.
It has been narrated by Umar b. alKhattib that he heard the Messenger
of Allah say: I will expel the Jews and
Christians from the Arabian Peninsula
and will not leave any but Muslim.

(Sahih Muslim Book 19, Hadith 4366).

The above Hadith often gets
misquoted. If one were to read it at
face value, one would think and
believe this is what Muhammed (p)
intended all along, that is for the nonMuslims to be exiled out of Arabia
without reason. However when we
examine why they were expelled, one
would realise that it wasnt because
they were non-Muslim, rather it
had more to do with the fact of the
hostilities which they committed
against the Muslim community, and
continued to do even after the
Prophets (p) demise.
To begin with, what does Arabian
Peninsula mean when the term was
used 1400 years ago? Geographically
speaking, the Arabian Peninsula is not
what is thought to be by modern
terminology. The Arabian Peninsula
may mean Arabia as a whole (Middle-

East) by todays thinking, but

originally the term was the
surrounding areas of Makkah and
Madinah Hijaz. This has been stated
my many medieval scholars, that the
Hadith specifically speaks about the
Hijaz region, Makkah and Madinah
only.
The following sources state and
understood that the Jews and the
Christians are not allowed in the
region of al-Hijaz surrounding Makkah
and Madinah not the whole middleeast:
Professor Jonathan A.C. Brown:
This was not accomplished until
the reign of the second Caliph, Umar,
who acted on the Prophets order and
expelled the Jews of khaybar, north of
Medina, from the Hejaz. Bukhari
notes that it was the area of the twin
shrine cities of Mecca and Medina,
extending south to the mountains of

Yemen and east across the craggy

ridges of the Hejaz to the central
Arabian oases of Yamama (near
present-day Riyadh). Hence Malik had
concluded that Umar had not expelled
the Jews of the Tayma oasis in the
northern Hejaz because it was not
considered part of the Peninsula of the
Arabs. In later centuries Christian
merchants would even accompany
Hajj caravans from Syria down into the
Hejaz until they were within three
days travel of Medina. Furthermore,
medieval ulama recognized that the
Peninsula of the Arabs could not
include Yemen, since Jewish
communities flourished there since
the beginning of Islam. [1]
Kitab al-Maghazi Al-Waqidi:
When news about the Messenger of
Gods conquest of Khaybar, Fadak,
and Wadi al-Qura, reached the Jews of

Tayma they made peace with the

Messenger of God on the jizya, and
their property was established in their
hands. During the caliphate of Umar,
he expelled the Jews of Khaybar and
Fadak, but he did not expel the Jews of
Tayma and Wadi al-Qura, because the
latter were within the land of al-Sham.
It was believed that land from below
Wadi al-Qura to Medina was the Hijaz.
And what was north of the Hijaz was
part of al-Sham. [2]
Thus shows, historically speaking, that
the term Arabian Peninsula was
exclusively applied to south of Hijaz,
and was never applied to other areas
of the Arabian Peninsula. A map of this
(below) should shed more light where
this expulsion was specific to:
The Hadith under discussion on Jews
being expelled was specifically
referring to the red area highlighted

as being the Arabian peninsula, at the

time of the Prophet (p). Some other
sources go as far as to say it was only
the south of Hijaz, the north (above
Madina) was not included.
Looking at the map we see that
Arabian Peninsula was pointed to the
surrounding areas of Makkah and
Madinah, not the whole Middle-East.
Having previously written about the
Jews of Khaybar, Dr. Shawqi Abu Khalil
pointed out that the Jews of Khaybar
hired soldiers from the people of
Ghatafan to fight against the Muslims.
In return, they would give the
Ghatafan tribe a certain percentage of
their yearly harvest.[3]
When the Jews of Khaybar were
surrounded by the Muslims for what
they did, they surrendered and made
a treaty with the Prophet (p). Prophet
(p) told them that they could stay on
the land of Khaybar as long as they

gave half of harvest they produced

and abided by that treaty. If they
broke the treaty i.e., became hostile,
show aggression, or hurt the Muslims,
they would be expelled from the land,
and this was exactly what they did at
the time of the Caliphate of Umar
this we shall write about further in the
article. This treaty is confirmed in the
following early sources:
Kitab Futuh al-Buldan:
THE TERMS MADEAl-Husain ibn-alaswad from Muhammad ibn-Ishak who
said: I once asked ibn-Shihab about
Khaibar and he told me that he was
informed that the Prophet captured it
by force after a fight, and that it was
included among the spoils which Allah
assigned to his Prophet. The Prophet
took its fifth and divided the land
among the Moslems. Those of its
people who surrendered did so on
condition that they leave the land; but

the Prophet asked them to enter into a

treaty, which they did. (Kitab Futuh
al-Buldan, volume 1, page 43) [4]
In Kitab ul-Amwaal Abu Ubayd Ibn alQasim tells us that Umar Ibn Khattab
expelled the people Hijaz because
they broke a treaty. The breach was
from them, not the Muslims:
Abu Ubaydah said: We see that he
(Prophet) only said this as the breach
(of the treaty) was from them and out
of the issue that transpired after the
treaty. This is clear in the letter that
Umar wrote to them before his
expulsion of them. [5]
In the above two reports we see that
there was a treaty between the Jews
and the Muslims. If they had broken
any of that treaty i.e., as stated earlier
by being hostile, using aggression
against the Muslim community, they
would be expelled.
The last part of this question

regarding the expulsion of the Jews

from Hijaz is, why were the Jews
expelled from Hijaz? From a number of
authentic early sources, we are told
that the Jews mistreated, and or
murdered, and had beaten Muslims.
And this led to Caliph Umar expelling
them from Hijaz.
In this report from Kitab Futuh alBuldan it says that they mistreated
Muslims:
UMAR EXPELS THE PEOPLE OF
KHAIBARDuring the caliphate of Umar
ibn-al-Khattab, a pestilence spread
among them and they mistreated the
Moslems. Umar, thereupon, made
them evacuate the land, divided what
they had among the Moslems who
already had a share in it. (Kitab Futuh
al-buldan, volume 1, page 42) [6]
In the following report (Sahih alBukhari), we are told that Ibn Umar
went to do business in Khaybar he

was attacked and had his shoulder

dislocated. The other sources
mentioned also that Ibn Umars
companions were beaten in Khaybar:
Narrated Ibn `Umar: When the
people of Khaibar dislocated `Abdullah
bin `Umars hands and feet, `Umar
got up delivering a sermon saying,
No doubt, Allahs Messenger made a
contract with the Jews concerning
their properties, and said to them, We
allow you (to stand in your land) as
long as Allah allows you. Now
`Abdullah bin `Umar went to his land
and was attacked at night, and his
hands and feet were dislocated.
(Sahih al-Bukhari, volume 3, Book 50,
Hadith 890)
Sirat Rasul Allah Ibn Ishaq:
Nafi client of Abdullah b. Umar told
me from Abdullah b. Umar: With alZubayr and al-Miqdad b. al-Aswad I
went out to our property in Khaybar to

inspect it, and when we got there we

separated to see to our individual
affairs. In the night I was attacked as I
was asleep on my bed and my arms
were dislocated at the elbows. They
reset my arms and then took me to
Umar who said, This is the work of
the Jews. Then he got up and
addressed those present saying that
the apostle had arranged with the
Jews of Khaybar that we could expel
them if we wished; that they had
attacked Abdullah b. Umar and
dislocated his arms, as they had heard
in addition to their attack on the
Ansari previously, there was no doubt
that they were the authors of these
outrages because there was no other
enemy on the spot. Therefore if
anyone had property in Khaybar he
should go to it, for he was on the point
of expelling the Jews. And he did expel
them. [7]

Kitab Futuh al-Buldan:

UMAR DIVIDES KHAIBAR The
Prophet turned Khaibar over to the
hands of its people on condition that
they give him one-half of the produce.
Thus they held it during the life of the
Prophet, Abu-Bakr and the early part
of the Caliphate of Umar. Then
Abdullah ibn-Umar visited them for
some purpose and they attacked him
in the night. He [Umar], therefore,
turned them out of Khaibar and
divided it among those of the Moslems
who were present [in its battle] giving
a share to the Prophets wives. (Kitab
Futuh al-Buldan, volume 1, page 49)
[8]
Kitab al-Kharaj Yahya Ibn Adam:
The Prophet gave Khaybar to its
inhabitants (for cultivation) against
payment of half of the produce, and
the palm trees as we think against

payment of the fifth of the yield, and it

remained in their possession during
the lifetime of the Prophet, Abu Bakr
and Umar. Then Abdullah ibn Umar
came to them on some business, and
they attacked him at night and
wounded him. [9]
Musnad Ibn Hanbal:
It was narrated that Abdullah bin
Umar said: az-zubair, al-Miqdad bin alAswad and I went out to our property
in Khaibar to take care of it. When we
got there, we dispersed, each man
going to his property. I was attacked
under cover of night when I was
sleeping on my bed and my arms
were dislocated at the elbows. They
treated my arms then they brought
me to Umar who said: This is the work
of some Jews. Then he stood and
addressed the People and said, O
people, the Messenger of Allah made

a deal with the Jews of Khaibar on the

basis that we could expel them
whenever we want. They have
attacked Abdullah bin Umar and
dislocated his arms, as you heard
about their attack on the Ansari
before him. We do not doubt that they
are the ones who did it, as we no
other enemy but them. Whoever has
property in Khaibar, let him go there,
for I am going to expel the Jews. Then
he expelled them. (Musnad Ibn
hanbal, volume 1, page 76) [10]
In this report, from Kitab Futuh albuldan, we are told that the Jews of
Khaybar used to mistreat Muslims and
broke the hands of Umars son by
hurling him off a roof, trying to murder
him:
UMAR DIVIDES KHAIBARIt was stated
by Nafi that during the caliphate of
Umar ibn-al-Khattab, the people of

Khaibar mistreated the Moslems and

deceived them and broke the hands of
the son of Umar by hurling him from
the roof of a house. Consequently,
Umar divided the land among those of
the people who had taken part in the
battle of Khaibar. (Kitab Futuh alBuldan, volume 1, page 45) [11]
In this last report, Islamic scholar,
Muhammad Said Ramaan Bui,
mentions besides hurting Ibn Umar
that they also murdered an innocent
Muslim and this subsequently led to
Umar expelling them.
As we saw in the account of the
Battle of Khaybar, the Jews of Khaybar
were allowed to remain in their homes
and till their land, keeping one-half of
its produce. This situation continued
until the caliphate of Umar ibn alKhatab. However, they killed one of
the Helpers and attacked him with
Abdullah ibn Umar, pulling his hands

out of their sockets.Speaking to the

Muslims, Umar said, The Messenger
of God (pbuh) declared to the Jews
that, although he was allowing them
to remain in their land, we possessed
the right to expel them should we
choose to do so. Now, however, as
you are aware, they have murdered
one of the Helpers and assaulted
Abdullah ibn Umar, wrenching his
hands out of their sockets. They are
only remaining enemy; hence, if
anyone has possessions in Khaybar,
let him claim them now, for I am bout
to expel the Jews. [12]
In some of the reports it is stated that
Umar accused them of the crimes and
hence they were exiled out of Hijaz.
Such wordings should be taken with a
grain of salt. Umar Ibn Khattab would
never carry out such a big command
unless he fully investigated that Jews
of Khaybar were clearly the ones who

carried out the crimes against Ibn

Umar and other Muslims. Note: this
wasnt the first time they attacked
and even killed Muslims, if one reads
the above narrations carefully, one
would realise that they committed
various other crimes before Ibn
Umars incident.
Umar Ibn Khattab was a man of truth
and stood up to justice, even if it were
against his own people (Muslims). We
have a report where a non-Muslim was
killed by a Muslim and after
investigation, Umar executed the
Muslim man for taking an innocent
non-Muslim life:
As for a Muslim who kills a dhimmi,
the ruling is that he should be
executed in retaliation (qisas). This
happened during Umars caliphate,
when a Muslim killed a dhimmi in
Syria, and was executed in
retaliation. [13]

There is another report cited by critics

that Muhammed (p) all along wanted
to expel Jews from Arabia:
Two Deens (religions) shall not coexist in the Arabian Peninsula
(Muwatta Malik Book 45, Hadith 18)
From the above it is deduced by critics
and orientalists alike that Muhammad
(p) wanted to exile Jews out of Arabia
long before Umar became Caliph.
The narration is very odd to say the
least. If such a plain commandment
was given, why didnt the Prophet (p)
himself execute such order when he
was still alive?
Why did the first Caliph Abu Bakr
Siddiq (ra) not carry out the
commandment of the Prophet (p) if
such a ruling was indeed given out?
Why didnt the many Sahabas
(Companions) who knew of this
Prophetic saying inform the Caliph at
the time of such an order being in

place?
Why didnt Umar ibn Khattab (ra)
carry out the commandment of
expelling the Jews from Hijaz, but only
did so towards the end of his life?
The only probable explanation is that
such commandment was only given of
the Jews of Hijaz if they were to break
the treaty that was between Muslims
and them (Kitab amwaal, Abu Ubayd).
And hence, would make more sense
that the two religions will not exists
because at the time, the Jews of
Khaybar were very hostile to the
Muslim community, as we have
already read about them, that they
committed all kinds of crimes against
Muslims.
Conclusion:
It is very important whenever we read
religious scripture, not to rush to make
judgement on it without thorough
investigation of the historical

circumstances why they were

revealed to get a better
understanding.
One who is not well learned in Islamic
history could make all kinds of
conclusions reading the two Hadith
cited, and at times could have dire
consequences when used by
extremists from those who call
themselves Muslim and bigoted
supremacist Christians and hate-filled
Zionists and their likes. The former
would use such Hadith to oppress
minorities who have lived in MiddleEast for centuries without problems.
Whereas the latter would disseminate
false information regarding these
Hadith to layman who dont have no
knowledge on Islamic history and he
or she would go around attacking
innocent Muslims who have done
nothing to deserve any of it.
From the above reports, we gather

that the Jews of Hijaz were not

expelled because of their faith.
Rather, historical reports tell us they
were hostile and committed many
crimes against the Muslims. For those
who claim that Jews were expelled
because of Prophet Muhammeds
command on his death-bed, fail to
demonstrate that his command of
expelling the Jews from the Arabian
Peninsula (specifically Hijaz) was on
condition that they abided by the
treaty set after the incident of
Khaybar. If they failed abide by the
pact then they would no longer have a
right to live in the land (Kitab alamwaal, Abu Ubayd).
Furthermore, we have to remember,
the Muslim community had many
external and internal enemies in Hijaz,
where they wanted to put an end to
the nascent Muslim community. So,
Umar ibn Khattab couldnt take any

chances in giving the Jews of Khaybar

more chances when they were
external threat that could jeopardize
lives of Muslims. Them being expelled
from Hijaz was more to do with the
fact that they broke the treaty,
murdered, mistreated Muslims and
attacked companions and Umars son.
Hence, the only way for there to be
peace in Madinah and Makkah,
without lives being lost on both sides,
Umar decided to carry out the
Prophets command in expelling them
since they broke the treaty and were
threat to the Muslim community at the
time, 1400 years ago.
References:
[1] Misquoting Muhammad: The
Challenge and Choices of Interpreting
the Prophets Legacy [Copyright 2014]
By Jonathan A. C. Brown, page 127[2]
The Life of Muhammad: Al-Waqidis
Kitab Al-Maghazi, [Translator Rizwi

Faizer], page 350[3] Dr. Shawqi Abi

Khalil:The Jews of Khaibar contacted
the people of the Ghatafan tribe, who
were known to be mercenaries for
hire. As a reward for fighting the
Muslims, the Jews of Khaibar offered
them a percentage of their yearly
harvest, which consisted mainly of
fruits and dates. They furthermore
established alliances with the tribes of
Fadak, Taima and Wadi Al-Qura;
together, they were to launch a
surprise attack on Al-Madinah. Having
been informed of their plans, the
Muslims who witnessed Al-Hudaibiyah
travelled to Khaibar, in order to bring
an end to the plotting of its
inhabitants and their allies.Atlas of
the Quran Places. Nations.
Landmarks. By Dr. Shawqi Abu Khalil,
page 307 308[4] Kitab Futuh AlBuldan, By al-Imam abu-l Abbas
Ahmad Ibn-Jabir al-Baladhuri,

(Translated by Philip Khuri Hitti, PH.

D.), [New York Columbia Univeristy,
Longmans, Green & Co., Agents
London: P. S. King & Son, LTD. 1916],
volume 1, page 43[5] Kitab alAmwaal, Abu Ubayd ibn al-Qasim,
page 100[6] Kitab Futuh Al-Buldan, By
al-Imam abu-l Abbas Ahmad Ibn-Jabir
al-Baladhuri, (Translated by Philip
Khuri Hitti, PH. D.), [New York
Columbia Univeristy, Longmans,
Green & Co., Agents London: P. S.
King & Son, LTD. 1916], volume 1,
page 42[7] Ibn Ishaqs Sirat Rasul
Allah The Life of Muhammad
Translated by A. Guillaume, Page 525
[8] Kitab Futuh Al-Buldan, By al-Imam
abu-l Abbas Ahmad Ibn-Jabir alBaladhuri, (Translated by Philip Khuri
Hitti, PH. D.), [New York Columbia
Univeristy, Longmans, Green & Co.,
Agents London: P. S. King & Son,
LTD. 1916], volume 1, page 49[9]

Taxation in Islam [Kitab al-Kharaj] By

Yahya b. Adam, (Translated: A. Ben
Shemesh), page 39[10] English
Translation of Musnad Imam Ahmed
Bin Hanbal, volume 1, page 76[11]
Kitab Futuh Al-Buldan, By al-Imam
abu-l Abbas Ahmad Ibn-Jabir alBaladhuri, (Translated by Philip Khuri
Hitti, PH. D.), [New York Columbia
Univeristy, Longmans, Green & Co.,
Agents London: P. S. King & Son,
LTD. 1916], volume 1, page 45[12]
The Jurisprudence of the Prophetic
Biography & A Brief History of the
Rightly guided caliphate By
Muammad Said Ramaan Buti, page
529[13] Umar Ibn Al-Khattab His Life
& Times [International Islamic
Publishing House], By Dr. Muhammad
as-Sallabi, volume 1, page 528
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THE ORIGINAL SOURCES
OF THE QUR'AN
CHAPTER V.

ZOROASTRIAN ELEMENTS IN THE

QUR'AN AND TRADITIONS OF ISLAM
THE political influence which the
Persians exercised over certain parts
of the Arabian Peninsula and the
neighbouring countries in and before
Muhammad's time was very
considerable; as we learn from
Arabian and Greek writers alike. Abu'l
Fida, for example, informs us that,
early in the seventh century of the
Christian era, Khusrau (or, as the
Arabs called him, Kisra') Anushiravan,
the great Persian conqueror, invaded
the kingdom of Hirah on the banks of
the Euphrates, dethroned the king
Hirah, and placed upon the throne in
his stead a creature of his own, named
Mundhir Mai's Sama. Not long
afterwards Anushiravan sent an army
into Yaman, under a general called
Vahraz, to expel the Abyssinians who
had taken possession of the country,

and to restore the Yamanite prince

Abu's Saif to the throne of his
ancestors1. But the Persian force
remained in the country, and its
general ultimately himself ascended
the throne and handed it down to his
descendants2. Abu'l Fida tells us3 that
the princes of the family of Mundhir
who succeeded him in Hirah, and
ruled also over the Arabian 'Iraq, were
merely governors under the kings of
Persia. He says with reference to
Yaman that four Abyssinian rulers and
eight Persian princes held sway there
before it acknowledged Muhammad's4
sovereignty. But even earlier than
Muhammad's time there was much
intercourse between the North-West
and West of Arabia and the Persian
dominions. We are informed that
Naufal and Muttalab (who were the
brothers of Muhammad's greatgrandfather), when they were the

leading chiefs of the Quraish, made a

treaty with the Persians, by which the
merchants of Mecca were permitted to
trade with 'Iraq and Fars (the ancient
Persia). In the year 606, or about that
time, a party of merchants headed by
Abu Sufyan reached the Persian
capital and were received into the
king's presence5.
When Muhammad laid claim to the
prophetic office in 612 A.D., the
Persians had overrun and held
possession for a time of Syria,
Palestine, and Asia Minor. At the time
of the Hijrah in A.D. 622, the Emperor
Heraclius had began to retrieve the
fortunes of the Byzantine Empire, and
not long after the Persians were
obliged to sue for peace. In
consequence of this, Badzan, the
Persian governor of Yaman, deprived
of the hope of support from home,
was obliged to submit to Muhammad

and agree to pay tribute (A.D. 628).

Within a few years of the Prophet's
death the armies of Islam had overrun
Persia and converted the great mass
of its people by the sword.
Whenever two nations, the one highly
advanced in civilization and the other
in a state of comparative ignorance,
are brought into close intercourse with
one another, the former always
exercises a very considerable
influence over the other. All history
teaches us this lesson. Now in
Muhammad's time the Arabs were in a
very unenlightened condition; in fact
their own writers speak of pre-Islamic
ages as "The Times of Ignorance." The
Persians, on the other hand, as we
learn from the Avesta, from the
cuneiform inscriptions of Darius and
Xerxes, from the still existing ruins of
Persepolis, and from the evidence of
Greek writers, had from at least very

early times been highly civilized. It

was but natural therefore that
intercourse with them should leave its
impress upon the Arabs. From Arabian
historians and from the statements of
the Qur'an and its commentators it is
evident that the romantic legends and
the poetry of the Persians had in
Muhammad's time obtained a very
considerable degree of popularity
among the Arabs. So widely were
some of these tales known among
theQuraish that Muhammad was
accused by his enemies of having
borrowed or imitated them in the
Qur'an. Ibn Hisham, for instance, says
that one day when Muhammad "had
gathered an assembly, then he
summoned them to God Most High
and read the Qur'an there, and
warned them what would befall the
nations that remained destitute of
faith. Then Nadr bin Al Harith, who

had followed him into his assembly,

rose up and told them about Rustam
the strong and about Isfandiyar and
the kings of Persia. Then He said, By
God! Muhammad is not a better storyteller than I am, and his discourse is
nothing but the Tales of the Ancients.
He has composed them just as I have
composed them. On his account
therefore did God send down the
verse: And6 they have said, Tales of
the Ancients hath he written down,
and they are recited to him morning
and evening. Say thou, He who
knoweth what is secret in the heavens
and the earth hath sent it down: verily
He is forgiving, merciful. And on his
account this also came down: When7
our verses are recited to him, he hath
said, Tales of the Ancients! And this
also descended for his benefit: Woe8
unto every sinful liar that heareth
God's verses read to him; then he

persisteth in being proud, as if he did

not hear them! Therefore give him
good news of a sore punishment9."
Muhammad's answer to the charge
thus brought against him cannot have
been altogether satisfactory to his
audience, nor can we deem it
sufficient to deter us from inquiring
whether an examination of certain
passages of the Qur'an does not bear
out the assertion thus made by his
early opponents.
The stories of "Rustam and Isfandiyar
and the Kings of Persia" which were
referred to by Nadr are doubtless
among those which, some generations
later, Firdausi, the most celebrated of
the epic poets of Persia, learnt from
the collection which he tells us a
Persian villager had made, and which
Firdausi has left us in poetic form in
the Shahnameh. Doubtless all these
tales are very ancient in some form,

but we need not depend upon

theShahnameh for those which we
should have to quote or refer to; and
this is well, because the authority of a
work, which, in its present poetical
form, is later than Muhammad's time,
might not be deemed sufficient.
Fortunately in the Avesta and other
books of the Parsis or Zoroastrians we
have information which cannot be
called in question on the ground of
antiquity, and it is to these we shall
appeal.
It may be safely concluded that, since
the tales of the kings of Persia were of
interest to the Arabs and they had
heard of Rustam and Isfandiyar, they
are unlikely to have been quite
ignorant of the story of Jamshid. Nor is
it probable that the Persian fables
regarding the ascension to heaven of
Arta Viraf and of Zoroaster before him,
their descriptions of Paradise and the

Bridge of Chinvat and tile tree

Hvapah, the legend of Ahriman's
coming up out of primaeval darkness,
and many other such marvellous
tales, had remained entirely unknown
to the Arabs. If they were known, it
was natural that Muhammad should
have made some use of them, as he
did of Christian and Jewish legends.
We must therefore inquire whether
such fancies have left any trace upon
the Qur'an and the Traditions current
among the Muslims. We shall see that
not only is this the case, but that in
some instances these Persian tales
are so indubitably of Aryan and not of
Semitic origin that they are found in
slightly modified forms in India also. In
fact some of them were, so to speak,
part of the religious and intellectual
heritage of both nations; and when
the Persians and the Hindus separated
from one another, and, leaving their

ancient common home the

Airyanem Vaejo10 near Herat,
migrated to Persia and India
respectively, were carried away in the
minds of both peoples. Others of
these ideas may very possibly have
originated in Persia somewhat later,
and have spread to India in process of
time. We shall see that they had
certainly reached Muhammad's ears,
and they have not been without
influence upon the Qur'an and the
Traditions, which claim to have been
handed down by his devoted
followers, relating what they assert
that they heard from his lips.
1. The Night Journey.
The first matter with which we shall
here deal is the celebrated account of
Muhammad's Night Journey. This is
thus referred to in a verse which we
have already11 quoted (Surah XVII., Al

Asra' also called Surah Banu Israil'

1):
"Praise be to Him who caused His
servant to journey by night from the
Sacred Mosque to the Farther Mosque,
whose enclosure We have blessed,
that We might show him of Our signs."
it is well known that commentators on
the Qur'an are by no means agreed
with regard to this verse, some
thinking that Muhammad merely
dreamt that he made the journey
mentioned in it, others taking it in a
literal sense and adding many details
from Tradition, and others again
explaining it in a mystical or figurative
sense. Ibn Ishaq for example, informs
us, giving his traditional authority,
that Muhammad's favourite wife
'Ayishah used to say, "The body of the
Apostle of God did not disappear, but
God took his spirit on the journey by
night." Another Tradition reports that

Muhammad himself said, "My12 eye

was sleeping and my heart was
awake." The celebrated mystical
commentator Muhiyyu'd Din accepted
the whole account only in a
metaphorical sense13. As, however,
we are not concerned seriously to
discuss the question of the occurrence
of this "Night Journey," we need not
deal further with this view. It is certain
that the great mass of Muhammadan
commentators and Traditionalists
believe that Muhammad actually went
from Mecca to Jerusalem and also
visited the heavens, and they give
long accounts, of deep and abiding
interest to Muslims, regarding what he
did and what he saw. It is with this
Tradition that we have to deal, and we
shall see that it is easy to trace the
origin of its main features to earlier
legends, and especially to Zoroastrian
sources. This is true, whether we

believe with the vast mass of

Muhammadans that Muhammad
himself gave such an account of his
Miraj as the ones we now proceed to
translate, or infer that the whole
legend is the production of somewhat
later times14. We quote Ibn Ishaq's
account first, because it is the earliest
that has reached us. It is given by Ibn
Hisham, his editor and continuator, in
the following manner. Muhammad, we
are informed, asserted that Gabriel
came and awoke him twice to go on
the "Night Journey," but he fell asleep
again. Then he continues:
"Accordingly he (Gabriel) came to me
the third time: then he touched me
with his foot, and I sat up. He seized
me by my arm, and I stood up with
him. He then sent forth to the door of
the Mosque: and lo! a white animal,
(in appearance) between a mule and
an ass; on its flanks were two wings,

with which it rules both its hind feet:

its fore-foot it sets down at the limit of
its glance. He mounted me upon it,
then he went forth with me, (in such a
way that) he does not precede me and
I do not precede him. When I
approached it (the animal) to mount
it, it reared. Accordingly Gabriel
placed his hand upon its mane: then
he said, O Buraq, art thou not
ashamed of what thou art doing I (I
swear) by God, O Buraq, there never
mounted thee before Muhammad a
servant of God more honoured with
God than he is. Accordingly (Buraq)
became so much ashamed that he
poured forth sweat. Then he stood still
till I mounted him." "Al Hasan in his
Tradition has said, The Apostle of God
went, and Gabriel went with him, until
he reached the Holy House
(Jerusalem) with him. There he found
Abraham and Moses and Jesus amid a

band of the prophets. Accordingly the

Apostle of God acted as their leader
(Imam) in worship, and prayed with
them, thereupon (Gabriel) brought two
vessels, in one of which there was
wine and in the other milk.
Accordingly the Apostle of God took
the vessel of milk and drank of it, and
left the vessel of wine. Therefore
Gabriel said to him, Thou hast been
guided to Nature and thy people have
been guided to Nature, O Muhammad,
and wine is forbidden you. Then the
Apostle of God departed, and when it
was morning he went to the Quraish
and gave them this information. Then
said very many people, By God! this
matter is clear: by God! a caravan
takes a month from Mecca to Syria,
and a month in returning, and does
that fellow Muhammad go in one night
and come back to Mecca15?"
According to this narrative,

Muhammad went only from Mecca to

Jerusalem and back in one night. Later
traditions amplify the journey
considerably, all, however, professing
to give the account which the reciter
declared came from Muhammad
himself. In the Mishkatu'l Masabih the
following story is given, with the usual
string of names of those through
whom the tradition was handed down:

"The Prophet16 of God related, ...

While I was asleep, ... lo! a comer
came to me: then he opened what is
between this and this ..., and he took
out my heart. Then I was brought a
golden cup full of faith. My heart was
washed, then it was replaced, then I
came to myself. ... Then I was brought
an animal smaller than a mule and
taller than a donkey, and white: it is
called Buraq, and places its front feet
at the far end of its range of sight.

Then I was set upon it, and Gabriel

carried me off until I came to the
lowest heaven. He demanded
admittance. It was said, Who is that?
He said, Gabriel. It was said, And
who is with thee? He said,
Muhammad. It was said, And was he
sent for? He said, Yes. It was said,
Welcome to him, and very good is his
coming. Then one opened.
Accordingly, when I entered, lo! Adam
was there. Gabriel said, This is thy
father Adam, therefore salute him.
Accordingly I saluted him and he
returned the salute. Then he said,
Welcome to the good son and the
good prophet." The story goes on
with wearisome repetition of much the
same account, telling us how Gabriel
took Muhammad from heaven to
heaven, being asked the same
questions at each door, and answering
them in precisely the same way. In the

second heaven Muhammad was

introduced to John the Baptist and
Jesus, in the third to Joseph, in the
fourth to Idris, in the fifth to Aaron, in
the sixth to Moses. The latter wept,
and when asked why, replied that the
cause of his tears was the knowledge
that more of Muhammad's followers
than of his own people would enter
Paradise. In the seventh heaven
Muhammad met Abraham, and the
usual greeting took place. "Afterwards
I was carried aloft to the Sidratu'l
Muntaha17, and lo its fruits were like
the pots of a potter, and lo! its leaves
were like the ears of an elephant. He
said, This is the Lotus of the
Boundary. Then lo! four rivers, two
interior rivers and two exterior rivers. I
said, What are these two, O Gabriel?
He said, The two interior ones are two
rivers in Paradise, but the two exterior
ones are the Nile and the Euphrates."

The passage goes on to mention

many other particulars of the journey,
among others the incident of Adam's
weeping, which we have18 already
spoken of; but it is unnecessary to
mention them all.
In the popular works19 from which the
great mass of modern Muslims obtain
their knowledge of their prophet's life,
the account of the Mi'raj is far more
full of marvels. When he had reached
the Lotus of the Boundary, beyond
which Gabriel dared not advance with
him, the angel Israfil took charge of
Muhammad and led him to his own
realm, whence the prophet advanced
to the very Throne of God, being
bidden by God's own Voice not to
remove his sandals, since their
touch20 would honour even the court
of God. After a few more details, which
to ordinary minds seem both puerile
arid blasphemous, we are told that

Muhammad entered behind the

veil21, and that God said to him,
"Peace be upon thee, and the mercy
of God, and His blessing, O Prophet."
In these later narratives of the Miraj
we find mythology unrestrained by
any regard for reason or truth.
We must now inquire what was the
source from which the idea of this
night journey of Muhammad was
derived. It is very possible that the
legend as first of all related by
Muhammad himself was based upon a
dream, and it does not seem to have
contained any account of an
ascension, if we consider Surah LIII.,
13-18, to be of later date. But we have
to deal with the narrative contained in
the Traditions, and these enter into
very precise details regarding the
Miraj or ascent." We shall see that
there is good reason to believe that
the legend in this form was invented

in order to show that, in this respect

as well as in all others, Muhammad
was more highly privileged than any
other prophet. The story may have
incorporated elements from many
quarters, but it seems to have been in
the main based upon the account of
the ascension of Arta Viraf contained
in a Pahlavi book called "The Book22
of Arta Viraf," which was composed in
the days of Ardashir Babagan, King of
Persia, some 400 years before
Muhammad's Hijrah, if we may believe
Zoroastrian accounts.
In that work we are informed that,
finding that the Zoroastrian faith had
to a great extent lost its hold upon the
minds of the people of the Persian
Empire, the Magian priests
determined to support by fresh proofs
the restoration of the faith which the
zeal of Ardashir had undertaken to
carry out. Therefore they selected a

young priest of saintly life, and

prepared him by various ceremonial
purifications for an ascent into the
heavens, in order that he might see
what was there and bring back word
whether it agreed or not with the
account contained in their religions
books. It is related that, when this
young Arta Viraf was in a trance, his
spirit ascended into the heavens
under the guidance of an archangel
named Sarosh, and passed from one
storey to another, gradually ascending
until he reached the presence of
Ormazd23 himself. When Arta Viraf
had thus beheld everything in the
heavens and seen the happy state of
their inhabitants, Ormazd commanded
him to return to the earth as His
messenger and to tell the Zoroastrians
what he had seen. All his visions are
fully related in the book which bears
his name. It is unnecessary to quote it

at length, but a few quotations will

serve to show how evidently it served
as a model for the Muhammadan
legend of the ascent of Muhammad.
In the Arta' Viraf Namak (cap. vii, 14) we read: And I take the first step
forward unto the Storey of the Stars,
in Humat. ... And I see the souls of
those holy ones, from whom light
spreads out like a bright star. And
there is a throne and a seat, very
bright and lofty and exalted. Then I
inquired of holy Sarosh and the angel
Adhar, What place is this, and who
are these persons?"
In explanation of this passage it
should be mentioned that the "Storey
of the Stars" is the first or lowest
"court" of the Zoroastrian Paradise
Adhar is the angel who presides over
fire. Sarosh is the angel of obedience,
and is one of the "Eternal Holy Ones"
(Amesha-spentas later Amshaspands)

or archangels of the Zoroastrian faith.

He guides Arta Viraf through the
different heavens, just as Gabriel does
Muhammad.
The narrative goes on to relate how
Arta Viraf reached the Storey of the
Moon, or the second, and then the
Storey of the Sun, which is the third of
the celestial mansions. In the same
way he was led on and on through
every one of the heavens, until he was
introduced into Ormazd's presence,
and had the interview which is
detailed in cap. xi in these words:
"And finally up rose from his throne
overlaid with gold the archangel
Bahman: and he took my hand and
brought me to Humat and Hukht and
Hurast24, amid Ormazd and the
archangels and the other holy ones
and the Essence of Zoroaster the
pure-minded ... and the other faithful
ones and chiefs of the faith, than

whom I have never seen anything

brighter and better. And Bahman
[said], This is Ormazd. And I wished
to offer a salutation before Him. And
he said to me, Salutation to thee, O
Arta Viraf! Welcome! Thou hast come
from that perishable world to this
undefiled bright place. And he
commanded holy Sarosh and the
angel Adhar, 'Carry off Arta Viraf and
show him the throne and the reward
of the holy ones and also the
punishment of the wicked. And finally
holy Sarosh and the angel Adhar took
my hand, and I was carried forward by
them from place to place and I have
seen those archangels and I have
seen the other angels."
We are then told at considerable
length how Arta Viraf visited Paradise
and hell, and what he saw in each.
After his visit to hell the tale goes on:

"At25 last holy Sarosh and the angel

Adhar took my hand and brought me
forth from that dark, dreadful and
terrible place, and they bore me to
that place of brightness and the
assembly of Ormazd and the
archangels. Then I wished to offer a
salutation before Ormazd. And He was
kind. He said, O faithful servant, holy
Arta Viraf, apostle of the worshippers
of Ormazd, go thou to the material
world, speak with truth to the
creatures, according as thou hast seen
and known, since I, who am Ormazd,
am here. Whosoever speaks rightly
and truly, I hear and know. Speak thou
to the wise ones. And when Ormazd
spake thus, I remained astounded, for
I saw a light and did not see a body,
and I heard a voice, I knew that this is
Ormazd."
It is unnecessary to point out how
great is the resemblance between all

this and the Muhammadan legend of

Muhammad's Miraj.
In the Zardusht-Namah, a work which
was probably composed in the
thirteenth century of the Christian era,
there is related a legend that
Zoroaster himself, centuries earlier
than Arta Viraf, ascended up to
heaven, and afterwards obtained
permission to visit hell also. There we
are told he saw Ahriman, who closely
corresponds with the Iblis of the
Qur'an.
Nor are such legends confined to the
Persian portion of the Aryan world. In
Sanskrit also we have similar tales,
among which may be mentioned the
Indralokagamanam, or "Journey to the
World of Indra," the god of the
atmosphere. There we are told that
the hero Arjuna made a journey
through the heavens, where he saw
Indra's heavenly palace, named

Vaivanti, which stands in the garden

called Nandanam. The Hindu books
tell us that ever-flowing streams water
the fresh, green plants that grow in
that beautiful place, and in its midst
there stands a tree called Pakshajati,
bearing a fruit styled Amrita or
Immortality, the of Greek poets, of
which whoever eats never dies.
Beautiful flowers of varied hues adorn
that tree; and whoever rests under its
shade is granted the fulfilment of
whatever desire he may conceive in
his heart.
The Zoroastrians have also an account
of the existence of a marvellous tree,
called Hvapa in the Avesta and
Humaya in Pahlavi, the meaning in
each case being "possessed of good
water," "well watered." In theVendidad
it is described in these words: "In26
purity do the waters flow from the sea
of Puitika into the sea of Vourukasha,

to the tree Hvapa: there grow all

plants and of all kinds." Hvapa and
Pakshajati are identical with the Tuba'
or tree of "goodness" of the
Muhammadan paradise, which is too
well known to need description here.
It must, however, be noted that very
similar legends are found in certain
Christian apocryphal works also,
especially in the "Visio Pauli" and the
"Testament of Abraham," to the latter
of which we have already had to refer
more than once. In the "Visio Pauli" we
are told that Paul ascended to the
heavens and beheld the four rivers of
Paradise and Abraham also viewed the
wonders of the heavens in his
legendary "Testament," each returning
to earth to relate what he had seen,
just as Arta Viraf and Muhammad are
said to have done. Of Abraham it is
said: "And27 the archangel Michael
descended and took Abraham up upon

a cherubic chariot, and he raised him

aloft into the ether of the sky, and
brought him and sixty angels upon the
cloud and Abraham was travelling
over the whole inhabited earth upon a
conveyance."
This "cherubic chariot" assumes
another form in the Muhammadan
legend, for Muhammad rides upon an
animal called Buraq, riding being more
in accordance with Arabian ideas than
driving. The word Buraq is probably
derived from the Hebrew baraq,
"lightning," which in Arabic is barq,
though a Pahlavi derivation is also
possible.
Before passing on to consider other
points, it should be noticed that the
Book of Enoch contains a long account
of the wonders of earth, hell and sky
which Enoch saw in his28 vision . This
apocryphal work no doubt had its
influence on the legends contained in

the "Visio Pauli" and the "Testament of

Abraham" and thus upon the
Muhammadan fable; but we can
hardly suppose that the Arta Viraf
Namak was affected, except perhaps
indirectly, by these works. However,
that is a question which does not
affect our present inquiry.
Now regarding the Tree of Life in the
Garden of Eden the Jews have many
marvellous29 legends, which may
have been borrowed from the
Accadian tales about the "Sacred Tree
of Eritu," mentioned in some of the
earliest inscriptions found at Nippur by
Dr. Hilprecht. Into these we need not
now enter at any length, merely
observing how great a contrast there
is between all such legends and the
simple narrative of fact contained in
Genesis. The Jewish legends have
affected the Muhammadan account of
the heavenly Paradise, because the

Muslim belief is that the Garden of

Eden was situated in heaven. They
therefore transfer to the heavenly
Paradise much that the Jews have
related about the earthly. In this
respect they may have been led into
error by the Christian apocryphal
books, for the description of the four
rivers, &c., given in the "Visio Pauli"
(cap. xlv) evidently springs from the
same strange fancy. It is hardly
necessary to say that these
apocryphal books were never
accepted by any section of the
Christian Church as of any weight or
authority, though some of them had
at one time a considerable degree of
popularity with the ignorant multitude.
Some of them have long been known,
others have only recently been
recovered after having been lost for
centuries. Whether the
Muhammadans derived their account

of the tree Tuba' from the Zoroastrians

or from Jewish fables, or whether both
the latter (being of common origin)
have not had some influence on the
story, we need not inquire. The four
rivers that Muhammad saw are those
of the "Visio Pauli," and these latter
are identical with the rivers of Eden,
owing to the error which we have
noticed above. It may be asked
whether the biblical account of the
ascension of Enoch, Elijah, our Lord,
and the "catching30 up to the third
heaven" of the person whom some
have supposed to be St. Paul, have
not been the original sources of all the
fables which we have met with31. It is
somewhat difficult and quite
unnecessary to suppose this with
reference to the Persian and Indian
tales to which we have referred,
though it may be true of the others.
But if it be so, we find that the Muslim

legend of Muhammad's ascent, like so

many other legends8 about
Muhammad, has been invented, on
the model of other accounts like that
contained in the Arta Viraf Namak,
with the object of making it appear
that he was in certain respects similar,
though superior, to Christ and the
other prophets who preceded him.
2. The Muhammadan Paradise with its
Huris
With these we may couple the
Ghilman, the Jinns, the Angel of
Death; and the Dharratu'l Kainat.
As examples of the descriptions which
the Qur'an gives of Paradise, we may
quote the following passages33:
Surah LV., Ar Rahman, 46 sqq.: "And
for him who feareth the tribunal of his
Lord there are two gardens, dowered
with branches. In each of them two
fountains flow. In each of them there

are of every fruit two kinds. They

recline upon couches of which the
inner lining is of brocade; and the fruit
of the two gardens hangs low. In them
are [maidens] restraining their
glances, whom neither man nor
demon hath approached before them.
They are as it were rubies and pearls.
Is the recompense for kindness other
than kindness?
And besides these two there are two
[other] gardens, dark green. In each of
them are two fountains, flowing
abundantly. In each of them are fruits
and palms and pomegranates. In each
are [maidens] good, beauteous,Huris
enclosed in pavilions, whom neither
man nor demon hath approached
before them. [The Just] recline on
green pillows and beautiful carpets."
Again, in Surah LVI., Al Warqi'ah, 11
sqq., we find a similar account of the
delights reserved in Paradise for the

"Companions of the Right Hand,"

that is, the saved on the
Resurrection Day: "These are those
who are brought nigh, in gardens of
delight ... upon bejewelled couches,
reclining upon them, facing one
another. Upon them wait immortal
youths" (the Ghilman), "with goblets
and beakers and a cup from a spring
[of wine]34. They do not suffer
headache from it, nor do they become
intoxicated. And with fruit of whatever
kind they choose, and birds' flesh of
whatever sort they desire. And there
are large-eyed Huris like hidden
pearls, a recompense for what they
used to do. They do not hear in it any
vain discourse, nor any charge of
crime, only the word Peace, Peace.
And the Companions of the Right
Hand what of the Companions of
the Right Hand? In a thornless Lotus
tree and a flower-bedecked Acacia and

widespread shade and streaming

water, and with abundant fruit not cut
off and not forbidden, and in raised
couches. Verily We have produced
them" (these damsels) "by a [peculiar]
creation. Therefore have We made
them virgins, beloved, of an equal age
[with their spouses] for the
Companions of the Right Hand35."
We shall see that much of this
description is derived from Persian
and Hindu ideas of Paradise, though
most of the more unpleasant details
and conceptions are doubtless the
offspring of Muhammad's own sensual
nature.
The idea of the Huris is derived from
the ancient Persian legends about the
Pairakas, called by the modern people
of Iran Paris. These the Zoroastrians
describe as female spirits living in the
air and closely connected with the
stars and light. So beautiful are they

that they captivate men's hearts. The

word Hur, by which these damsels of
Paradise are spoken of in the Qur'an,
is generally supposed to be of Arabic
derivation, and to mean "black-eyed."
This is quite possible. But it is perhaps
more probably a Persian word, derived
from the word which in Avestic is
hvare, in Pahlavi hur, and in modern
Persian khur, originally denoting
"light," "brightness," "sunshine," and
finally "the sun." When the Arabs
borrowed the conception of these
bright and "sunny" maidens from the
Persians, they also perhaps borrowed
the word which best described them.
It was natural for the Arabs to find a
meaning in their own language for the
word, just as in a similar way
asparagus has become "sparrowgrass," renegade "runagate," the
girasole a "Jerusalem" artichoke, or in
Greek the Arabic word wadi, having

become Hellenized under the form ,

was supposed to come from
doubtless on the lucus a non lucendo
principle. Firdaus itself, one of the
words in the Qur'an for "Paradise," is a
Persian word; and several words from
that36 language occur in the
passages which we have translated
above. It is not, however, of any real
importance to ascertain the derivation
of the word Hur. The beings whom the
word is intended to express are of
distinctly Aryan origin, as are the
Ghilman. The Hindus believe in the
existence of both, calling the Huris in
Sanskrit Apsarasas, and the Ghilman
Gandharvas. They were supposed to
dwell principally in the sky, though
often visiting the earth.
Muslim historians relate many tales
which show how much the prospect of
receiving a welcome from the Huris in
Paradise cheered many an ardent

young Muhammadan warrior to rush

boldly to his death in battle. This
belief is very similar to the ancient
Aryan idea as to the reward of those
who died on the field with all their
wounds in front. For Manu says in his
Dharmasastra :
"Earth-lords37 contending in battles,
mutually desirous of killing one
another, not averting their faces,
thereafter through their prowess go to
heaven." So also in the
Nalopakhyanam we find Indra saying
to the hero Nala: "Just38 guardians of
the earth (i.e. kings), warriors who
have abandoned (all hope of) life, who
in due time by means of a weapon go
to destruction without averting their
faces theirs is this imperishable
world" the heaven of Indra. Nor
were such ideas confined to India, for
our own northern ancestors used in
heathen days to believe that the

heavenly Valkyries, or "Selectors of

the Slain," would visit39 the field of
battle and bear thence to the heaven
of Odhin, to Valhalla, the "Hall of the
Slain," the spirits of brave warriors
who fell in the strife.
The Jinns are a kind of evil and
malicious spirits which have great
power and are a source of terror in
many parts of the Muslim world. We
have already seen40 that they are
said to have been subject to Solomon,
and they are not unfrequently
mentioned in the Qur'an41, where we
are told that they were made of fire42,
as were the angels and the demons.
The word itself seems to be Persian,
for the singular Jinni is the Avestic
Jaini43, a wicked (female) spirit.
In examining the question of the origin
of the Muhammadan legend regarding
the "Balance," we saw that it is stated
in the Traditions that in his Mi'raj

Muhammad saw Adam weeping in

heaven when he looked at44 the
"Black Figures" (al aswidah) on his left
hand, but rejoicing when his glance
rested on those which stood at his
right.
These black figures were the spirits of
his descendants as yet unborn. They
are generally termed "The Existent
Atoms" (adu dharratu'l kainat). They
differ from the beings mentioned in
the "Testament of Abraham" (from
which the main features of that
portion of the tale are borrowed) in
the fact that, in the latter book,
Abraham sees the spirits of his
descendants who had died, while in
the Muhammadan tradition he sees
those of men not yet born, in the form
of "Existent Atoms." The name by
which these beings are known in
Muhammadan religious works is
undoubtedly a purely Arabic one. But

the idea seems to have been derived

from the Zoroastrians, among whom
these beings were called fravashis45
in Avestic and feruhars in Pahlavi.
Some have fancied that possibly the
Persians adopted this idea from the
ancient Egyptians, but this hardly
seems probable. Whether it be so or
not, the Muslims are indebted for their
belief in the preexistence of men's
spirits to the Zoroastrians.
The Muslims speak of the Angel of
Death very much as the Jews do,
though the latter say that his name is
Sammael, while the former call him
'Azrail. But this latter name is not
Arabic but Hebrew, once more
showing the extent of the influence
exercised by the Jews upon nascent
Islam. As this angel's name is not
mentioned in the Bible, it is evident
that what the Jews and the Muslims
say about him must be borrowed from

some other source. This is probably

Persian, for the Avesta tells us of an
angel called Astovidhotus or Vidhatus,
"the divider," whose duty it is to
separate body and spirit. If a man fell
into fire or water and was burnt to
death or drowned, the Zoroastrians
held that his death could not be due
to the fire or to the water for these
"elements" were supposed to be good
and not injurious to man. It was the
Angel of Death, Vidhatus46.
3. The Ascent of 'Azazil from Hell.
'Azazil, according to the Muslim
tradition, was the original name of
Satan or Iblis. The name is Hebrew
and occurs in the original text of
Leviticus (xvi. 8, 10, 26). But the tale
of his origin is not at all Jewish but
almost if not quite Zoroastrian, as a
comparison between the Muslim and
the Zoroastrian legends proves.

In the Qisasu'l Anbiya (p. 9), we read:

"God Most High created 'Azazil. 'Azazil
worshipped God Most High for a
thousand years in Sijjin47. Then he
came up to the earth. On each
story48 he worshipped God Most High
for a thousand years until he came up
upon the surface," the highest story,
on which men dwell. God then gave
him a pair of wings made of emerald,
with which he mounted up to the first
heaven. There he worshipped for a
thousand years, and thus was enabled
to reach the second heaven, and so
on, worshipping for a thousand years
at each stage of his ascent, and
receiving from the angelic inhabitants
of each heaven a special name. In the
fifth heaven he was for the first time
according to this form of the legend
called 'Azazil. He thus ascended to
the sixth and the seventh heaven, and
then had performed so much

adoration that he had not left in earth

or heaven a single spot as large as the
palm of a man's hand on which he had
not prostrated himself in worship.
Afterwards we are told that for the sin
of refusing to worship Adam he was
cast out of Paradise49. The 'Araisu'l
Majalis50 tells us that, being then
called Iblis, he remained for three
thousand years at the gate of Paradise
in the hope of being able to inflict
some injury on Adam and Eve, since
his heart was full of envy and ill-will
towards them.
Now let us see what account the
Zoroastrians give of what is evidently
the same matter in the Bundahishnih,
a Pahlavi work the name of which
means "Creation." It must be noted
that in Pahlavi the Evil Spirit is
calledAhriman, which is derived from
Anro Mainyus ("the destroying mind"),
the name by which he is known in the

Avesta.
In the first and second chapters of the
Bundahishnih we read:
"Ahriman was and is in darkness and
after-knowledge51 and the desire of
inflicting injury, and in the abyss. ...
And that injuriousness and that
darkness too are a place which they
call the dark region. Ormazd in his
omniscience knew that Ahriman
existed, because he" that is,
Ahriman "excites himself and
intermingles himself with the desire of
envy even unto the end. ... They"
(Ormazd and Ahriman) "were for three
thousand years in spirit, that is, they
were without change and motion. ...
The injurious spirit, on account of his
after- knowledge, was not aware of
the existence of Ormazd. At last he
rises from that abyss, and he came to
the bright place; and, since he saw
that brightness of Ormazd, ... because

of his injurious desire and his envious

disposition he became busied in
destroying."
We necessarily find a certain
difference in form between the legend
as it arose among the dualistic
Zoroastrians and the aspect it
assumed among the Monotheistic
Muslims. Hence in the former the Evil
Principle is not a creature of Ormazd,
and does not at first know of His
existence, whereas in the latter he is,
of course, one of the creatures of God.
In the Muhammadan legend he
gradually ascends higher and higher
by his piety, while in the Zoroastrian
account piety can have nothing to do
with the matter. But in both cases the
Evil Spirit at first dwells in darkness
and ignorance and comes up to the
light, and in both cases he sets
himself to work to destroy God's
creatures through envy and ill-will.

The twelve thousand years during

which, according to Zoroastrian ideas,
the contest between good and evil
goes on is divided into four periods of
three thousand years each. A
reference to this is probably to be
found in the three thousand years
during which, as we have seen, 'Azazil
(Iblis) lies in wait for Adam's
destruction.
Before leaving this subject it may be
of interest to point out that the
Peacock has some connexion with the
Evil Spirit both in the Muhammadan
and in the Zoroastrian legend. In the
Qisasu'l Anbiya we are told that when
Iblis was seated in ambush before the
gate of Paradise, watching for an
opportunity to enter and tempt Adam
and Eve to sin, the Peacock was
sitting on the wall, on top of one of the
battlements, and saw him most
piously engaged in repeating the

loftiest names of God Most High.

Struck with admiration for so much
piety, the Peacock inquired who this
ardent devotee might be. Iblis replied,
"I am one of the angels of God; may
He be honoured and glorified!" When
asked why he sat there, he replied, "I
am looking at Paradise, and I wish to
enter it." The Peacock was acting as
watchman, so he replied, "I have no
orders to admit any one to Paradise
while Adam is in it." But Iblis bribed
him to grant him admission by
promising to teach him a prayer, the
repetition of which would keep him
from ever growing old, from rebelling
against God, and from ever being
driven forth from Paradise. On this the
Peacock flew down from the
battlement and told the Serpent what
he had heard. This led to the fall of
Eve and afterwards of Adam. When,
therefore, God Most High cast Adam,

Eve, the Tempter and the Serpent

down from Paradise to the earth, he
hurled down the Peacock52 with
them.
It is noteworthy that the Zoroastrians
also believed in a connexion between
Ahriman and the Peacock. The
Armenian writer Ezniq, whom we have
already quoted in a different
connexion, informs us of the
Zoroastrians of his day that "They53
say that Ahriman said, It is not that I
cannot make anything good, but I will
not. And, in order to prove what he
said, he made the Peacock."
If the Peacock in the Zoroastrian
legend is a creature of Ahriman, we
are not surprised at its helping Iblis in
the Muhammadan one, and being
expelled from Paradise along with him.
4. Legend of the "Light of
Muhammad."

Though not mentioned in the Qur'an,

the story of the Light of Muhammad,
which shone on his forehead and was
his pre-existent essence, so to speak,
occupies a very important place in the
Traditions. Whole pages are filled with
such traditions in such books as the
Raudatu'l Ahbab. There we read that
"When Adam was created, God placed
that light upon his forehead, and said,
O Adam, this light which I have
placed upon thy forehead is the light
of the noblest and best son [of thine],
and it is the light of the chief of the
prophets who shall be sent." Then the
narrative goes on to say that the light
passed on from Adam to Seth, and
from Seth to the noblest of his
descendants in each generation, until
in due course it reached 'Abdu'llah ibn
Al Muttalab. From him it passed to
Aminah when she conceived
Muhammad54. It may be that

Muhammadans have intended in their

account of this light of Muhammad to
exalt their master so as to match what
is said of Christ in John i. 4, 5 (cf. xii.
41), and that there is a confusion in
their minds between the first of these
passages and Gen. i. 3. At the same
time it will be seen from the passages
which we now proceed to quote that
the details, though with marvellous
exaggeration and invention, are, in
their main outline, borrowed from
Zoroastrian legend.
In the Pahlavi Minukhirad, which was
composed in the days of the early
Sasanian kings of Persia, we read that
Ormazd created this world and all His
creatures, and the archangels, and the
Heavenly Reason, out of His own
special light, with the praise of Zarvan
i Akarana or "Endless Time." But in a
work far more ancient than this the
fable of the light is found existent in

Persia. In the Avesta it is mentioned in

connexion with the great Yima
Khshaeta or Yima "the Brilliant," who
from its possession derived his name,
afterwards corrupted into the modern
Persian Jamshid. He is identical with
the Sanskrit Yama, who in the Rig
Veda is spoken of as the first of men,
as in vain tempted to sin by his twin
sister Yami, and as after death ruling
the shades of the dead. Yima, in
Persian tradition on the other hand, is
the founder of Persian civilization. His
father's name, Vivanhvat55, is the
same as the Vivasvat of the Indian
legend, who is the Sun, and is father
of Yama. On Yima's brow shone the
Kavaem Hvareno or "Royal
Brightness," an emanation from the
Divine glory, until through sin he lost
it. Of this the following description is
given in the56 Avesta:
"The mighty Royal Brightness for a

long time adhered to Jamshid, master

of the good herd, while he reigned on
the seven-climed earth, over divs and
men, magicians and Paris, evil spirits
and soothsayers and wizards. ... Then,
when he conceived in mind that false
and worthless word, the visible
brightness departed from him in the
form of a bird. ... He who is Jamshid,
master of the good herd, Jam, no
longer seeing that brightness, became
sorrowful; and he, having become
troubled, engaged in working hostility
upon earth. The first time that
brightness departed, that brightness
[departed] from Jamshid, that
brightness departed from Jam, son of
Vivanhvat, like57 a fluttering bird. ...
Mithra took that brightness. When the
second time that brightness departed
from Jamshid, that brightness
(departed) from Jam, son of
Vivanhvat, it went away like a

fluttering bird: Faridun, offspring of

the Athwiyani tribe, the brave tribe,
took that brightness, since he was the
most victorious man among victorious
men. ... When the third time that
brightness departed from Jamshid,
that brightness departed from Jam,
son of Vivanhvat, like a fluttering bird:
Keresaspa the manly took that
brightness, since he was the mightiest
among mighty men."
Here we see that, just as in the
Muhammadan legend, the light passes
on from generation to generation, to
the most worthy man in each. It was
natural for the offspring of the Sun to
possess this light in the first place,
and its transmission marked the
handing down of the sovereignty.
There seems no special suitability in
the legend that it was handed down
from Adam to Muhammad, unless to
magnify the prophet in the same way

in which the ancient legend glorified

these various old Persian heroes.
Moreover, we notice that Jamshid
ruled "over divs and men, magicians
and Paris, evil spirits and soothsayers
and wizards," just as the Jewish and
Muhammadan legends spoken of in an
earlier chapter58 represent Solomon
as doing. Doubtless the Jews borrowed
this story from the Zoroastrians and
passed it on to the Muslims, as we
have said in Chapter III.
What the Muslim Tradition says of the
dividing up of the "Light of
Muhammad," when first created, into
various parts, out of which other
things were made, is very similar to
the story concerning Zoroaster in the
old Persian book entitled Dasatir i
Asmani, whence it was very possibly
derived, especially as the same idea is
found also in older Zoroastrian
writings, as in the Minukhirad quoted

above.
5. The Bridge of the Dead.
This is called in the Muhammadan
Traditions As-Sirat or "The Way." There
are many details given about this
marvellous bridge, which is said to be
finer than a hair and sharper than a
sword. It stretches right over the
abyss of hell, and is the only way of
passing from earth to heaven on the
Judgment Day. All will be commanded
to cross it. The pious Muslim will do so
without difficulty, guided by the
angels; but the unbeliever, unable to
cross, will fall headlong into hell fire.
Though the word Sirat is used in the
Qur'an in the metaphorical sense of a
way, as in the phrase As Siratu'l
Mustaqim ("the Right Way," Surah I.,
Al Fatihah, et passim), yet it is not
properly an Arabic word at all. Its
derivation shows the origin of the

legend about the bridge of that name.

The word comes from no Arabic or
indeed Semitic root, but is the Persian
Chinvat in Arabic letters, since the
Arabic language, not having any
character to represent the sound ch
(as in church), replaces it by the letter
, the first letter in Sirat. Chinvat in
Persian means a collector, one that
sums up or assembles (cf. Sanskrit ) or
takes account. Hence it is only by
contraction that the Arabic Sirat gets
its meaning, for the Avesta speaks,
not of Chinvat59 but of Chinvatoperetus, "The bridge of him that
reckons up" good deeds and bad. This
bridge extends from Mount Alburz to
the Chakat Daitih, reaching over hell.
Each man's spirit, as soon as certain
funeral ceremonies have been
performed, reaches the bridge and
has to cross it in order to enter
Paradise. When he has crossed the

bridge, he is judged by Mithra,

Rashnu, and Sraosha in accordance
with the account of his deeds, good
and bad60. Only if his good deeds
exceed his evil ones can the gate of
Paradise be opened to admit him. If
his deeds are preponderatingly evil,
he is cast into hell: but if the good are
equal to the bad, the spirit of the dead
has to await61 the last judgment
(vulaiti), which will take place at the
close or the final struggle between
Ormazd and Ahriman.
To show the origin not only of the word
Sirat of the Muhammadan doctrine on
the subject, it is sufficient to translate
the following short passage from the
Pahlavi book called the Dinkart: "I
flee62 from much sin, and I keep pure
my conduct by keeping pure the six
powers of life act and speech and
thought and intellect and mind and
understanding by thy desire, O

mighty Causer of good deeds. In

justice do I perform it, that worship of
thine, in good thought and speech and
deed, in order that I may remain in the
bright way, that I may not arrive at
the severe punishment of hell, but
may cross over Chinvat and may
attain to that blessed abode which is
full of perfume, wholly pleasant,
always brilliant." In the Avesta also we
find many references to the same
belief, among others the passage in
which it is said of good men and
women: "Whom63 too I shall lead
through the prayer of such as you:
with all blessings shall I guide them to
the bridge of Chinvat."
A further proof of the Aryan origin of
this belief is found in the fact that the
ancient Scandinavian mythology
contains mention of Bifrost, generally
styled "the bridge of the gods," by
which they cross over from their

abode in Asgardh (in heaven) to the

earth. It is the rainbow. This at once
explains the natural basis upon which
the legend of the bridge is founded,
and shows how ancient it is, as the
Scandinavians brought the idea with
them to Europe. It must therefore
have been common to them and the
Persians in very ancient times. In
Greece the rainbow becomes the
messenger of the gods (Iris) in the
Iliad, but the idea of a bridge
connecting heaven and earth seems
to have been lost.
6. Other Persian Ideas Borrowed.
There are, no doubt, many other
matters in which Persian ideas have
influenced Islam, but what has been
said is sufficient for our purpose. We
must not conclude this part of our
inquiry, however, without a reference
to two other points of some little

importance.
One of these is the Muslim belief that
every prophet before his death gave
notice of the coming of his successor.
This idea finds no support in the Bible,
where we find prophecies of the
coming of the Messiah, but nothing to
give rise to the Muhammadan theory.
It is probably borrowed from a
Zoroastrian work called the Dasatir i
Asmani. This work claims to be of very
great antiquity, and (owing doubtless
to the difficulty of making any sense
out of the original64 text) is believed
by many of the modern Parsis to be
"composed in the language of
heaven"! An interlinear translation
into the old Dari dialect of Persian,
however, accompanies the text, which
is said to have been discovered in
Persia early in the last century, and
was edited by Mulla Firuz of Bombay.
It consists of fifteen tractates which

are supposed to have been revealed

to fifteen successive prophets, the
first of whom is styled Mahabad and
the last Sasan, from whom probably
the Sasanian dynasty may be
supposed to trace their descent. The
Dari translation is said to date from
the time of Khusrau Parviz (A.D. 5905), so that the original must be of
some antiquity65. Near the conclusion
of each tractate but the last there is
what purports to be a prophecy of the
coming of the next prophet in
succession. The object of this is very
evident. Many Parsis reject the book,
but the idea seems to have pleased
the Muslims so much that it has found
an entrance into their ordinary belief.
Secondly, it is worthy of note that the
second verse of every one of these
tractates runs thus: "In the name of
God, the Giver, the Forgiver, the
Merciful, the Just." It is evident that

these words are closely related to

those which form the introduction to
every Surah of the Qur'an except the
ninth: "In the Name of God, the
Compassionate, the Merciful."
Probably the Qur'an has borrowed
from the Zoroastrian book and not
conversely: for the Bundahishnih has
the similar clause, "In the Name of
Ormazd the Creator." Others think that
the clause in the Qur'an is of Jewish
Origin. Tradition says that one of the
Hanifs, whom we shall deal with in our
next chapter, Ummiyyah, a poet
belonging to Taif, taught this formula
to the Quraish66, having learnt it from
his intercourse with Jews and
Christians during his journeys in Syria
and elsewhere as a merchant. If
Muhammad heard it in this way and
adopted it, he doubtless altered it
somewhat, as he always did whatever
he borrowed. But it is more probably

of Zoroastrian origin than of Jewish,

and Ummiyyah might have learnt it
from the Persians whom he met on his
mercantile expeditions.
We have seen how extensive Persian
influence was in Arabia in
Muhammad's time, and there is
therefore no a priori difficulty in
accepting the conclusion which must
be drawn from all the coincidences
mentioned in the present chapter
that Zoroastrian ideas and legends are
one of the sources from which Islam
has derived very much of what is
contained in certain parts of the
Qur'an and the Traditions. Tradition
itself proves the possibility of this, for
the Raudatu'l Ahbab tells us that it
was Muhammad's habit to speak67 a
few words in their own language to
people that came to him from

different nations, and that, since on

one or two occasions he spoke Persian
to such visitors, a few Persian words in
this way found an entrance into the
Arabic language. Of course there is a
good deal of the legendary in this
statement, but it is important in its
way because it clearly testifies to the
fact that Muhammad had at least
some slight acquaintance with
Persian, if with no other foreign
tongue. Again, among other Persian
converts, the Siratu'r Rasul of Ibn
Ishaq and Ibn Hisham informs us that
there was one called Salman, who
must have been a man of some
education and ability, since it was by
his advice and in accordance with his
military experience that Muhammad,
when the Quraish and their allies were
besieging Medina in February, A.D.
627, defended the city with the
celebrated ditch68, a method of

fortification which the Arabs are said

not to have previously used. By
Salman's advice Muhammad is also
said to have used a catapult at the
time of his campaign against Taif (A.
D. 630). Some say that Salman,
though always known as "the Persian,"
was originally a Christian69 carried
away captive from Mesopotamia. This
may or may not be true, though the
appellation which he received does
not support it. If it is untrue, he was
very probably the person whom
Muhammad's enemies are said to
have accused the Prophet of using as
his assistant in the composition of
certain parts of the Qur'an; for in
Surah XVI., An Nahl, 105, we read:
"Truly we know that they say, Verily a
human being teacheth him. The
tongue of him at whom they aim is
Persian70, and this [book] is Arabic,
clear." If Salman was not a native of

Persia, then the language of the verse

suffices to prove that there was some
Persian in Muhammad's company who
was believed to "teach" him a certain
portion of what he was then inserting
in the Qur'an. We see then that
Persian fables were well enough
known71 in Arabia to be recognized
by some at least of the Arabs when
incorporated into the supposed Divine
Revelation. Nor was Muhammad able
to give a satisfactory answer to the
charge, for no one supposed that the
foreigner was teaching him to improve
his Arabic style. The charge affected
the matter and not the language of
the Qur'an. Moreover, as we have
proved that Muhammad borrowed
legends from the heathen Arabs and
from the Jews, there is no reason why
he should not be ready and willing to
adopt others from Zoroastrian
sources. In fact the instances which

we have produced in this chapter

prove conclusively that he did so, and
that these Persian legends, many of
which have been shown to be
common to the Persians with other
branches of the Aryan family of
nations, form another of the original
sources of Islam.
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Categorized | Saudi Arabia
Saudi Royal Family is Jewish! King and
Prince are all Jew!
Posted on19 August 2012.

NOVANEWS
Banu Qaynuqa tribe = JEWS!!!

Jews are the one in charge

of Kabbah and Madina Munawara to
make $$$$$$ !!! All the Hajj
Money +Umrah Money + Oil
money and Saudi taxes goes to the
Jews and Israel to kill Muslims!
The More we go to Hajj and Umrah the
more Muslim will get killed with that
money!
The Banu Qaynuqa (also spelled Banu
Kainuka, Banu Kaynuka, Banu
Qainuqa, Banu Qaynuqa, Arabic: )
was one of the three
main Jewish tribes living in the 7th
century of Medina, now in Saudi
Arabia. In 624, they were expelled
during the Invasion of Banu Qaynuqa,
by the Islamic prophet Muhammad for
allegedly breaking the treaty known
as the Constitution of Medina.
Sirah / The story of Banu Qaynuqa
(Jews of Madina) )

In the 7th century, the Banu Qaynuqa

were living in two fortresses in the
south-western part of the city of
Yathrib, now Medina, having settled
there at an unknown date. Although
the Banu Qaynuqa bore mostly Arabic
names, they were both ethnically and
religiously Jewish. They owned no
land, earned their living through
commerce and craftsmanship,
including goldsmithery. The
marketplace of Yathrib was located in
the area of the town where the
Qaynuqa lived. The Banu Qaynuqa
were allied with the local Arab tribe
of Khazraj and supported them in their
conflicts with the rival Arab tribe
of Aws.
In the 1960s the Sawt Al Arab
Broadcasting Station in Cairo, Egypt,
and the Yemen Broadcasting Station in
Sanaa confirmed the Jewish Ancestry
of the Saudi Family. More important

readings!
King Faisal Al-Saud at that time could
not deny his familys kindred with the
Jews when he declared to the
Washington Post on Sept. 17, 1969
stating: We, The Saudi family, are
cousins of the Jews: we entirely
disagree with any Arab or Muslem
Authority which shows any
antagonism to the Jews; but we must
live together with them in peace. Our
country (Arabia) is the Fountain head
from where the first Jew sprang, and
his descendants spread out all over
the world. That was the declaration
of King Faisal AL-Saud Bin Abdul Aziz!
Read More!
Are The Saudi Royal Family Jewish?
THE SAUDI FAMILY CONCEAL THEIR
JEWISH ORIGIN
The Saudi Dynasty:

Where Do They Come From and Who

Is their Real Ancestor?
Part I
Mohammad Sakher, who was ordered,
killed by the Saudi Regime for the
following findings:
1. Are the Saudi Family members
belonging to the Tribe of Anza ben
Wael as they allege to be?2. Is Islam
their actual religion?3. Are they of an
Arab Origin at all?
The following facts will blot out all the
allegations of the Saudi Family and
will refute all the false statements
made by those hypocrites who sold
their conscience to this family by
falsifying and interpolating the real
history of the Saudi Family; I mean the
Journalists and historians who, for a
financial temporal reward, have
inserted and attached the genealogy
of this family to our Great Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH) alleging that the

Saudis are viceroys of our Almighty

Allah on the Earth. It is quite clear that
such a flattery is intended to vindicate
and justify the Saudis Crimes and
Atrocities, so as to firmly stabilize
their Throne and to prop the pillars of
their despotic regime. Which is
extremely dictatorial and completely
rejected by our great Islamic Faith.
Israel & Saudi Arabia are Sisters!
Because Saudi King, his family and
Amirs are all Jews!!!
Why Muslim are in hibernation for
1400 years?
Maybe because Muslims are Lazy! or
Ignorant! or irresponsible! and they
leave everything to Allah meanwhile
they simply DO NOTHING!
But yapping all day long while Jews
owned, operate and use Kabbah and
Medina for $$$!!!!!!

Kingship is accursed in our Islamic

Religion, in the Holy Quraan, because
it is an imposed authority of One
Person and his Family members to
suppress the people and silence any
other voice of opposition to the
kings despotic and completely
dictatorial rules. So kings are
denounced in the Holy Quraan in this
verse: Kings, when they enter a
country, despoil it, and make the
noblest of its people the meanest.
Thus do they behave. (27-34)
Lifestyle Of Wahhabi/Saudi Prince Al
Walid bin Tallal
Nevertheless, the Saudi Family ignores
this Quraanic verse, and alleges
falsely that they are the strongest
believers in the Holy Quraan, while in
interim; they issue their strict orders
to prohibit such Quraanic verses from

being recited on the radios or the

TVs. At the same time, such verses
are strictly forbidden by them to
appear written on any journal,
because their recitation or printing
does affect their Seat of Majesty!
WHO ARE THESE SAUDIS? WHERE ARE
THEY FROM? AND WHAT IS THEIR
FINAL GOAL?
The Saudi Family members know
perfectly well the Muslims all over the
world have already known their real
Jewish Origin. Muslims have now
known all their bloody past, which
was, and still is stuck in the same mire
of Brutal Despotism and Atrocity.
Presently, they exert their utmost
efforts to conceal their Jewish Origin
by covering themselves with the cloak
of the Islamic Religion, so as to try to
keep their real Jewish Ancestry hidden
in the dark by connecting their family

tree with our Holy Prophet Muhammad

(PBUH).
They forget or ignore that Islam does
never give any favorable attention to
genealogy or Family Trees; it favors
and honors indiscriminately all human
beings whose actions and words are
commensurate with the doctrines of
the Holy Quraan as confirmed by the
following Quraanic verse:
O Mankind! We created you from a
single (Pair) of a male and female, and
made you into nations and tribes, so
that you may know each other (not
that you may despise each other.)
Verily, the most honored by you in the
Sight of Allah is (he who is) the most
righteous of you. (49-13)
Anyone who is iniquitous and
blasphemous cannot affiliate him/her
self to our great Prophet Muhammad
(PBUH) even though he/she may be

the closest blood relative to him. Bilal,

the Abyssinian slave, who was a
faithful Muslim, was much more
honored by Islam than Abu Lahab, the
pagan, who was the real blood uncle
of our Prophet. In Islam there is no
Favoritism. Allah sets the degree of
comparison in Islam according to the
persons piety and not according to
his/her worldly status of affiliation to
any dynasty.
Saudi Royal Family Are Kuffar British
Agents! by AlMalahimMedia
Who is the Real Ancestor of the Clan
of Saud?
In the year 851 A.H. a group of men
from Al Masaleekh Clan, which was a
branch of Anza Tribe, formed a
caravan for buying cereals (wheat and
corn) and other foodstuff from Iraq,
and transporting it back to Najd. The
head of that group was a man called

Sahmi Bin Hathlool. The caravan

reached Basra, where the members of
the group went to a cereal merchant
who was a Jew, called Mordakhai bin
Ibrahim bin Moshe. During their
bargaining with that merchant, the
Jew asked them: Where are you
from? They answered: From Anza
Tribe; a Clan of Al Masaleekh. Upon
hearing that name, the Jew started to
hug so affectionately each on the
them saying that he, himself, was also
from the clan of Al Masaleekh, but he
had come to reside in Basra (Iraq) in
consequence to a family feud between
his father and some members of Anza
Tribe.
After he recounted to them his
fabricated narrative, he ordered his
servants to load all of the camels with
wheat, dates, and tamman; a
remarkable deed so generous that

astonished the Masaleekh men and

aroused their pride to find such an
affectionate (cousin) in Iraq-the source
of sustenance; they believed each
word he said, and, because he was a
rich merchant of the food
commodities which they were badly in
need, they accepted him (even
though he was a Jew concealed under
the garb of an Arab from Al Masaleekh
clan.)
Saudis turning Mecca into Las Vegas
When the caravan was ready to
depart returning to Najd, that Jewish
merchant asked tem to accept his
company, because he intended to go
with them to his original homeland,
Najd. Upon hearing that from him,
they wholeheartedly welcomed him
with a very cheerful attitude.
So that (concealed) Jew reached Najd
with the caravan. In Najd, he started

to promulgate a lot of propaganda for

himself through his companions (his
alleged cousins), a fact, which
gathered around him a considerable
number of new supporters. But,
unexpectedly, he confronted a
campaign of opposition to his views
led by Sheikh Saleh Salman Abdullah
Al Tamimi, who was a Muslim religious
preacher in Al-Qaseem.
The radius of his preaching area
included Najd, Yemen, and Hijaz, a
fact which compelled the Jew (the
Ancestor of the present Saud family)
to depart from Al Qaseem to Al Ihsa,
where he changed his name
(Mordakhai) to Markan bin Diriya near
Al-Qateef, where he started to spread
among the inhabitants a fabricated
story about the shield of our Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH) that it was taken
as a booty by an Arab pagan in
consequence of the Battle of Uhud

between the Arab pagans and the

Muslims. That shield, he said, was
sold by the Arab pagan to a Jewish
clan called Banu Qunaiqa who
preserved it as a treasure!
Saudi Arabia: Arm Sales & Corruption!
He gradually enhanced his position
among the Bedouins through such
stories, which indicated how the
Jewish clans in Arabia were so
influential, and deserved high esteem.
He gained some personal importance
among the Bedouins, and decided to
permanently settle there, at Diriya
town, neat Al Qateef, which he
decided to be his Capital on the
Persian Gulf. He aspired to make it his
springboard for establishing a Jewish
Kingdom in Arabia.
In order to fulfill his ambitious
scheme, he started to approach the
desert Arab Bedouins for support of

his position, and then gradually, he

declared himself as their king!
LIfestyle Of Wahabi Prince Walid bin
Tallal Its Not Las Vegas Its Riyadh
At that juncture, Ajaman Tribe,
together with Banu Khaled Tribe
became fully aware of that Jewish
cunning plan after they had verified
his true identity, and decided to put
an end to him. They attacked his town
and conquered it, but before arresting
him he had escaped by the skin of his
teeth.
That Jewish ancestor of the Saudi
Family, Mordakhai, sought shelter in a
farm at that time called Al-MalibeedGhusaiba near Al-Arid, which is called
at our present time Al-Riyadh.
Arab Royal family extravagant and
selfish life style!!
He requested the owner of that farm

to grant him asylum. The farmer was

so hospitable that he immediately
gave him sanctuary. But no longer
than a month had he (Mordakhai)
stayed there, when he assassinated
the landlord and all members of his
family, pretending that they were
killed by an invading band of thieves.
Then he pretended that he had
bought that real estate from them
before that catastrophe happened to
them! Accordingly, he had the right to
reside there as a landlord. He then
gave a new name to that place: AlDiriya-the same name as that he had
lost.
That Jewish ancestor (Mordakhai) of
the Saudi Family, was able to establish
a Guest House called Madaffa on
the land he usurped from his victims,
and gathered around him a group of
hypocrites who started to spread out
false propaganda for him that he was

a prominent Arab Sheikh. He plotted

against Sheikh Saleh Salman Abdulla
Al Tamimi, his original enemy, and
caused his assassination in the
mosque of the town called Al-Zalafi.
Saudi Royal Family Are Kuffar British
Agents! by AlMalahimMedia
After that, he felt satisfied and safe to
make Al-Diriya his permanent home.
There he practiced polygamy at a
wide scale, and indeed, he begot a lot
of children whom he gave pure Arab
names.
Ever since his descendants grew up in
number and power under the same
name of Saudi Clan, they have
followed his steps in practicing under
ground activities and conspiracies
against the Arab nation. They illegally
seized rural sectors and farmlands
and assassinated every person who
tried to oppose their evil plans. They

used all kinds of deceit for reaching

their goals; they bought the
conscience of their dissidents; they
offered their women and money to
influential people in that area,
particularly those who started to write
the true biography of that Jewish
family; they bribed the writers of
history in order to purify their
ignominious history, and to make their
lineage related to the most prominent
Arab tribes such as Rabia, Anza, and
Al Masaleekh.
A conspicuous hypocrite in our era,
whose name is Mohammad Amin Al
Tamimi- Director/Manager of the
contemporary Libraries of the Saudi
Kingdom, made up a genealogical tree
(family tree) for this Jewish family (the
Saudis), connecting them to our Great
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). For his
false work, he received a reward of 35
thousand Egyptian pounds from the

then Saudi Ambassador to Cairo,

Egypt, in the year 1362 A.H.-1943 A.D.
The name of that Ambassador is
Ibrahim Al-Fadel.
As aforementioned, the Jewish
ancestor of the Saudi family,
(Mordakhai), practiced polygamy by
marrying a lot of Arab women and
begot many children; his polygamous
practice is, at the present time, being
carried out to the letter by his
descendants; they cling to his martial
heritage!
One of Mordakhais sons called AlMaraqan, arabized from the Jewish
root Mack-ren, begot a son called
Mohammad, then another son called
Saud, which is the name of the
present day Saudi Dynasty.
Descendants of Saud (the present day
Saudi Family) started a campaign of
assassination of the prominent leaders
of the Arab Tribes under the pretence

that those leaders were apostates;

renegading from the Islamic Religion,
and deserting their Quraanic
doctrines; so they deserved the Saudi
condemnation and slaughter!
In the History Book of the Saudi Family
pages 98-101, their private family
historian declares that the Saudi
dynasty considers all people of Najd
blasphemous, so their blood must be
shed, their properties confiscated, and
their females taken as concubines; no
Muslim is authentic in his/her belief
unless he/she belongs (affiliates) to
the sect of Mohammad bin Abdul
Wahab (whose origins are also Jewish
from Turkey.) His doctrines give
authority to the Saudi Family to
destroy villages with all their
inhabitants-males including children,
and to sexually assault their women;
stab the bellies of the pregnant, and
cut off the hands of their children,

then burn them! They are further

authorized by such a brutal doctrine
to plunder all the properties of which
they call renegades (not following
their Wahabi sect.)Their hideous
Jewish family has, in fact, done all that
kind of atrocities in the name of their
false religious sect (the Wahabi),
which has actually been invented by a
Jew so as to sow the seeds of terror in
the hearts if people in towns and
villages. This Jewish Dynasty has been
committing such brutal atrocities ever
since 1163 A.H. They have named the
whole Arabian Peninsula after their
family name (Saudi Arabia) as if the
whole region is their own personal real
estate, and that all other inhabitants
are their mere servants or slaves,
toiling day and night for the pleasure
of their masters (The Saudi Family.)
They are completely holding the
natural wealth of the country as their

own property. If any poor person from

the common people raises his/her
voice complaining against any of the
despotic rules of this Jewish Dynasty,
the Dynasty cuts off his/her head in
the public square. A princess of theirs
once visited Florida, USA, with her
retinue; she rented 90 (ninety) Suite
rooms in a Grand Hotel for about One
Million dollars a night! Can anyone of
her subjects comment about that
extravagant event? If he/she does,
his/her fate is quite known: DEATH
WITH THE EDGE OF THE SAUDI
SWORD IN THE PUBLIC SQUARE!!!!!
WITNESSES ON THE JEWISH ANCESTRY
OF THIS SAUDI FAMILY:
In the 1960s the Sawt al Arab
Broadcasting Station in Cairo, Egypt,
and the Yemen Broadcasting Station in
Sanaa confirmed the Jewish ancestry
of the Saudi family.
King Faisal Al-Saud at that time could

not deny his familys kindred with the

Jews when he declared to the
Washington Post on Sept.17, 1969
stating: We, the Saudi Family, are
cousins of the Jews: we entirely
disagree with any Arab or Muslim
Authority which shows any
antagonism to Jews; but we must live
together with them in peace. Our
country (Arabia) is the fountain head
from where the first Jew sprang, and
his descendants spread out all over
the world. That was the declaration
of King Faisal Al-Saud bin Abdul Aziz!!!
Hafez Wahbi, the Saudi legal advisor,
mentioned in his book entitled The
Peninsula of Arabia that King Abdul
Aziz A-Saud, who died in 1953, had
said: Our message (Saudi Massage)
encountered the opposition of all Arab
Tribes. My grandfather, Saud Awal,
once imprisoned a number of the
Sheikhs of Matheer Tribe; and when

another group of the same tribe came

to intercede for the release of the
prisoners, Saud Awal gave orders to
his men to cut off the heads of all the
prisoners, then, he wanted to
humiliate and derogate the
interceders by inviting them to eat
from a banquet he prepared from the
cooked flesh of his victims whose cut
off heads he place in the top of the
food platters! The interceders became
so alarmed and declined to eat the
flesh of their relatives, and, because
of their refusal to eat, he ordered his
men to cut off their heads too. That
hideous crime was committed by that
self imposed king to innocent people
whose guilt was their opposition to his
most cruel and extremely despotic
rules.
Hafez Wahbi states further that King
Abdul Aziz Al-Saud related that bloody
true story to the Sheikhs of the

Matheer Tribs, who visited him in

order to intercede for their prominent
leader at that time, Faisal Al
Darweesh, who was the kings
prisoner. He related that story to them
in order to prevent them from
interceding for the release of their
Sheikh; otherwise, they would meet
the same fate; he killed the Sheikh
and used his blood as an ablution
liquid from him just before he stood
up for his prayer (after the false sect
doctrine of the Wahabi). The guilt of
Faisal Darweesh at that time was that
he had criticized King Abdul Aziz AlSaud when the king signed the
document which the English
Authorities prepared in 1922 as a
declaration for giving Palestine to the
Jews; his signature was obtained in
the conference held at Al Aqeer in
1922.
That was and still is the system of this

regime of the Jewish family) (Saudi

Family). All its goals are: plundering
the wealth of the country, robbing,
falsifying, and committing all kinds of
atrocity, iniquity, and blasphemy-all
are executed in compliance with their
self invented Wahabi Sect which
legalizes the chopping of the heads of
their opposing subjects.
Source
Read More from different sources
about Saudi Kings are blood thirsty
Jews!
Read More from different sources
about Saudi Kings are blood thirsty
Jews!
Read More from different sources
about Saudi Kings are blood thirsty
Jews!
Now you also do your own research to
find the truth! Do not only depend on
one source but rather do your
own research too!

Because the unbelievable warm and

strong relationship between USA
Politicians, Banks, Jews, and Saudi
Kings and Business People, Osama Bin
Laden with Carlyle Group is bloody
amazing!!!

38 Responses to Saudi Royal Family

is Jewish! King and Prince are all Jew!
.
. lora stultz says:December 31,
2012 at 3:15 pmHow is this possible
that ,these Jewish creatures are
having the KAABA?????????? Why are
they NOT BEING BEHEADED until
now??? We ,the Muslims are going to
pay FOR THE JEWS TO PRAY in
MECCA???????? IT IS NOT
O.K.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!
.
. manel ferral says:March 14,
2013 at 8:00 pmThe FKE jews and the
Saudis and most catholic leaders are
Kenites ( Seed of Cain) Cain was
seed of Satin/Serpent.
.
. kamal says:March 14, 2013 at
10:19 pmBy reading that, the Haji
rituals is the work of Jews, that is to
say is shirik, the hadiths could also
created by them denouncing the rest
of Prophets. They are making 30 USD
billion annually by telling false
teaching about Islam.
.
. Heidi says:April 21, 2013 at 1:40
amThe white Je ws are NOT
European. They have different DNA
and Phenotype than
Caucasian/Europeans.The Chinese
have these people in their histories

they were called the Xiongnu. They

owned almost all the wealth of the
known world for quite sometime. They
would send tax collectors and
rulers to different countries to
guarantee Tribute was being sent back
to their Empire.The USAs government
is completely run by Je ws and
Zionists. All industry in the USA is
controlled or owned outright by them
as well. The media/entertainment has
always been dominated by them
now it is virtually controlled by only
them. They change their names to
Gentile sounding surnames to
confuse the Goyim.Google the Je
ws and the newest Catholic pope
they wanted to help CHOOSE him, and
they arent even CATHOLIC they
dont believe in Jesus Christ at all! At
least Muslims believe he was a
prophet of the most high!The common
people of the USA Do Not want war,

they want to be free too. They want to

live in peace, but the MEDIA that is
owned and controlled by the Je ws
tells them to hate Muslims, tells them
Muslims want to come take their
freedoms away. But really it is the Je
ws that want to kill Christians
theyve talked about it for years, even
in their book of laws the TALMUD talks
about killing off Christians (Western
Europeans). They just need people to
help them do it.The USA people are
debt slaves, they wish to take our
guns. It is the only thing keeping us
free.
.
. Wakeel says:May 28, 2013 at
11:57 pm But really it is the Je ws
that want to kill Christians theyve
talked about it for years, even in their
book of laws the TALMUD talks about
killing off Christians (Western
Europeans). They just need people to

help them do it.So why not enlighten

Christians to realize who their real
enemies are?
.
. BornInHell says:July 1, 2013 at
9:37 pmYou can only ask forgiveness
and repent whit your whole soul, it is
only Allah who sees youre soul and
decides who he will forgive and who
not.Allah has given freedom to all
humans, but in the end we all must
answer to him.Path of evil;Jalousy
feeds greed, greed feeds lust, lust
feeds hate, hate feeds anger, anger
feeds evil, and evil will consume you
till there is nothing humane left inside
of you.I just want to enlighten you,
dont fall for the trap that is set for
humanity!Souls are not born in color
or race, smart or dumb, big or small,
relligious or unbeliever. It is what you
make of it or what is made of you.We
are all one, we are all brothers and

sisters, but it is you who chooses to be

brother or sister.Trustworthy comes
with deeds, only if you dont expect
something in return. Without deeds,
words are just empty shells.Action
says more then words, words says
more then silence, silence lays in a
grave.You only got one life one
chance, dont waste it!Wake up now
before you wake up when youre dead,
then it is to late.
.
. tipah says:August 19, 2013 at
10:26 amWashington Post on
Sept.17, 1969 stating: We, the Saudi
Family, are cousins of the Jews King
Faisal Al-SaudDo not spin the meaning
of this statement, this statement
indicates that Arabs and Jews are as if
a cousin, because they both are from
the same root the same father, he is
Abraham. Jews are the decendent of
Israel a.k.a jacob son of Isaac who is a

son of Abraham (through Sarah), while

the Arabs are decendent of Ishmael
son of Abraham (through Hagar).
Ishmael and Isaac are brothers, so
sons of Ishmael & sons of Isaac are
considered cousin. So this statement
is totally true.
.
. Ba Aden says:August 28, 2013
at 7:26 am

( ) ( ) .

Prophet Mohamed ( PBUH ) was

asked .. who are the best people to
you? His answer was people from
Yemen and Sham . he was asked the
same question again and again the
answer was the same. One of the
people around him asked the Prophet ,
What about the people from Najd his
answer was The Satan will be born
there, so Who is the Najdy people, the
Wahabies and the Saudi king family?

They are the people from Najd.Thank

you for reading this bit of history
.
. xris says:December 16, 2013 at
9:15 pmthe saudi royal family are
opressive not doubt and they are
sowing seeds of division so ulsim
fights muslim in places like syria and
iraq.also other innocent people, non
muslims are targetted as in syria etc.
saudis like zionists are to be
condemned for their actions,thier
injustice, greed and so forth, not
because of perhaps having certain
ancestors.if some jewish people
truly converted to islam and
intermarried with other muslims/arbs,
one cannot hold this against the
descendants.racism is not
islamic.jews are people of the
bookif they stray from the book
condemn the straying not the
race/group.we are all inviduals and

are responsible for our individual acts.

genealogy is interesting, but in the
end mostly irrelevant here-there is not
need to cite [possibly] having a jewish
ancestor as a reason to condemn a
person/ the saudi royals since it is
clearly their actions which are to be
condemned and stopped yes..if they
are a foreign tribe [ not from arabia]
say form iraq or elsewhere, then their
original claiming of land over other
people who live on the land [ in
arabia] is spurious i would agree- due
to their not being from the
area.inciting more hatred on the
basis of ancestors is not good for
anyone..there is plenty of reason to
condemn saudis for what they have
done and what they are doing
presently- against the saudi people in
general and others across the region
.
. Muhibullah says:March 29, 2014

at 2:09 amFirstly, in the 1960s the

dictator Gamal Abdel Nasser held
power in Egypt and was engaged in a
cold war with the Saudi king Faisal for
leadership of the Arab world. In 1962
Nasserite revolutionaries took over
North Yemen (Sanaa). So whatever
Sawt Al Arab Broadcasting Station in
Cairo, Egypt, and the Yemen
Broadcasting Station in Sanaa say
about the Saudis genealogy should
be taken with a pinch of salt.Secondly
even if we accept the (unbelievable)
story that they had a male Jewish
ancestor, the mothers were all
Muslim, Arab (as per the story itself).
This means that they are not Jewish as
per the Judaic religion.
.
. ASAP says:May 22, 2014 at
12:05 amWhether kikes or not, they
are worse than israhell, at least we
can see the zionists, but these

mother*F***KRs are the enemy within.

.
. Khawaja Shah Hassaan Khalid
says:June 13, 2014 at 10:10 amMany
Muslim families have Jewish by
ancestral origin, like Pashtuns and
many other Arab Families are
descendents of the Jewish Tribes, but
they are all Muslims by Religion. +
What is wrong with being a Jew
Dont listen to the bloody Mullahs they
are out there to only and only spread
misconceptions, conflict and discord.
.
. ibrahim bin hussain says:June
24, 2014 at 5:54 pmto the bloggersir
let me remind you that no one of us
have a pure Muslim roots either we
have a Jewish or a christian or etc
because when ever the message
comes from the god in the form of any
books to some prophets till some time
it was unchanged den after some

years they again committed shirk so

non of us have a pure Muslim roots
.
. Visit Voronezh hotels in
Voronezh, special offers Voronezh
hotels deals, Voronezh Travel Guide,
Cheap Voronezh Hotels, Voronezh
hotels near airport, Voronezh State
University.says:June 29, 2014 at 3:47
amThats important, Youre a terribly
skilled digg. Ive got joined the feed
along with crunch regarding in search
of additional of the excellent article.
Furthermore, I distributed your
website inside my social networking
sites
.
. jews r dumb says:August 13,
2014 at 3:39 pmthe tribal family tree
to which i, the saudi royal family, the
iracis, kurds, jews etc belong too is an
ancient tribal family tree started in
egypt but the problem is the jews

wrongly belive that it is their tribal

tree.if you have have a surname that
can be traced to that tribal tree and
practice judaism and r circumsized the
jews claim that you are a decendant
of that tribal tree but if u r not
circumsized they claim u r noit
decended from it and that u r
decended from a person that copied a
tribe name from that tribal family tree
ansd took it as his own and so deny u
of your ancestry and so dont just steal
your ancestral homerland but try to
steal your anceatry, when however its
a famous person such sas an arab
prince thgen jews claim yes u r
decended from that tribal family tree
and u r a jew.basically the jews
ignorance and antinonjewite racism
causes many problems and so i
avocate their extermination
.
. Ahmad says:August 14, 2014 at

3:20 pm
Assalamualaikumwarohmatullahi
wabarokatuhDear Ba Aden; You had
answered the above subject and
dilemma superbly and precisely
according to the Hadis Rasulullah
(PBUH)..keep it up,it was an eye
opening for a person like myself who
are not familiar with the Arabic Geopolitic and historykeep it up my dear
Brother.To me it is quiet difficult to see
through a wolf who disguise himself as
a sheep by covering himself with the
sheep woolmasyaAllah,as the wise
man says in order to see things that
are invisible to your eyes,you can only
see the hidden thing by looking at
things that are visible eyesif you go
to the city of Mecca Al-Mukaramah did
you notice that all the doors to enter
to the Kaabah are name after Kings
name and their famillies or kins
instead of naming after the prophet or

friends of Rasulullah and etc? Why

did the relics like house of
Rasulullah,library or anything to do
with Rasulullah had been destroyed by
this so call custodian of Mecca AlMukaramah.Remember contemplating
is better than 70 times of praying..
.
. George says:January 25, 2015 at
10:19 amwow ! if this is true ,
however what would you expect from
such kafrins, that practice from the
satanical telmud.
.
. Marty says:April 21, 2015 at
1:00 pmI always suspected this was
the case! I also heard that Osama Bin
Laden (also Saudi originally) was Arab
Jewish (Mizrakrim) in origen and
suffered from a disease (so did his
lady cousin in America) called
thelosimmia (where you need
dialisis) and thats the way Osama

really died, not by the hands of (secret

Sunni Muslim) US President Barack
Obama (or Barry Soetoro), but by
thelosimmia also his lady cousin died
from this disease in America as well.
Many Arab and Serfadi Jews suffer
from this condition as well. Also the
post by Jews R Dumb is well said,
because Jews have 2 left hands and 2
left feet. They are no good in trades
(except pawnbroking or Taxi driving).
The Jews were banned from trades in
the British Empire, until recent times.
The Jews made all their money from
the Holocaust racket/scam, whatever
you want to call it. The Jews are a
borderline retarded race and also
have high rates of schizophrenia and
paranoia.Its all true for anyone who
wants to look into this.
.
. Samir S. Halabi says:April 26,
2015 at 11:43 amThis internet site is

Jew-Hating and as much as you hate

me I hate you billions times more.
Before you can wipe Nazi I$raHeLl off
the map of the worl which you will
never succeed to do, all you will be
glassed over ha ha ha. Youare all the
scum of this earth with your
beheadings and focing your religion
on people who dont want it. JEWS
have never imposed their faith on
anyone,However you have used force
on non Muslims either convert or die
by the sword which is still used to this
very day, smamee on you.
.
. Samir S. Halabi says:June 5,
2015 at 8:55 amI have seen many
Saudis that look Jewish, they could
come from London or Paris.They look
very much like Jewish men an women
you would see in stores or shops.I am
not even tking about comparing them
with the physiognomy of Sephardic or

Mizrahi Jews, just Jews whether

Ashkenazi or other.
.
. periwinkle says:June 21, 2015 at
4:31 pmdear Sammii dont understand
why you are so disturbed about the
conversation as they are all facts. why
are you blaming the Muslims about
converting by force when even the
Germans and the British hated Jews
from a long long time ago and killed
so many. The Muslims at least gave
them a choice to live and convert or
die. What choice have the Jews given
to the millions of muslims they are
killing for greed and power. Thats why
the Jews will never be forgiven by God
because they killed so many holy
people and prophets that God had
sent. Remember who is the real
enemy here.
.
. Amah Jones says:March 25,

2016 at 6:29 pmIDENTITY THEFT OF

BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS!In the videos
narratives, please bear in mind that
the JEWS AND MUSLIMS referred to
were the original BLACK PEOPLE of the
region, not the modern white TURKS
and JEWS.The great Prophet
Mohammed (pbuh) was a Black man
and so was Yeshua (Jesus). It was
Mohammed who first brought the
Turks to Mecca and Medina. Now, the
descendants of his Mameluk/Seljuk
slave soldiers own and rule the whole
of Arabia which, until the 12th century
or so, was predominantly blackthe
indigenous Jews and Arabs.Today, the
whole history has been
WHITEWASHED by the Turks
(Ottomans and Khazars) who control
both Islam and Judaism. The Turks
(Turkic Arabs) are now Islams
dominant group. Their cousins, the
Khazar Turks a.k.a. Ashkenazi a.k.a.

European Jews a.k.a. Modern Jews,

dominate Judaism.TURNING WHITE:
Berbers are turning white. Bedouins
are turning white, Jews and Jesus have
turned white. Modern Israel is Turkish
white, Arabs are now Turkish white.
Tuaregs are turning Turkish white.
Mohammed is Turkish white, Buddha
has turned white, Krishna is turning
white, Africa is turning white, Europe
turned white, the American continent
turned white, Asia is turning white,
Australia is now white, New Zealand
became white, Canada turned white,
India is whitenizing, Egypt is now
Turkish white, Morocco is Turkish
white, Mauritania is Turkish white,
Algeria is Turkish white, the entire
Middle East is Turkish white, God is
white and Satan is black.But black is
the origin of all colors and everything
on earth!
.

. Samir S. Halabi says:May 9,

2016 at 6:32 amMany members of the
Saudi.Royal Family have much fairer
skin than the rest of the
population,which could indicate a
Jewish link as the Jews of the Had
ragout were in fact much lighter
skinned than the rest of the
population.I have noticed that some
members of the Saudi Royal family
who have vacationed in London UK. or
in Cannes in the South of France have
resembling features of the Jewish
Communities of those countries.If you
would put the two peoples together
westerners wouldnthe be able to tell
them apart..
.
. lumberjackhoodie.com says:May
20, 2016 at 9:23 amVery quickly this
web page will be famous amid all blog
people,due to its pleasant articles
.

. Marty Fox says:May 26, 2016 at

3:54 amThe English Royals are known
to be Jewish too!Thats why HRH
Prince of Wales is good friends with
the Saudi Royals.Its all part of the
long-term agenda to re-establish The
Temple Of Solomon in Israel, which
will lead (unfortunately) to WWIII !But
the meglomaniacs in the Rothschild
Zionist Dynasty dont see it that way,
they think the world belongs to them
and they control the money supply,
well good luck to them if they do, but
once you start up a major conflict in
the Middle East, this war will never
stop!This major war can drag on for
the next 100 years!The Zionist
meglomaniacs think theyll make alot
of money out of this, well for the
short-term at first, but then they could
very well lose control of the whole
situation in the long-term.The Zionist
Illuminati want (via Israel) also to

declare war against Shia Iran

(Persia=Israels ancient enemy) and
Irans allies (China & Russia).Well if
this happens, then well see a major
nuclear conflict, which the long-term
outcome will be of no benefit to
anyone!The Zionist NWO think, by
reducing the Worlds population by
80%, theyll have an easier world to
control, so thats what they think!
.
. Jamahl says:May 31, 2016 at
6:38 amGreat work, but the Ashkenazi
Jews isnt the same Hebrew as the
original. Banu Qaynuqa isnt of
Ashkenaz ancestry.We have to stop
confusing the two. The Current Jew is
a convert and isnt connected directly
to Jacob aka Israel.HI JAMAHLTHANK
YOU FOR YOUR INFORMATIONSHOAH
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
. Lobby: Saudi Arabia is kosher |
Rehmat's World says:January 21, 2013

at 1:19 am[] needs to read Saudi

Arabian history from some objective
source. Saudi royal who have Jewish
family roots, has no more legitimacy
over the land of Nejd and Hijaz, than
the European Jews have over []
. The Hashashim | Thulean
Perspective says:June 3, 2013 at 1:31
pm[] The rulers of Saudi Arabia are
actually Jews, Muslim Jews, and their
work to spread Islam in Europe is a
part of the Jewish plan to turn us []
. Saudi King is a Jew | oogenhand
says:June 3, 2013 at 3:15 pm[]
http://www.shoah.org.uk/2012/08/19/s
audi-royal-family-is-jewish-king-andprince-are-all-jew/ []
. US, Saudi Arabia plan to destroy
Syria: Report says:October 24, 2013 at
1:15 pm[] others
linkshttp://www.shoah.org.uk/2012/08/
19/saudi-royal-family-is-jewish-kingand-prince-are-all-jew/ []

. Saudi King: Army must fight

Hizbullah | Rehmat's World says:
November 28, 2013 at 12:48 am[]
joined together against Iran, the newly
emerging regional power. Al-Saud
family reportedly have Jewish family
roots. Karl Schwart called the family
traitor to []
. Video Testimonials: American
children kidnapped and trapped in
Saudi Arabia | ElderofZyklon's Blog!
says:March 23, 2014 at 12:21 am[]
http://www.shoah.org.uk/2012/08/19/s
audi-royal-family-is-jewish-king-andprince-are-all-jew/ []
. The Saudi Royal Family ARE
Jews, both King and Prince! |
ElderofZyklon's Blog! says:March 23,
2014 at 3:13 pm[] The Saudi Royal
Family ARE Jews, both King and
Prince! []
. Saudi Arabia offers Olive Branch
to Iran | Rehmat's World says:May 19,

2014 at 5:01 pm[] narrow-down

Sunni-Shia divide in the Muslim world.
However, judging by Saudi royals
dubious family roots, how the
Kingdom was established and
protected by the anti-Muslim colonial
powers it would []
. Here We Go Again, Muslims Now
Want EID As A Bank Holiday |
ElderofZyklon's Blog! says:June 2,
2014 at 11:14 am[] Surprise,
surprise.
http://www.shoah.org.uk/2012/08/19/s
audi-royal-family-is-jewish-king-andprince-are-all-jew/ []
. The Death Of A Racist Dream |
says:October 22, 2015 at 11:58 pm
[] Saudi Royal Family is Jewish! King
& Prince are All Jew?
http://www.shoah.org.uk/2012/08/19/s
audi-royal-family-is-jewish-king-andprince-are-all-jew/ []
. Israel and Saudi Arabia are

Sisters ~ [Sheikh Imran Hosein] | the

real SyrianFreePress Network says:
November 3, 2015 at 5:30 pm[]
(Shoah.org) ~ Jews are the one in
charge of Kabbah and Madina
Munawara to make $$$$$$ !!! All
the Hajj Money +Umrah Money + Oil
money and Saudi taxes goes to the
Jews and Israel to kill Muslims! []
. SAUDI GOT FAKE JEW BLOOD! |
The Poison Apple of the World says:
April 5, 2016 at 11:31 pm[] Saudi
Royal Family is Jewish! King and Prince
are all Jew!
http://www.shoah.org.uk/2012/08/19/s
audi-royal-family-is-jewish-king-andprince-are-all-jew/ []

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History of the California Blacks

Nation Califians (Khalifians) The First
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Whistleblowers and the Press

Heavyweights

 Pentagon to release about 200

photos of tortured Afghan, Iraqi
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BBC Foreknowledge of Collapse

of WTC Building 7?

The inevitable fall from grace of

Paul Joseph Watson
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2016 SHOAH . All Rights Reserved.
Website & SEO by Creative Spring
In the late sixth century, Sassanid
Persian Empire and theAbyssinian

Kingdom of Aksum fought a series of

wars over control of the Himyarite
Kingdom in southern Arabia. After the
Battle of Hadhramautand the Siege of
Sana'a in 570, the Ethiopians were
expelled from the Arabian peninsula.
They had re-established their power
there by 575 or 578, when another
Persian army invaded the Himyarite
Kingdom and re-established the
deposed king on his throne as their
client. It marked the end of Ethiopian
rule in Arabia.

HomeIslamAhmadiyyatHoly
QuranLibraryOnline Store
A BOOK OF RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE

Book Links
Title
Table of Content
Foreword
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Second EditionCompiled byWaheed
Ahmad

SECTION 3
THE LIFE OF THE HOLY PROPHET
MUHAMMAD(PEACE AND BLESSINGS
OF ALLAH BE UPON HIM)

KHATAMANNABIYYEEN(SEAL OF THE
PROPHETS)
THE SEMITIC RACE ANDTHE
BACKGROUND OF ISLAM
The Arabs belong to the Semitic race.
Of all the various races in the world,
the Semitic people have perhaps
contributed the most to the civilization
of Man. Arabia, the birth place of
Islam, is considered to be the probable
cradle of the Semitic race. In the
course of time these Semitic people
migrated into different parts of the
Fertile Crescent and became known as
the Babylonians, Assyrians,
Chaldaeans, Amorites, Phoenicians,
Canaanites, and the Hebrews of
history.
It was the people of the Semitic race
who gave the world its three greatest
monotheistic religions: Judaism,
Christianity and Islam. The term
Semite is derived from Shem, the

eldest son of Noah and the progenitor

of the Semitic people.
According to historians, the first
migration of the Semitic race occurred
around 3500 B.C. and carried these
people from their original homeland in
Arabia (perhaps around Najd) to the
regions of Egypt, Canaan, and
Mesopotamia.
One branch of the Semitic people
went to Egypt which was then
populated by the Hamitic people, a
branch of the white race. The
amalgamation of the Hamites and the
Semitic migrants produced the
Egyptians of history.
Another branch of the Semitic people
went to the southeastern part of
Mesopotamia which was then
populated by the Sumerians. The
admixture of these two peoples gave
rise to the Babylonians of history.
Another branch of the Semitic people

settled down in the Canaan region,

and later, on the coastal strip of Sidon
and Tyre, and gave rise to the
Canaanites and Phoenicians of history.
Around 2500 B.C., another migration
of the Semitic people, called the
Amorites, started from the Canaan
Phoenicia area and reached the
eastern part of the Fertile Crescent,
producing the Assyrians of history.
The early civilization in the Tigro
Euphrates area consisted of city
states. The first known king of Sumer
was Etana (3000 B.C.), while Akkad
was ruled by the Akkadian dynasty
founded by Sargon 1.
Then, around 2100 B.C., Hammurabi
of the Amorites united the entire
Akkad Sumer region and renamed it
as Babylon. Hammurabi was a great
administrator and legislator. He
established a proper code of conduct
for the people which is known today

as the "Code of Hammurabi". This

code is perhaps the oldest code
known to man and deals with the
rights and duties of the various
classes of people living in the
Babylonian Empire.
After the death of Hammurabi, the
Babylonian Empire started to decline
till the 8th century B.C. when it was
conquered by the Assyrians from the
north.
The Assyrians were a group of Semitic
people who had established
themselves over the northern region
of the Mesopotamian valley. Through
warfare and aggression, the Assyrians
conquered a vast territory, including
Babylonia.
In 722 B.C., Sargon II, an Assyrian
king, conquered Samaria, the capital
of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
Sargon II carried away as captives the
most influential men of the Ten Tribes

of the Hebrews. These captives are

known in history as the Lost Ten
Tribes.
Sennacherib (705 681 B.C.) and
Ashurbanipal (668 626 B.C.) were the
other two famous kings of the
Assyrians. Ashurbanipal was the
greatest king of Assyria and the entire
western Asia acknowledged his
authority. On his death, the Assyrian
Empire started to decline and in 612
B.C. Ninevah, the capital of Assyria fell
to the conquering Medes of Persia.
On the fail of Assyria, the Babylonian
Empire rose to prominence again
under the Chaldaeans dynasty (625
538 B.C.). Nabopolassar was the
founder of this New Babylonian
dynasty and his son, Nebuchadnezzar,
was its greatest king. It was under him
that Babylon recovered its ancient
splendour and glory. In 586 B.C., he
defeated the Hebrew king of Judah,

destroyed the city of Jerusalem and

exiled the Jews from the city. It was
Nebuchadnezzar who built the
Hanging Gardens of Babylon for the
pleasure of his wife. In 539 B.C., the
Chaldaeans Empire was overthrown
by the Medes of Persia under their
king Cyrus. Cyrus then allowed the
exiled Jews to return to Jerusalem and
start the restoration of their sacred
city.
The branch of the Semitic race known
as the Hebrews lived in the Canaan
region around 2100 B.C. When Joseph
became governor of a province of
Egypt, many Hebrews migrated to
that land. The later kings of Egypt,
however, mistreated the Israelites
who spent the next three hundred
years in bondage and servitude under
their Egyptian masters. Finally, in
1445 B.C., the Israelites left Egypt in
an Exodus under the direction of

Moses and eventually returned to their

original homeland in the Canaan area.
The later history of the Hebrew people
is described in some detail in this
book under the title Judaism.
All the Semitic peoples share not only
a common ethnic heritage but their
languages also form a common
speech group. To the Semitic
languages belong the Akkadian (the
language of ancient Babylon and
Assyria), Canaanite (of which ancient
Phoenician and Hebrew are variant
forms), Aramaic (which survives today
in the form of Syriac), and Arabic. A
common feature of all these Semitic
languages is a system of derivation
from roots which normally consist of
three consonants. The Arabic
language today is considered to be
the closest to what scholars believe
was the primitive form of the Semitic
speech.

ARABIA AT THE TIME OFPROPHET

MUHAMMAD'S BIRTH
The Holy Prophet Muhammad was
born in Mecca to the year 570 A.D.
The city of Mecca is located in the
western part of the Arabian Peninsula
which is a rectangular shaped block of
land surrounded on three sides by the
waters of the Persian Gulf, the Arabian
Sea and the Red Sea. To the north lies
another formidable barrier, the Syrian
Desert. For this reason the inhabitants
of Arabia used to refer to their land as
al Jazirah, the Island.
Most of the Arabian Peninsula is a
desert land of scorching sun with
oases and settlements scattered here
and there. There is not a single river in
Arabia which flows perennially and

reaches the sea. None of its streams

are navigable. Longer than man can
remember, Bedouin tribes have
inhabited this region, constantly
moving in search of food and
pastures. Caravan routes cross the
desert in all directions. In ancient
times, caravans carried spices from
Mecca to the city of Damascus in
Syria.
The Meccans trace their ancestry back
to Ishmael who, along with his father
Abraham, rebuilt the Ka'ba some
4,000 years ago. The Arabs were
largely an idolatrous people
worshiping many gods. It is said that
the Ka'ba contained some 360 idols,
one for each day of the year. Even in
pre Islamic days, Mecca enjoyed a
certain importance among the Arabs
who used to come there for their
annual pilgrimage and for performing
sacrifices to their gods.

Although Allah was the Supreme God

of the Arabs, they also believed in a
number of other deities. Following is a
list of some of the principal deities of
the Arabs before Islam:
Allah the Supreme GodHubal the chief
of the minor deitiesal Uzza identified
with the planet Venusal Lat a female
deity located at Ta'ifManat a large
sacrificial stoneTaghut an idol in the
shape of a lionWadd a statue in the
form of a manSuwah an idol in the
form of a womanYa'uq worshiped in
the form of a horseNasr worshiped in
the form of an eagleYaghuth an idol
worshiped by the tribe of MuradIsaf an
idol that stood on Mount SafaNaila _
an image on Mount MarwaDuwar a
favourite idol with the young women
Of the above Arab deities, the names
of al Uzza, al Lat and Manat are
mentioned in Surah al-Najm (53:20
21), and the names of Wadd, Suwah,

Ya'uq, Nasr and Yaghuth are

mentioned in Surah Nooh (71:24).
Aside from the idolatrous Arabs, there
were Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians,
and Hanifs Living in Arabia.
Zoroastrianism was the ancient
religion of Iran and Hanifs were a
small group of monotheistic people
who traced their religion back to the
Prophet Abraham. The Tradition of the
Holy Prophet indicates that his natural
religious inclination was towards the
Hanifite beliefs before the advent of
Islam.
While the Peninsula of Arabia was
ruled by different tribes with their own
recognized territories, the world
outside was more organized. To the
east existed the Sasanid Empire of
Iran, to the north the Christian
Byzantine Empire and to the west,
across the Red Sea. The Kingdom of
Abyssinia.

The Sasanid Empire came into being

in the year 226 A.D. and the Sasanid
dynasty ruled over Iran for four
centuries. The last king of the dynasty
was Chosroes Pervez who ascended
the throne in 590 A.D. He was a
contemporary of the Byzantine
Emperor, Heraclius and of the Holy
Prophet Muhammad. The official
religion of the Sasanid Empire was
Zoroastrianism, a monotheistic faith
founded by the Prophet Zoroaster
around 1500 B.C.
The Byzantine Empire (also called the
Eastern Roman Empire) consisted of
Syria, Palestine, Egypt and part of
southeastern Europe. The Empire was
named after Byzantium, a Greek city
on the Bosporus which is a narrow
strait connecting the Black Sea with
the Mediterranean. In 327 A.D.
Byzantium was made the capital of
the Eastern Roman Empire by

Constantine the Great and the city

was renamed Constantinople. Today
the city of Constantinople is called
Istanbul. During the time of the
Prophet Muhammad, Heraclius was
the Emperor of the Eastern Roman
Empire. The armies of Chosroes and
Heraclius were constantly at war
throughout the lifetime of the Prophet.
The Abyssinian Kingdom was ruled by
King Negus, or Najashi as the Arabs
used to call him. At the time of the
Holy Prophet, the Kingdom of
Abyssinia was at its height and an ally
of the Byzantine Empire. Like the
Byzantine Empire, the religion of the
Abyssinian Kingdom was Christianity.
It is said that around the year 570
A.D., the Christian Chief of Yemen,
named Abraha, attempted to invade
Mecca with the intention of destroying
the Ka'ba. Abraha's army rode on
elephants and in the Arab history the

year 570 A.D. is known as the Year of

the Elephant. Abraha did not succeed
in his mission and his army was
destroyed by an epidemic of disease
and a terrible storm. The Quranic
Surah al Feel refers to this event.
The Arab culture was a strange
mixture of extreme moral defects and
some admirable qualities. On the one
hand drinking, gambling, personal
vendettas and burying alive of baby
girls were commonplace. On the other
hand, the Arabs were well known for
their hospitality, honour, bravery and
love for Arabic poetry. It was among
such people that the Holy Prophet of
Islam was born.

PROPHET MUHAMMAD'S EARLY LIFE

Prophet Muhammad was born in 570
A.D. in the Hashemite branch of the
tribe of Quraysh. His father's name
was Abdullah and his mother's
Aminah. His grandfather, Abdul
Muttalib, was the chief of Mecca at the
time of Abraha's invasion. Shortly
after his marriage, Abdullah went to
Yathrib (Medinah) in pursuit of trade.
He died there a few months before the
Prophet was born.
When the Prophet Muhammad was
two years old, he was sent to a nurse
named Haleema of the tribe of Banu
Sa'd. Living in the desert he learned
from this tribe the purest and most
classical form of the Arabic language.
In his later years the Holy Prophet
used to tell his companions:
"I am the most Arab among you, for I
am of the tribe of Quraysh and I have

been brought up among the tribe of

Banu Sa'd."
In the sixth year of his life, Prophet
Muhammad was returned to the care
of his mother who took him to Yathrib
to meet other relatives. On the way
back from Yathrib, his mother fell ill
and died.
Prophet Muhammad's grandfather,
Abdul Muttalib, was very fond of him
and took him under his own care. But
the guardianship of his grandfather
lasted only two years and when the
Prophet Muhammad was eight years
old, his grandfather also passed away.
On his deathbed, Abdul Muttalib
entrusted his grandson to the care of
one of his sons, Abu Talib.
Although Abu Talib took the Prophet
Muhammad under his own care, he
was not a rich man and had to support
his own family as well. When the
Prophet grew older, he started earning

his own living by modest business

transactions but mostly as a
shepherd. In his early teens the
Prophet accompanied his uncle Abu
Talib on a journey to al Sham (Syria).
In connection with this trip the
biographers relate young
FAMILY TREE OF THE HOLY PROPHET
AND THE VARIOUS CALIPHATE
DYNASTIES
The first two caliphs are not shown
below. Abu Bakr belonged to the Banu
Taym branch and Omar to the Banu
Adi branch of the tribe of Quraysh.
The third and fourth caliphs are shown
by numbers. The first four caliphs of
the Umayyad dynasty are shown by
numbers in brackets.
Muhammad's encounter with a monk
named Bahirah who recognized in him
the signs of prophethood and advised
Abu Talib to take good care of him.

While the Prophet Muhammad was in

his teens, the valley of Mecca saw a
bloody fighting erupt among the
various tribes. Many persons were
killed in these tribal feuds which
lasted many years. These wars were
fought during the sacred months
when fighting was prohibited among
the Arabs. For this reason these wars
are known in history as the Fijar or
"Sacrilegious" Wars. After the fighting
was finally over, some energetic
youths from the various tribes made a
pact among themselves to maintain
peace and order in the area and help
the poor and the oppressed people.
Prophet Muhammad was a member of
this agreement which was named Half
al Fadhool, or the Alliance of Fadhals,
in memory of an ancient society
instituted with similar objectives by
four persons named Fadhl, Fadhal,
Mufadhal and Fudhayl.

MARRIAGE TO HAZRAT KHADIJAH

Even in his youth the Prophet
Muhammad was well known for his
honesty, sincerity and truthfulness. At
the time there lived in Mecca a rich
lady by the name of Khadijah who was
twice widowed. On hearing of
Muhammad's fame, she invited him to
her house and requested him to take
charge of her business. Muhammad
traveled to Syria in charge of
Khadijah's business and the
expedition met with great success and
brought unexpected profits. Khadijah
made a proposal of marriage to
Muhammad which was accepted. At
the time of his marriage, Muhammad
was twenty five years old while
Khadijah was forty.
From his marriage to Khadijah, the
Holy Prophet had seven children:
three sons and four daughters. All the
Prophet's sons died in infancy. The

four daughters reached womanhood

and got married but all died before
the age of thirty. Only Fatimah
outlived her father and that by six
months. Following are the names of
the Prophet's children from his first
marriage:
Son: QasimTahirTayyeb
daughters: Zaynab married to Abul A's
Ruqayyah married to Utbah, a son of
Abu Lahab.Marriage ended in divorce.
She thenmarried Uthman, who
became the thirdSuccessor of the Holy
Prophet.Umme married to Utaybah,
another son ofKalthum Abu Lahab.
This marriage ended indivorce too.
She also married Uthman,after the
death of Ruqayyah.Fatimah married to
Ali, son of Abu Talib.
After the birth of his first son, Prophet
Muhammad took on the kunniyat of
Abul Qasim, meaning the Father of
Qasim, and was usually addressed by

the people by this name.

A DISPUTE RESOLVED
Prophet Muhammad's desire for
maintaining peace and averting
conflict is quite evident from an
incident that occurred when he was
about thirty five years old. The
Quraysh of Mecca decided to rebuild
the Ka'ba after some cracks had
appeared in its walls. All the families
of the Quraysh assisted in this effort.
As the walls rose from the ground and
the time came to replace the sacred
black stone in its place, a dispute
broke out. Each of the four main
families of the Quraysh wanted this
honour exclusively for themselves and
the construction of the Ka'ba came to
a halt. After many days of suspended
work, the Quraysh assembled again
and decided that the first person to
enter the Ka'ba's courtyard will be

chosen to settle the dispute.

Muhammad happened to be that
person. Muhammad quickly grasped
the situation and asked that the black
stone be placed on a sheet of cloth.
He then asked the four families of the
Quraysh to hold each comer of the
cloth and raise the stone to its place.
Thus Muhammad, through his wisdom,
averted the conflict and resolved the
dispute in a manner acceptable to the
Quraysh.
THE FIRST REVELATION
After his marriage to Khadijah, the
Prophet Muhammad became very
reflective. He used to retire to a cave
on Mount Hira and spend his time in
meditation and seclusion. He
sometimes spent many nights in this
cave and on one of these occasions
had an extraordinary experience. One
night, in the year 610 A.D., he was
lying, wrapped in a mantle, when the

Angel Gabriel visited him. Four times

the Angel embraced him tightly and
said: "Read." Each time the Prophet
replied: "What shall I read?" Then the
Angel replied:
Read, in the name of thy Lord who
created, Created man from a clot of
blood. Recite,for thy Lord is most
Beneficent; Who taught by the pen,
Taught man what he knew not.
Prophet Muhammad was forty years
old at the time of this first revelation
which marks the beginning of his
prophethood. These five verses of the
first revelation are part of Surah al
Alaq, the 96th Chapter of the Holy
Quran. The night of the first revelation
occurred towards the end of the
month of Ramadhan and was later
named lailatul Qadr or the Night of
Power.
When the vision in the cave vanished,
the Prophet awoke full of fear. He

realized that a big responsibility was

being given to him which he was not
sure he could carry out. He hurried
back to his home and narrated the
incident to his wife Khadijah, saying,
Weak man that I am, how can I carry
the responsibility which God proposes
to put on my shoulders?"
Khadijah replied at once:
"God is witness, He has not sent you
this Word that you should fail and
prove unworthy and that He should
then give you up. How can God do
such a thing, while you are kind and
considerate to your relations, help the
poor and the forlorn and bear their
burdens? You are restoring the virtues
that had disappeared from our
country. You treat guests with honour
and help those who are in distress.
Can you be subjected by God to any
trial?"
Having said this, Khadijah took the

Prophet to her cousin, Waraqa bin

Naufal, who was a Christian hermit.
When Waraqa heard the account, he
said:
"The angel who descended on Moses,
I am sure, has descended on you. Your
people will oppose you and will turn
you out. I wish that I was alive at that
time and could help you"
Although the first revelation marked
the beginning of the prophetic career
of Muhammad, it did not contain any
special instructions for him. Such
instructions started to come down in
subsequent revelations. A second
revelation followed soon and more
clearly defined the Prophet's mission.
O thou covered in a mantleArise and
deliver thy warningAnd your Lord do
extolAnd your garments do purifyAnd
all uncleanliness do thou shunAnd
give not just to gain moreAnd for thy
Lord's cause, be patient

The above verses belong to Surah al

Muddathir, the 74th Chapter of the
Holy Quran.
Another night soon, after this, the
Prophet was given further commands
to intensify his worship. In this third
revelation he was clearly told that a
great responsibility was indeed being
placed on his shoulder:
O thou wrapped in a mantlePray at
night except for a small portion Half of
it or a little less or a little more And
recite the Quran a good recitalVerily,
We will cast upon thee a mighty
Word......And remember the name of
thy Lord and devote thyself toHim
very devoutlyThe Lord of the East and
the WestThere is none worthy of
worship except HimSo take Him for
thy Guardian" (73:2 10)
PREACHING IN MECCA AND THE
OPPOSITION

At first the Prophet reported his

visions and revelations to a few close
relatives and friends. A number of
these believed in him and embraced
the new religion. The very first person
to accept Islam was, of course, his
wife Khadijah. Then came Ali, his
cousin, and Abu Bakr, his childhood
friend. These were followed by
Uthman, Abdur Rahman, Zayd, al
Zubayr, and Talha. Zayd was Prophet
Muhammad's freed slave and adopted
son.
Then, as commanded, the Prophet
took his preaching to his own clan.
One day he climbed on top of Mount
Sana, in Mecca, and called out:
"O people of Quraysh!
"O people of Quraysh!"
Hearing his call, the people of Quraysh
gathered around him and asked what
the matter was. The Prophet said:
"If I told you that there was an army

behind this hill, would you believe

me?"
They all replied:
"Indeed, for we trust you, and we
have never known you to tell a lie."
The Prophet then said:
"Know then that I am a Warner and I
warn you of a severe punishment. O
Banu Abdul Muttalib! O Banu Abd
Manaf! O Banu Zuhra! O Banu Taym!
O Banu Makhzum! O Banu Asad! God
has commanded me to warn my
nearest kinsmen, that I can guarantee
to you no good on the earth or in
heaven unless you witness that there
is none worthy of worship except
God."
Hearing this, the Prophet's uncle, Abu
Lahab, got up and said:
"Perish thou this very day! was it for
this that thou assembled us here?"
Not discouraged at this cruel and
harsh reception from his own kinsfolk,

the Holy Prophet took his preaching to

the people of Mecca at large. He
spoke to them around the Ka'ba and
he talked to them in the streets of
Mecca. His message to the people in
each case was very simple:
"God is One. There is none worthy of
worship except Him. He has no
associate. He is the sole Creator of the
Universe. God is Unseen and All
Powerful and to portray Him with
figures and statues is not right.
Muhammad is God's Messenger just
like Abraham, Moses and Jesus..."
In short, the Holy Prophet asked the
people to give up idol worship, return
to the worship of One God and be kind
and charitable to the poor.
The Meccans, however, rejected the
Prophet's message and displayed
considerable hostility to him and his
followers. The Meccans did not like to
be told that the religion of their

forefathers was absurd. Mecca,

moreover, enjoyed a certain status in
Arabia due to the Ka'ba and the
annual pilgrimage. The Meccans saw
in Islam a real threat to their own
social and political power and did their
utmost to oppose this new religion.
The chief among these opponents
were Omar bin Hisham (known among
the Muslims as Abu Jahal, the father of
ignorance), Abu Lahab the Prophet's
uncle, Abu Sufyan, the leading man of
the House of Umayyah, and Uqbah bin
Mueet, also of the House of Umayyah.
While the nobility of Mecca turned a
deaf ear to the Prophet's call, the poor
and the oppressed were strongly
attracted to his teaching. Slaves,
young men and hapless women
collected around the Prophet. These
people saw that Islam recognized the
rights of the poor; the slaves and the
women and they saw a new hope for

themselves in this religion.

The acceptance of the Prophet's
teachings by the poor made the chiefs
of Mecca all the more angry and
vengeful. The Meccans were a class
conscious society and the chiefs of
Mecca could not even think that the
poor could have the same rights as
themselves. The Quraysh, therefore,
started to ill-treat the Prophet and his
followers. The brunt of their wrath fell
upon the converted slaves and the
poor people of the lower classes who
had no patron or protector. These
helpless people were abused,
persecuted and tortured but rarely did
anyone renounce his religion. Bilal, a
negro slave, was made to lie on hot
sand, and stones were put on his
chest. Yasir, a poor man, was tortured
till he died, and his wife, Sumayyah,
was murdered by Abu Jahal. Many a
slave were rescued from persecution

by the rich and influential Abu Bakr

who would buy them and set them
free.
The Prophet himself was under the
protection of his uncle .Abu Talib. This,
however, did not stop his opponents
to maltreat him when ever they got an
opportunity. On one occasion the Holy
Prophet was saying his Prayer at the
Ka'ba when a person, on the
instigation of Abu Jahal, brought the
innards of a camel and dumped them
on his back. The Prophet was in the
state of prostration at the moment
and could not lift himself up due to the
heavy weight. One of his daughters
eventually came to his help and
pushed the burden aside. Similarly, in
the streets of Mecca the Prophet was
a perpetual target of fun and mockery.
He, however, remained steadfast in
his mission to convey the message of
God to the people and to warn them

of the Day of Judgment, when they will

all be held accountable for their
deeds.
EMIGRATION TO ABYSSINIA
When oppression in Mecca reached its
extreme, the Prophet advised his
followers to seek refuge in a foreign
land. As a result, in the fifth year of
the Prophet's mission, a small party of
Muslims, consisting of eleven men and
four women, set out for Abyssinia. The
Kingdom of Abyssinia was ruled at the
time by a Christian king named Negus
(Najashi) who was well known for his
justice.
When the Quraysh learned of this
emigration, they sent a delegation to
the King with the request to expel the
Muslims from his Kingdom. They told
the King that the Muslims had started
a new religion in opposition to their
ancestral faith as well as to
Christianity. The King summoned the

Muslims to his court and demanded an

explanation. Ja'far bin Abu Talib spoke
on behalf of the Muslims:
"O King, we were an ignorant people,
given to idolatry. We did not make
good our obligations to our relations,
and ill treated our neighbours. The
strong among us thrived at the
expense of the weak. Then, at last,
God raised a Prophet for our
reformation. He called us to worship
One God and exhorted us to give up
idolatry. He enjoined us to speak the
truth, to make good our trusts and to
be good to our neighbours. He taught
us to avoid bloodshed and forbade all
indecent things. So we believed in
him, followed him and acted upon his
teachings. Thereupon our people
turned against us and subjected us to
tortures. When their cruelties
exceeded all bounds, we came to your
country seeking asylum"

After this Ja'far recited a passage from

Surah Maryam which showed Negus
the great respect and reverence
Muslims had for the Prophet Jesus.
Negus was greatly impressed by the
morals and ideals of the Muslims and
allowed them to stay in his land as
long as they wished. The Quraysh
delegation had to return to Mecca
unsuccessfully.
These early emigrants to Abyssinia did
not stay in that country for long. On
hearing the rumour that relations
between the Muslims and the Quraysh
had improved, the emigrants returned
to Mecca within a few months only to
find the persecution worse than ever
before.
AL MIRAJ (THE ASCENT)
In the fifth year of his call, the Holy
Prophet experienced a spiritual event
known as al Miraj or the Ascent. In this
vision he saw the Angel Gabriel take

him to the heavens. There he met a

number of earlier prophets in the
seven levels of the heaven and
eventually found himself in the
presence of God. It was in this vision
that the five Daily Prayers were
enjoined upon his followers. The
Tradition of the Holy Prophet gives
detailed accounts of how the number
of Daily Prayers was reduced from fifty
to five.
THE SECOND EMIGRATION TO
ABYSSINIA
In the meantime, the Quraysh
redoubled their persecution of
Muslims. The Prophet again advised
his followers to take refuge in
Abyssinia. The emigrants this time
numbered 101, including 18 women.
This second group of emigrants
stayed in Abyssinia until the Prophet's
emigration to Yathrib.
At the rapid success of Islam, the

Quraysh became frightened. They

went to Abu Talib and offered to give
all sorts of riches to the Prophet
Muhammad on the condition that he
give up his mission. Abu Talib called
the Prophet and told him about the
wishes of the Quraysh. On hearing
this, the Holy Prophet replied:
"O my uncle, if they were to place the
sun on my right hand and the moon
on my left, I will not give up preaching
the truth of One God. I must go on
doing so until I die."
In the sixth year of the Prophet's call,
Hamzah and Omar bin Khattab
accepted Islam. Both men were brave
and highly influential in the Meccan
society and their conversion brought
great moral and physical support to
the Muslim community.
BOYCOTT OF THE HASHIMITES
Seeing the influence of the Prophet
spreading everywhere, the Quraysh

took punitive measures against the

Hashemite branch of the tribe. In the
7th year of the mission, the Quraysh
proclaimed a total boycott of the
Hashemite who were forced to retire
into the secluded quarter of the city.
During this period the Hashemite were
cut off from supplies of corn and other
foodstuff. Also, no one would trade
with them or talk to them during this
period. Not all the Hashemite were
Muslims but the entire clan endured
this difficult situation for the sake of
their Muslim kinsfolk. This state of
affairs lasted for nearly three years.
Finally, five decent members of the
enemy revolted against this terrible
situation and the boycott was lifted.
After the lifting of the boycott, there
was a temporary relaxation of
hostilities against the Muslims.
Exaggerated reports of this temporary
improvement in the situation reached

Abyssinia, whereupon many of the

Muslim emigrants returned to Mecca
including the Prophet's daughter,
Ruqayyah, and her husband, Uthman.
In the year 619 AD, not long after the
lifting of the boycott, the Prophet
suffered two great personal losses.
The Prophet was fifty years old when
both his wife and his uncle, Abu Talib,
passed away one after the other.
Khadijah had been married to the
Prophet for twenty five years and
gave him moral support through the
most critical period of his life. Abu
Talib, though he never accepted Islam,
continued to give his protection and
affection to the Prophet against the
great opposition of the Quraysh. The
Prophet Muhammad was highly
grieved at the loss of both these
persons and the year of their deaths is
known in Islamic history as the "the
Year of the Sorrow".

THE HOLY PROPHET VISITS TA'IF

When life became very difficult in
Mecca and people would not listen to
him, the Prophet decided to go to Ta'if
and preach to the people there. Zayd,
his freed slave and adopted son,
accompanied the Prophet on this
journey. Ta'if was a small town about
sixty miles south east of Mecca and,
like it, was inhabited by idol
worshipers. The Holy Prophet stayed
in Ta'if for a few days and preached to
its chiefs without any success. The
chiefs of Ta'if set vagabonds and
street boys at the Prophet who pelted
him with stones and drove him out of
the city. Both Zayd and the Prophet
were wounded. The Prophet was
grieved and dejected at this treatment
when an angel appeared and asked
him if he wished his persecutors to be
destroyed. The Prophet replied, "No. I
hope one day their children will accept

Islam and worship the One God"

On his way back from Ta'if, the
Prophet rested in a vineyard which
belonged to two Meccans. They were
his persecutors at Mecca but on this
occasion they were sympathetic and
sent him a tray-full of grapes carried
by a Christian slave, named Addas.
The Prophet asked the slave where he
was from, and Addas replied,
"Ninevah." Upon this the Holy Prophet
said, "Ninevah, the home of Jonah son
of Mathew, who was a prophet like
me." The Prophet also told Addas
about his own mission and teachings.
Addas felt as if he was in the presence
of an Israelite Prophet and
immediately embraced Islam.
FIRST PLEDGE OF AQABAH
During the season of a pilgrimage, the
Prophet met a group of six men from
Yathrib. He explained to them his
mission and asked for their help in

spreading his message in their home

town. On their return to Yathrib, these
people spread the news that a prophet
had risen among the Meccans.
During the next pilgrimage season, in
the year 621 A.D., a group of twelve
faithful followers came from Yathrib.
The Prophet met these people at a
place called Aqabah, where they all
took an oath at the Prophet's hands,
never to worship anything except God.
This is known as the First Pledge of
Aqabah.
AL ASRA (THE NIGHT JOURNEY)
In the year 621 A.D., the eleventh
year of the Prophet's call, he
experienced another spiritual event.
The Prophet at the time was staying
with his cousin, Hind, the daughter of
his uncle Abu Talib. She was also
known as Umm Hani.
In a spiritual vision during the night,
the Holy Prophet was transported from

the Sacred Mosque in Mecca to the

Prophet Solomon's Temple at
Jerusalem which was known to the
Muslims as the Distant Mosque.
This vision, although purely spiritual,
was so vivid and realistic in its nature
that the Holy Prophet could easily
describe the city of Jerusalem and the
Distant Mosque to the amazement of
the disbelievers.
SECOND PLEDGE OF AQABAH
In the following year, 622 A.D., some
seventy three people came from
Yathrib, at the time of the pilgrimage
to Mecca. These people secretly met
the Prophet in the valley of Aqabah
and offered an oath of allegiance to
him. These new converts to Islam
pledged to help and protect him if the
need ever arose. They also extended
him an invitation to come to Yathrib.
HIJRAT (MIGRATION) TO MEDINAH
After the second pledge of Aqabah,

the Muslims in Mecca started to

migrate to Yathrib in small groups.
There they enjoyed greater freedom
to practice their religion. Soon, hardly
any of the Prophet's Companions was
left in Mecca except Abu Bakr and Ali.
When Abu Bakr asked for the
Prophet's permission to emigrate, he
said, "Go not away, for God may give
you a companion." Abu Bakr
understood that he must wait for the
Prophet and started making necessary
preparations.
When the Quraysh realized that they
could not stop the flow of conversion,
they became furious and decided to
murder the Holy Prophet himself. The
leaders of the Quraysh gathered
together and devised a plan under
which each clan was to nominate a
person. All the persons thus selected
were to fall upon the Holy Prophet at a
given moment and strike him a mortal

blow. In this way all the clans would

share equally in the killing of the
Prophet which would make it difficult
for the Hashemite to avenge his
death. When the Prophet learned of
the evil intentions of the enemy he, in
the company of Abu Bakr, quietly
slipped out of Mecca in the secrecy of
the right. They both took shelter in a
nearby cave called Thaur.
For two days and two nights, the
Prophet and Abu Bakr hid in the cave.
On the third night, according to plan,
two swift camels were brought to the
cave and the party, including the
Prophet, Abu Bakr and his servant
rode towards Yathrib led by a guide.
Yathrib is located about two hundred
miles north of Mecca but the party
chose a more westerly route, close to
the coastline of the Red Sea.
When the Meccans discovered that
the Prophet and Abu Bakr had

escaped, they searched for them all

around Mecca. Failing to find them,
they offered a reward of a hundred
camels for the capture of the two,
dead or alive. Tempted by the reward,
a Bedouin chief, Suraqa bin Malik,
went in pursuit of the party.
When Suraqa bin Malik sighted the
party, he, according to the
superstitious Arab custom of the time,
consulted his arrows which bade ill
luck. The temptation of the reward,
however, made him continue the
pursuit. At this time his horse
stumbled and he fell down. This was
another sign for him. When eventually
he caught up with the party, he told
them of his evil intentions and the
sudden change of heart. The Prophet
let him go but made him promise not
to reveal the party's whereabouts to
anyone. Suraqa later narrated this
incident, saying, that he was then

convinced that the Prophet was a true

one and that he would definitely
succeed in his mission. Suraqa
requested the Prophet to write him a
guaranty of peace when the Prophet
became supreme. To this the Prophet
agreed.
At that moment the Holy Prophet
received a revelation and said to
Suraqa,
"Suraqa, how will you feel with the
gold bangles of the Chosroes on your
wrists?"
Amazed at the prophecy, Suraqa
asked,
"Which Chosroes? Chosroes, the
Emperor of Iran?"
The Prophet replied, "Yes"
Sixteen or seventeen years later this
prophecy was literally fulfilled. During
the reign of the second Caliph, Omar,
the Muslims conquered the Kingdom
of Chosroes. When the spoils of the

war were placed in front of Omar, he

noticed the gold bangles which
Chosroes used to wear on state
occasions. Remembering the Prophet's
words to Suraqa, he decided to make
a visible fulfillment of the prophecy.
He called for Suraqa and bade him
wear the bangles. To this Suraqa
protested since the wearing of gold by
men was not permitted by the
Prophet. Hazrat Omar said that the
occasion was an exception and that
Suraqa will have to wear the bangles.
To this Suraqa finally complied. The
Holy Prophet was no longer in this
world but the Muslims who were
present saw the prophecy of the
Messenger of God fulfilled in front of
their own eyes.
Coming back to the migration, the
Holy Prophet continued his journey
towards Yathrib, where the people
were eagerly awaiting his arrival.

When he reached near Yathrib, he

decided to stop for a while in Quba, a
nearby village. He stayed in Quba for
a few days and also laid the
foundation of the first mosque ever
built by the Muslims. Then he went on
to Yathrib, where the people of the city
had turned out in large numbers to
welcome him.
This emigration of the Holy Prophet
from Mecca to Yathrib is called the
Hijrah and took place in June 622 A.D.,
some twelve years after the beginning
of his mission. The Muslim calendar,
the Hijrah, dates from this event. With
this migration the Meccan period of
humiliation, persecution and
restrictions finally came to an end and
the years of success and religious
freedom began.
LIFE AT MEDINAH
With the arrival of the Prophet, Yathrib
changed its name to Medinah tun

Nabi, the City of the Prophet. In the

course of time it was shortened to al
Medinah, the City.
On arriving at Medinah, the Prophet
took up residence at the house of Abu
Ayub Ansari. Soon he sent his freed
slave, Zayd, to Mecca to fetch his
family and relatives. The Prophet also
bought a vacant piece of land nearby
and laid the foundation of a mosque.
After this he built houses for himself
and his companions.
The faithful followers of the Holy
Prophet, who had left their homes and
other worldly possessions in Mecca
and had come to Medinah for the sake
of Islam, were known as Mohajereen
or Emigrants. Their love for the
Prophet was unbounded and they
were also very dear to the Prophet.
They numbered about seventy men at
the time of the Prophet's arrival in
Medinah.

The new converts at Medinah, who

had helped the Prophet at a most
difficult time, were called by him
Ansar or Helpers. They numbered
about one hundred. The Prophet
formally established ties of mutual
brotherhood between individuals of
the two groups and asked each man
among the Ansar to "adopt" a brother
from among the Mohajereen. This
action not only welded the social ties
between the two groups but also
helped economically the refugees who
had left all their possessions back in
Mecca.
CONSTITUTION OF MEDINAH
On his arrival at Medinah, the Prophet
devoted himself to the organization of
the city. The Jews of Medinah were
divided into three branches: Banu
Qainuka, Banu Nadir and Banu
Qurayzah. Prominent among the Arab
tribes were Aus and Khazraj. There

was strong rivalry among these

various religious and political factions
and mutual hostility often erupted in
the form of fighting.
With the Muslims, the Jews and the
idolatrous Arabs, the city of Medinah
was divided into three religious
groups. The Prophet realized it quickly
that a peaceful state could only exist
if it was based on goodwill and
support of all sections of the society.
The Prophet, therefore, formulated a
charter for the people of Medinah
which is also known as the
Constitution of Medinah. According to
this charter blood feud was abolished
and all rights were given equally to all
people. Some of the important points
of this charter were:
1. All parties signing this charter will
form a common nationality.
2. All parties to this agreement will
remain united in peace or in war.

3. If any of the parties was attacked

by an enemy, others would defend it
with their combined forces.
4. None of the parties will give shelter
to the Quraysh of Mecca or make any
secret treaty with them.
5. The various parties to this
agreement will be free to profess their
own religion.
6. Bloodshed, murder and violence will
be forbidden.
7. The city of Medinah will be
regarded as sacred and any strangers
who came under the protection of its
citizens will be treated as citizens of
Medinah.
8. Alt disputes will be referred to the
Holy Prophet for decision.
ADHAN OR THE CALL TO PRAYER
In the early days of the Prophet's stay
at Medinah, whenever the time of
Prayer came, the Muslims assembled
in the Prophet's Mosque without being

called. Since there were no clocks or

watches in those days, the Muslims
could not come to Prayer at any fixed
time. A strong need, therefore, arose
to have the Muslims called to the
Prayer. Various means to achieve this
objective were considered by the Holy
Prophet. The Jews used to call their
people with a horn while the
Christians used the bell. Even the
lighting of fire, following the style of
the Zoroastrians was considered.
After consultations with his
Companions, the Holy Prophet finally
decided in favour of an oral Call and
asked Bilal, a freed Abyssinian slave,
to give the first Adhan. Bilal used to
ascend to the roof of the house
adjacent to the Prophet's Mosque and
deliver the Call to Prayer from there.
THE INCIDENT AT NAKHLAH
One and a half years after Hijrah, the
Holy Prophet sent nine persons

towards the valley of Nakhlah in order

to observe the movements of a
Quraysh caravan. Abdullah bin Hajash
was appointed the leader of this
scouting team. It was the sacred
month of Rajab when fighting was not
permitted among the Arabs.
When the reconnoitering group
reached Nakhlah and spotted the
caravan, they conferred among
themselves as to their course of
action. Some of the Muslims did not
like breaking the sanctity of the
sacred month while others were
opposed to letting the Quraysh escape
unchecked. Finally, a consensus was
reached to fight with the enemy.
During the fighting that ensued,
Waqid bin Abdullah of the Muslims
shot an arrow that killed Amrao bin
Hazrami of the Quraysh. The Muslims
took two prisoners and some booty
and returned to Medinah.

When the Holy Prophet learned of this

incident, he was highly grieved and
refused to accept part of the booty
presented to him. The two Meccan
prisoners were eventually returned to
the Quraysh in exchange for the two
Muslims captured during the fighting.
THE BATTLE OF BADR
After losing the opportunity to kill the
Holy Prophet, the Meccans now were
really angry at the spread of Islam in
Medinah. The Meccans started to
interfere with the Muslims' right to
pilgrimage and also instigated the
people of Medinah against the Holy
Prophet. They changed their normal
caravan routes and started going
through tribal areas around Medinah
to rouse the tribes against the
Muslims.
In the year 624 A.D., two years after
the Hijrah, Abu Sufyan was bringing a

commercial caravan back from Syria.

The Muslim scouts were keeping an
eye on the caravan just in case it
posed any threat to Medinah. After
Abu Sufyan saw the Muslim scouts he
became frightened and sent a
messenger to Mecca to bring an
adequate force to safe guard the
caravan.
When the chiefs of Mecca learned that
their goods laden caravan was in
possible danger, they quickly
gathered a well armed and well
equipped army of more than a
thousand warriors. The army set out
from Mecca under the leadership of
Abu Jahal to confront the Muslims.
When the Holy Prophet learned of the
Meccans' intentions, he gathered
some 310 Muslims from among the
Mohajereen and Ansar and set forth
from Medinah. The Muslims camped
for the night at a place called Badr, a

few miles south west of Medinah.

Early on the morning of March 13, 624
A.D., the Holy Prophet arranged his
small army into ranks and files and
delivered a brief address on Jehad,
fighting in the cause of God.
Then, according to the Arab custom,
three leaders of the Quraysh named
Shaiba, Utba and Walid bin Utba
challenged three Muslims to a single
combat. Their challenge was accepted
by Ali, Hamzah and Obadiah. Ali and
Hamzah overpowered their opponents
but Obaidah and Walid exchanged
several blows and both fell down,
severely wounded.
After these single combats, a fierce
battle broke out in which both sides
fought bravely. While the Quraysh
were fighting for their false pride and
glory, the Muslims were fighting in the
cause of Islam and for their very
existence. Two young Ansars attacked

Abu Jahal and mortally wounded him.

Very soon the Quraysh were routed
and took to their heels. They were
chased by the Muslims and some of
them were made prisoners.
The Muslims lost fourteen men in the
battle of Badr while the Quraysh lost
seventy. The very first person to be
slain among the Muslims in a pitched
battle was Mahja bin Saleh, a freed
slave. He was given the title of "Chief
of the Martyrs" by the Holy Prophet. A
number of the Quraysh were taken
prisoners by the Muslims. The Prophet
ordered his followers to treat these
prisoners of war with kindness. The
Holy Prophet decided to liberate the
prisoners on payment of ransom.
Those who could not pay the ransom
but were literate, were allowed to earn
their freedom by teaching ten Muslim
children how to read and write. Those
who were poor and illiterate were

released on the promise that they will

not fight the Muslims in the future.
The battle of Badr was the first
confrontation between the Muslims
and the Meccans. The Muslims not
only came out victorious, but some of
the worst enemies of Islam such as
Abu Jahal were also eliminated in the
battle. This battle, therefore, marked a
turning point in the history of Islam
and considerably boosted the morale
of the Muslims who, until then, had
only known persecution and
harassment.
The Muslims' victory at Badr could not
be tolerated by the vendetta seeking
Quraysh of Mecca and the hostile Jews
of Medinah. Hind, the wife of Abu
Sufyan and daughter of Utba, who had
lost her father, her brother and her
uncle in the battle, swore that she
would not rest until another army was
sent against Medinah. The Jews of

Medinah were envious of the

spreading influence of Islam and
started openly opposing the Muslims
and the Holy Prophet, though they had
a treaty with them. Then there were
the hypocrites who had outwardly
accepted Islam but in their hearts
sought ways and means to hurt the
Muslims and spread discontent and
disunity among their ranks. The leader
of the hypocrites was a man by the
name of Abdullah bin Ubayy bin Salul.
He was the chief of the Khazraj tribe
and, before the arrival of the Prophet
in Medinah, was generally accepted as
the chief of the city. He, therefore,
greatly resented the Prophet's
authority and, as later developments
will show, tried his best in turning the
people against the Prophet.
EXPULSION OF BANU QAINUKA FROM
MEDINAH
After the Battle of Badr, the Jews

started giving open expression to their

feelings of hatred and jealousy against
the Muslims. The relations between
the Muslims and the three Jewish
tribes began to deteriorate. An
isolated case of a street fight between
a few Muslims and Jews of Banu
Qainuka eventually led to an open
confrontation between the two
groups. The Muslims marched towards
the strongholds of Banu Qainuka in
Medinah and besieged them for a
fortnight. After this period, the Banu
Qainuka surrendered on the condition
that they, their families and their
animals be spared. The Prophet
accepted these terms and the Banu
Qainuka were expelled from Medinah.
BATTLE OF OHUD
The Quraysh of Mecca were smarting
under their crushing defeat at Badr
and could not tolerate the spread of
Islam in Medinah. Moreover, the

Meccans wanted to avenge the loss of

some of their leaders, like Abu Jahal
and Utba, who were killed in the battle
of Badr at the hands of the Muslims.
The Quraysh, therefore, started to
make preparations for another attack
on Medinah. In the third year of the
Hijrah, exactly one year after the
battle of Badr, the Meccan army
proceeded towards Medinah under the
leadership of Abu Sufyan. The army
consisted of some 3,000 soldiers and
200 horses.
In the month of March, year 625 A.D.,
the Prophet left Medinah with one
thousand men and started marching
towards Uhud to meet the enemy.
Soon after leaving the city. Abdullah
bin Ubayy deserted the Muslim army,
taking his three hundred men with
him. There were now only seven
hundred Muslims left to face an
enemy of three thousand strong.

Both armies camped near Mount

Uhud, located a few miles north of
Medinah. Next morning, the Prophet
arranged the Muslim army in such a
way that Mount Ohad was at their
back. To further safeguard against a
surprise attack from a small opening
in the mountain, the Prophet
appointed a batch of fifty archers to
take up positions on a hill guarding
this passage. These archers were
instructed not to leave their positions
until further orders.
During the first phase of the battle, a
part of the Meccan army under the
command of Ikrimah, son of Abu Jahal,
advanced towards the Muslims from
the front. The Muslims fought very
bravely and overpowered the enemy
which ran from the battle field.
Thinking that the enemy was beaten,
the Muslims started picking up the
spoils of battle. The fifty archers,

realizing that they may lose this

opportunity, left their positions and
also joined the plunder.
The ready eye of Khalid bin Walid, who
had not yet accepted Islam and was
fighting from the Meccan side, saw the
chance and attacked the Muslims from
their rear. The Muslims at that time
were disorganized and panicked,
falling easy target to the Meccans'
swords. The Holy Prophet tried to call
his people together but a stone hurled
at him broke his two teeth and he fell
to the ground momentarily stunned.
At that instant a rumour spread
among the Muslims that the Prophet
was killed. This further heightened the
disarray of the Muslims who then ran
from the battle field and took to the
protection of the mountain.
Seventy Muslims lost their lives in this
battle compared with a loss of only
twenty three by the enemy. The

Prophet's uncle, Hamzah, was also

killed during this battle by a spear
thrown by Wahshi, an Abyssinian slave
of Hind. Hind, the wife of Abu Sufyan,
cut the belly of Hamzah's corpse and
chewed his liver to satisfy her revenge
for her father and brother who were
killed in the battle of Badr at the
hands of Hamzah.
After a major victory at Badr, the
Muslims now suffered a big setback at
Uhud. The reasons for their defeat
were the military tactics of Khalid bin
Walid, the lack of discipline among the
Muslim ranks, negligence of the
Prophet's orders by the archers, the
love of plunder on the part of the
Muslim army and the reduction of the
Muslim forces by the desertion of
Abdullah bin Ubayy.
EXPULSION OF BANU NADIR FROM
MEDINAH
After the battle of Uhud, the two

Jewish tribes remaining in Medinah,

Banu Nadir and Banu Qurayzah, had a
dispute regarding a mutual
agreement. The matter went before
the Holy Prophet who decided in
favour of Banu Qurayzah. Banu Nadir
resented this decision and, upon the
instigation of Abdullah bin Ubayy,
decided to kill the Holy Prophet.
The Prophet escaped from this
attempt upon his life and ordered
them to leave Medinah. Banu Nadir
initially defied this order but gave in
after a fortnight of siege. They were
allowed to take their goods and
chattel and were expelled from
Medinah. Some of these people went
to Syria while others settled in a place
called Khyber where they continued
their anti Islamic activities.
THE MURDER OF MUSLIM
MISSIONARIES
In the same year as the Battle of

Uhud, 625 A.D., seven men of the

Banu Qara tribe came to Medinah and
asked the Holy Prophet to send some
missionaries to their area to teach
them the Holy Quran and Islam. The
Holy Prophet had already started
sending missionaries to the various
tribes and this time sent six of his own
Companions for this purpose.
When these six missionaries reached
the place called ar Raji belonging to
the tribe of Banu Hudhayl, they were
set upon by two hundred men. Four of
the missionaries were killed in the
fight and two, Zayd bin Dathinah and
Khubayb, were taken prisoners and
sold to the Meccans who intended to
kill them to avenge the deaths of their
own relatives in the Battle of Badr.
When Zayd was going to be
beheaded, Abu Sufyan asked him:
"Tell me, O Zayd, would you not prefer
that Muhammad was here in your

place to receive this punishment while

you were safe at home with your
people?"
Zayd replied:
"I certainly prefer that Muhammad be
where he is, safe from all harm. It is
more preferable to me than my being
with my own people."
Abu Sufyan was amazed at this
answer and this display of love and
loyalty by the Companions of the Holy
Prophet for him. Zayd was beheaded.
When the other Muslim prisoner,
Khubayb, was taken out to be
executed in front of the people of
Mecca, he asked for permission to say
a Nafl Prayer, which he made very
short. After completing his Prayer he
told his executioner:
"I wanted to prolong my Prayer but
was afraid that you might think that I
was not ready to die."
Soon after the incident of ar Raji, a

man named Abu Bata came to

Medinah and asked for enlightenment
in the religion of Islam. After being
instructed in the new faith, Abu Bara
requested the Holy Prophet to send
some Huffaz, the Memorizers of the
Holy Quran, to the people of Najd to
preach them Islam. The Holy Prophet
was afraid for the lives of his
Companions and turned down the
request. But when Abu Bata gave
personal guarantees for their
protection, the Holy Prophet acceded
to his request and sent with him
seventy Muslim missionaries.
When these seventy missionaries
reached a place called Bir Mauna, the
cousin of Abu Bara instigated the local
tribesmen against the Muslims. These
tribesmen surrounded the Muslim
missionaries and after a fight killed all
of them with the exception of one man
who managed to return to Medinah.

BATTLE OF THE DITCH

Although the Muslims were defeated
at Uhud, their efforts to spread Islam
continued with intense zeal, and their
numbers kept on growing. With the
growth of Islam the city of Medinah
started to enjoy a status which rivaled
that of Mecca. The Quraysh saw, in
the growth of Islam, a real threat to
their own religious and social position
among the Arabs. At the same time
the Jews expelled from Medinah were
instigating the Quraysh against the
Muslims.
Finally, in the year 627 A.D., some five
years after the Hijrah, the Quraysh
once again rounded up an army and
marched upon Medinah under the
leadership of Abu Sufyan. This time
their forces numbered ten thousand
men and six hundred horses. A
number of Arab tribes joined league
with the Meccans in this battle. For

this reason this battle is also known as

the Battle of the Confederates.
When the Prophet learned of this
threat he gathered some three
thousand men to face the enemy. On
the advice of Salman al Farsi, the
Prophet decided to remain in the city
and dug a long trench around that
part of Medinah which gave an open
access to the enemy. One side of
Medinah had a natural protection of
hills and another side was protected
by stone houses and groves of trees.
When the Quraysh saw this defense,
they were perplexed. They besieged
the city and tried to storm it. But the
Muslims easily repulsed the attack
each time. Finally, the Quraysh
decided that the only way to enter the
city was by making a secret alliance
with the Jewish tribe of Banu Quraysh.
Since Banu Qurayzah already had a
peace treaty with the Prophet, they

refused this offer of the Meccans. On

their persistence, however, they
agreed to attack the Muslims from the
rear while the Meccans engaged the
Muslim army at the ditch. This secret
plot of the Jews was discovered by the
Muslims who then placed some five
hundred soldiers on the Banu
Qurayzah side of Medinah to guard
against a surprise attack from that
quarter.
Meantime, the Meccans were running
short of their food supplies, the
weather was turning adverse and a
strong, cold wind had started to blow.
Under the circumstances Abu Sufyan
raised the siege and decided to return
to Mecca.
Although the Battle of the Ditch was a
major confrontation between the
Quraysh and the Muslims, very little
actual fighting took place. The
Muslims lost five men while the

enemy lost three.

BANU QURAYZAH PUNISHED
After the departure of the Meccan
army, the Muslims turned their
attention to Banu Quraysh who had
betrayed them during the battle of the
Ditch. The Muslims laid siege to the
Jews' fortress. When Banu Quraysh
could not hold out any longer, they
sent a message to the Holy Prophet
that they would surrender but would
like their fate to be decided by one of
their allies. Sa'd bin Muadh, the chief
of the tribe of Aus, was appointed the
arbiter. Sa'd passed the judgment on
the Banu Quraysh according to the
law of the Torah. According to the
Jewish law the punishment for treason
was death. In passing the death
sentence on Bann Quraysh, Sa'd
reminded the Jews of the fact that had
the Jews succeeded in carrying out
their plan, they would have put all the

Muslims to death.
As a result of Sa'd bin Muadh's
judgment, all the male members of
the Banu Quraysh tribe who were of
fighting age were executed and their
women, children and elders expelled,
who went to Syria.
Many historians have commented that
the Banu Quraysh made a tactical
mistake in asking one of their own
allies to decide their fate. The Mosaic
Law was very strict in such matters
and any person honestly passing a
judgment under this law could not be
too lenient. The historians believe that
if the Banu Quraysh had entrusted
their fate to the Prophet Muhammad
himself, he would have definitely
forgiven their excesses and, at the
most, expelled them from Medinah.
CHARTER FOR THE CHRISTIANS
In the sixth year of the Hijrah, the
Prophet granted to all Christians a

charter. According to this charter:

o the Christians were not to be
unfairly taxed
o no bishop was to be expelled from
his monastery
o no pilgrim was to be detained from
the performance of pilgrimage
o no Christian churches were to be
pulled down for the building of
mosques
o Christian women married to Muslims
were free to enjoy their own religion
o in the case of repair of churches, the
Muslims were to help the Christians
BAI'AT E RIDHWAN AND THE TREATY
OF HUDAYBIYA
By the year 628 A.D: some six long
years had passed since the Muslims
emigrated from Mecca. They were
getting nostalgic and wanted to visit
their homes. Also, many of the
Muslims had not performed the
pilgrimage since they left Mecca. Then

one night the Holy Prophet dreamed

that he was entering the Ka'ba and its
key was in his hand. He told of this
dream to his Companions and invited
them to perform the "Umrah" or the
Informal Pilgrimage. In February 628
A.D., the Holy Prophet left for Mecca in
the company of 1,500 Muslims. It was
the month of Dhul Qadah, one of the
four sacred months when war was
unlawful throughout Arabia (the three
other sacred months were: Rajab,
Dhul Hijjah and Muharram).
When the Quraysh learned of the
approach of the Muslims, they started
making preparations for a
confrontation and told the Muslims
that they will not be allowed to enter
Mecca and perform the pilgrimage.
The Muslims camped outside Mecca,
in a place called Hudaybiya. The Holy
Prophet dispatched Uthman as
messenger to the Quraysh to inform

them of the Muslims' intentions of

only performing the pilgrimage. At
that time a rumour spread out that
Uthman had been murdered by the
Quraysh and caused a great deal of
commotion among the Muslims.
Realizing the sensitivity of the
occasion and the potential for an
armed conflict with the Quraysh, the
Holy Prophet sat down under a tree
and asked his followers to offer an
oath of allegiance to him. They all
submitted to it one by one declaring
their resolve to fight to the bitter end
for the cause of Islam. This oath of the
Muslims at the hands of the Prophet is
known as "Bay'ate Ridhwan", or the
Pledge of Acceptance.
The Quraysh became alarmed at this
display of solidarity by the Muslims
and decided to come to terms with
them. Suhayl bin Amr and two other
representatives of the Quraysh came

to confer with the Holy Prophet. When

an agreement was finally reached, the
Holy Prophet asked Ali to write down
the terms as he began to dictate
them.
The Prophet started his dictation with
the invocation Bismillah ar Rahman ar
Raheem in the name of God, the
Gracious, the Merciful. At this Suhayl
bin Amr objected saying that they did
not know what Rahman was and,
instead, proposed to write Bismika
Allahumma, In Thy Name, O God.
Some of the Prophet's Companions
objected to this but the Prophet said
to write it down.
The Holy Prophet then continued to
dictate: "These are the terms of the
truce between Muhammad, the
Messenger of God and Suhayl the son
of Amr". Suhayl protested again
saying, "If we knew that you were the
Messenger of God we would not be

stopping you from performing the

pilgrimage neither would we have
fought with you; so write Muhammad
the son of Abdullah." Ali by this time
had already written the words
Messenger of God. The Prophet asked
him to strike them out and write in
their place "the son of Abdullah".
This treaty between the Muslims and
the Meccans is known as the Treaty of
Hudaybia and according to its terms:
1. There was to be no fighting for a
period of ten years.
2. Any one who wished to join the
Prophet's side was free to do so and
any one who wished to join the
Meccans, was free to do so.
3. If a young man from among the
Quraysh joined the Prophet, he would
be returned to his parents or
guardians. If a young man from
among the Muslims joined the
Quraysh, he would not be returned.

4. That year, the Muslims will go back

without performing the pilgrimage.
5. Next year, the Prophet and his
followers could enter Mecca for a
period of three days and perform the
pilgrimage. During this period the
Quraysh would withdraw from the city.
6. When the Muslims entered Mecca
next year, they would be unarmed.
On the surface the Treaty of Hudaybia
appeared humiliating for the Muslims
and Omar could not contain his
feelings. He went to the Holy Prophet
and Said:
"Are you not God's Prophet?" to which
the Prophet replied "Yes".
"Are we not in the right and our
enemies in the wrong?" asked Omar.
To this the Prophet replied "Yes".
"Then why do we yield in such low
fashion?" Omar asked again.
The Prophet replied: "I am God's
Messenger and I will not disobey Him.

He will give me the victory".

"But didn't you tell us", Omar
persisted, "that we should go to the
Ka'ba and perform the pilgrimage?"
"Yes" replied the Prophet, "but did I
tell you it would have to be this year?"
The Treaty of Hudaybia gave the
Muslims much needed peace and
calm in which to concentrate their
efforts on the spread of Islam. Great
warriors like Khalid bin Walid and Arm
bin A's, embraced Islam after the
treaty of Hudaybiya. The success of
Islam after the treaty can be
recognized from the fact that at the
time of the treaty there were only
1,500 men with the Holy Prophet, but
two years later, at the time of the
conquest of Mecca, they were ten
thousand.
THE HOLY PROPHET SENDS LETTERS
TO VARIOUS KINGS
On returning to Medinah after the

treaty of Hudaybiya, the Holy Prophet

sent envoys to various kings and
rulers. Each envoy carried a letter
from the Prophet, inviting the ruler to
accept Islam. These envoys were sent
to:
o Heraclius, the Emperor of the
Byzantine Empire
o Chosroes Pervez, the Emperor of
Iran
o Negus (Najashi), the King of
Abyssinia
o Muqauqis, the ruler of Egypt
o Mundhir Taimi, the chief of Bahrain
o Al Harith bin Abi Shimr, the
Ghassanid Prince of Damascus
o Hawdah bin Ali, the chief of
Yamamah
o King of Oman
The Prophet also wrote such letters to
the chiefs of many other tribes around
Arabia such as:
o Chief of Banu Nahd, a tribe of Yemen

o Chief of Hamadaan, another tribe of

Yemen
o Chief of Banu Alim
o Chief of Hadrami tribe
The Letter to Heraclius
The letter addressed to Heraclius was
delivered to him while the Emperor
was visiting Syria. The envoy carrying
the letter was called to the King's
court and the letter was read to the
King by an interpreter. The King
wanted to know if an Arab caravan
was visiting Syria so that he could
question an Arab about this Arabian
Prophet. It so happened that Abu
Sufyan, an enemy of the Prophet, was
in town and was taken to the King's
court. The conversation that took
place between the King and Abu
Sufyan has been recorded in the
books of Hadith, as follows:
King: What sort of family does this
Prophet come from?A.S.: He comes of

a noble family and is one of my

relations.King: Have any Arabs before
him made similar claims?A.S.: No.
King: Did your people ever find him
telling a lie before this?A.S.: No.King:
Has there been a king or ruler among
his forefathers?A.S.: No.King: Who are
his followers? Rich or the poor people?
A.S.: Mostly poor, humble and young
people.King: Are their numbers
increasing or decreasing?A.S.:
Increasing.King: Do his followers ever
go back to their old beliefs?A.S.: No.
King: Has he ever broken a pledge?
A.S.: No.King: What does he teach?
A.S.: He teaches that we should
worship One God and not set up
equals to Him. He preaches against
the worshiping of idols. He wants us to
speak the truth and give up all evil
and corrupt practices. He tells us to be
good to one another, keep our
promises and discharge our trusts.

King: It seems to me that his claim to

prophethood is true. I was half
expecting his appearance in our time
but I did not know that he was going
to be an Arab. If what you have told
me is true, then I think his influence
and his rule will definitely spread over
these lands.
The Letter to Chosroes Pervez
The letter sent to Chosroes, the
Emperor of Iran, got a different kind of
reception. The Emperor ordered an
interpreter to read the letter to him.
On listening to the contents, the
Emperor flew into a rage and tore the
letter into pieces. When the Prophet's
envoy reported this incident back to
him, the Holy Prophet said:
"What Chosroes has done to our
letter, God will do to his Empire"
Chosroes even issued orders for the
arrest of the Prophet. The Emperor
was soon murdered by his own son

who cancelled the orders for the

Prophet's arrest. The Kingdom of Iran
fell in a few years in front of the
Muslim forces sent out during the
reign of Omar, the second Khalifah of
the Holy Prophet.
The Letter to Negus
The letter sent to Negus, King of
Abyssinia, received an honourable
reception. The King showed great
respect for the letter and ordered an
ivory box for it, saying:
"While this letter is safe, my Kingdom
is safe"
The Letter to Muqauqis
When the Prophet's letter was
received by Muqauqis, the Christian
ruler of Egypt, he questioned the
envoy regarding the Holy Prophet.
Muqauqis did not accept Islam but,
very diplomatically, he wrote a letter
to the Holy Prophet in reply sending
with it presents of gold, two Egyptian

girls, garments of Egyptian linen and a

mule.
The Letter to Mundhir
The envoy carrying the letter to
Mundhir, Chief of Bahrain, was the
most successful of all envoys sent out
by the Holy Prophet. When Mundhir
received the Prophet's letter, he and
many of his friends and followers
accepted Islam. The Chief also wrote
to the Holy Prophet for further
instructions for his people.

THE CONQUEST OF KHYBER

Five months after returning from
Hudaybiya, the Prophet learned of the
rebellion of the Jews of Khyber. Since
the expulsion of the Jews from
Medinah, many had settled down in
Khyber and continued their nefarious
activities against the Muslims. They

instigated and aroused against Islam

the Christian tribes settled on the
southern frontier of the Roman
Empire, the Arab tribes around
Medinah and even Chosroes of Iran.
In August 628 A.D., the Prophet
marched towards Khyber with 1,600 of
his followers. At Khyber, a number of
small forts fell one after the other and,
after a heavy contest, their main
fortress, al Qamus, was also captured.
The Jews being helpless, asked for the
Prophet's pardon. He not only forgave
them but also returned their land and
properties with complete freedom to
practice their faith. A fixed land tax,
however, was imposed upon them.
Some 18 Muslims were killed in this
Battle while the Jews lost 93 men.
THE THREE DAY PILGRIMAGE
Next year, in 629 A.D., Prophet
Muhammad visited Mecca according
to the terms of the treaty of

Hudaybiya. Many Muslims

accompanied him this time to perform
the pilgrimage. When the Quraysh
learned of the Prophet's approach,
they, too, left the city according to the
agreement. The Holy Prophet and his
followers performed the Umrah or the
Lesser Pilgrimage and after three
days, returned to Medinah.
BATTLE OF MUTAH
On return from his three day
pilgrimage, the Prophet learned that
the Christian tribes on the Syrian
border were becoming hostile. The
Prophet, therefore, sent a letter with
an envoy to the Ghassanid Prince at
Damascus, complaining about these
hostilities. The Ghassanid Prince ruled
that area in the name of Rome. While
on his way the envoy was intercepted
and murdered at Mutah by a Christian
chieftain named Shurahbil.
To put an end to these continuing

hostilities, the Prophet raised a force

of 3,000 men and dispatched it
towards Syria under the command of
Zayd bin Harith, the freed slave and
adopted son of the Holy Prophet. The
Byzantine army, it is estimated, was
close to one hundred thousand strong.
The Muslim army marched away in
September 629 A.D. and covered over
six hundred miles to reach Mutah. It
was the largest and most arduous
expedition ever undertaken by the
Muslims and the first one against the
Christians. When the Muslims saw the
size of the Christian army, they
wanted to send word back to Medinah
for reinforcement. However, the
distance to Medinah was too great
and the Muslim leaders decided to
fight with whatever soldiers they had.
As the battle started, Zayd, the
commander of the Muslim forces, was
killed and the flag and command

passed on to Jafar bin Abu Talib. Soon

after, Jafar also fell and the command
passed to Abdullah bin Rawah, as the
Holy Prophet had instructed. Soon,
Abdullah bin Rawah also fell. At this
point Khalid bin Walid picked up the
flag of the Muslim army and continued
fighting till evening came.
Next, day, Khalid bin Walid took his
exhausted army and the battle
continued for a while. The Muslims,
however, were grossly outnumbered
and continuing the fighting any longer
would have been suicidal. Khalid bin
Walid, therefore, gathered the leftover
of his army, executed a retreat and
returned to Medinah. The Muslims at
Medinah chided the returning army
and scolded them for not fighting till
their death. The Prophet, however,
defended the army's action and
praised Khalid bin Walid for his
bravery giving him the title of Saif

Allah the sword of God.

Because of the timely retreat of the
Muslim army, not very many people
were killed in this battle.
THE CONQUEST OF MECCA
In the treaty of Hudaybiya it was
agreed that any tribe wanting to join
the Muslims or the Quraysh was free
to do so. As a result, the Khuza tribe
joined the Muslims while the Banu
Bakr entered into an alliance with the
Meccans.
Some two years after the treaty, the
Banu Bakr tribe, with the help of the
Quraysh, raided the Khuza tribe by
night and killed a number of their
men. The Khuza tribe sent a
deputation of about forty men to the
Holy Prophet, demanding help and
justice. The Prophet sent a peace
mission to the Quraysh proposing
that:
(a) the Quraysh pay proper

compensation to the Khuza tribe, or

(b) the Quraysh cut off all relations
with the Banu Bakr, or
(c) the Quraysh declare the treaty of
Hudaybiya as null and void.
The Quraysh neither wanted to pay
compensation nor break away their
relationship with the aggressor tribe of
Banu Bakr. They, therefore, accepted
the third alternative. With the
agreement now dissolved between the
Muslims and the Meccans, the Prophet
realized that there was no other way
to render justice except by fighting
the Quraysh. In January 630 A.D., the
Prophet advanced towards Mecca with
an army of ten thousand men. This
was the largest force Medinah had
ever seen. On reaching Mecca, the
Muslim army camped outside the city.
Abu Sufyan, the leader of the
Quraysh, came out during the night
with two companions to see the

Muslim camp. He was astounded at

the size of the Muslim army and could
hardly contain his amazement. The
Muslim ranks which numbered about
three hundred at the battle of Badr a
few years ago had now swollen to
nearly ten thousand.
While Abu Sufyan and his companions
were scouting around, they were
captured by the Muslim guards and
brought in front of the Holy Prophet.
The Prophet not only pardoned his
lifelong enemy but also allowed him to
spend the night in the Muslim camp.
Abu Sufyan was amazed at the
discipline of the Muslims and their
love for the Holy Prophet. Abu Sufyan
made a remark at the time that:
"I have seen great courts. I have seen
the courts of Chosroes and that of
Kaiser, but I have never seen any
people so devoted to their leader as
the Muslims are to their Prophet."

By sunrise, Abu Sufyan and his

companions had accepted Islam.
They, however, were concerned about
the fate of Mecca and asked the Holy
Prophet as to what would the Muslims
do to the Meccans. The Prophet
replied:
"These people have been very cruel.
They have gone back on the peace
they signed at Hudaybiya and
attacked the Khuza tribe. They have
made war in a place which had been
made sacred by God"
Abu Sufyan and his companions asked
the Holy Prophet for forgiveness and
enquired if the Meccans could have
peace if they did not draw their
swords. The Prophet replied:
"Everyone who stays indoors will have
peace. Whoever takes shelter in the
house of Abu Sufyan will have peace.
Whoever enters the Sacred Mosque
will have peace. Those who lay their

arms will have peace."

In the morning, Abu Sufyan returned
to Mecca with this message while the
Muslim army started marching into
the city. The Holy Prophet gave strict
orders to his generals not to permit
any fighting unless the enemy fought
first.
The Prophet went straight to the Ka
'ba and performed the circuit seven
times. Then he ordered that the Ka 'ba
be cleared of all idols and paintings.
The idols were broken and the walls of
the Ka 'ba cleansed of all pictures.
After this, the Holy Prophet went
inside the Ka 'ba and said his Prayer
there. The Holy Prophet then
addressed the Meccans and told them
that they will not be called to account.
Ikrimah, the son of Abu Jahal, was in
the process of escaping to Abyssinia
when he learned of this general
amnesty. He could not believe his ears

and had to ask the Holy Prophet

himself, who replied, "Yes, I have
forgiven you". Utbah and Mu'attib, the
two surviving sons of Abu Lahab, were
afraid to appear before the Prophet.
Utbah had divorced Ruqayyah, the
Prophet's daughter, under pressure
from his father. The Holy Prophet took
AbuLahab's sons by their hands and
walked to the wall of the Ka 'ba where
he prayed for a long time. On
returning he said, "I asked my Lord to
give me these two sons of my uncle,
and He has given them to me".
Both these sons embraced Islam. All
historians agree that in the history of
conquests there has never been a
more triumphant entry than this one.
Hardly any blood was shed and all the
enemies were pardoned. The Muslims
had been tortured in this city and
were eventually driven out of it. The
residents of this city had not let the

Muslims live in peace even in Medinah

and had waged many battles against
them. But on this day, when the
enemy lay helpless, defeated and at
the mercy of the Muslims, a general
forgiveness was declared and no
revenge was taken. Such examples of
greatness are truly rare in the history
of conquests.
BATTLE OF HUNAYN
Immediately after the conquest of
Mecca, the Muslims had to fight the
Hawazin and Thaqif tribes which dwelt
in the area east of Mecca. These two
tribes invited a number of other tribes
in the area to join them in battle
against the Muslims.
This battle between the Muslims and
the Hawazin and allied tribes was
fought in the valley of Hunayn. When
the Muslim army entered the valley,
the enemy archers rained arrows from
the surrounding cliffs where they lay

hidden. The beasts of the Muslim

army took fright and ran in spite of
the riders. There was a time when the
Prophet was left with only a handful of
companions. When his companions
tried to stop him from going ahead, he
scorned the proposal and said:
"I am a Prophet, it is no lie; Yet I am
the son of Abdul Muttalib."
At this moment the thunderous voice
of Abbas, the Prophet's uncle, rang
out in the valley telling the Muslims
that their Prophet had stood his
ground and was calling for help. The
Muslims then gathered together and
drove the enemy from the battle field.
DISTRIBUTION OF THE BOOTY ANDTHE
ANSAR'S UNHAPPINESS
The victory at Hunayn gave the
Muslims their largest spoils of war.
These spoils consisted of camels,
goats and silver and were divided into
five equal portions. Four of these

portions were distributed among the

Muslim army and one portion was
reserved for the Muslim Treasury to be
used as the Holy Prophet saw fit.
From this fifth portion, the Holy
Prophet gave generously to some of
the newly converted leaders of the
Quraysh such as Abu Sufyan,
Muawiah, Harith bin Harith, Harith bin
Hisham, Suhayl bin Amr and some
others, all of whom had been staunch
opponents of Islam before the
conquest of Mecca.
The Ansar felt left out and grieved at
this act of generosity towards the new
converts and some of them gave
voice to their feelings. When the Holy
Prophet learned of their resentment,
he asked for them to be assembled.
When they had all gathered in front of
him, the Prophet addressed them:
"O Ansar! It has been reported to me
that you do not approve of my

distribution of the booty. Is it not true

that when I came to you, you were
languishing in misguidance and error,
and God guided you to the truth
through me? And is it not true that I
found you in a state of poverty, and
God made you affluent? And is it not
true that I found you enemy one of
another, and God reconciled your
hearts?
After listening to each sentence of the
admonition, the Ansar would say,
"Indeed! God and His Prophet have
been very generous." The Holy
Prophet then continued:
"Why don't you say this O Ansar, 'It
was you, Muhammad, who were under
our obligation. Did you not come to us
vanquished and defeated, and we
came to your rescue? Did you not
come to us exiled and rejected, and
we gave you shelter? Did you not
come to us in want and need, and we

came to your help?

"Had you replied to me in these
words, you would have said nothing
but the truth and I would have agreed
with you. O Ansar, are you angry
because I gave away some goods to
those whom I sought to win to Islam?
Because I considered that their faith
could be confirmed by material goods,
whereas I considered yours to be
based on solid conviction?
"Does this not satisfy you, O Ansar,
that when other people return home
loaded with goods and camels, you
will return home with the Prophet of
God? By Him Who controls
Muhammad's soul, there is no people
to whom I love to belong more than
the Ansar."
The Holy Prophet said these words in
great love and affection for the men of
Ansar who had pledged their
unswerving loyalty and allegiance to

him, and had helped him at the most

critical stage in his mission.
When the Ansar heard these words of
great affection and sincerity from the
Prophet's mouth, they burst into tears
and they all shouted with one voice,
"We want only Muhammad, the
Prophet of God."
CAMPAIGN OF TABUK
In the summer of year 630 A.D.,
rumours spread out in Medinah that
the Byzantine army was gathering in
the southern part of Syria, ready to
attack Medinah. Later events showed
that these rumours were cleverly
spread by the hypocrites in Medinah
who wanted to provoke the Muslims
against the Roman Empire.
The previous encounter with the
Byzantine forces at Mutah was still
fresh in the minds of the Muslims who
showed some reluctance in joining this
campaign. The Prophet finally

prepared an army of thirty thousand

men and marched towards Syria. After
reaching Tabuk, the Prophet stayed
there a few days and not finding any
signs of the enemy, returned to
Medinah. The journey took the Muslim
army about two and a half months
and was the last campaign
undertaken by the Holy Prophet in his
life.
After his return from. Tabuk, a large
number of deputations from various
tribes and states came to Medinah to
offer their allegiance to the Prophet.
They came from Oman, Hadramawt,
Harridan, Kindah, Bahrain, Yamamah
and many other provinces of Arabia.
In fact so remarkable was the
movement of these deputations
towards Medinah that the ninth year
of the Hijrah is known as the "Year of
Deputations"
THE FAREWELL PILGRIMAGE ANDTHE

SERMON ON THE MOUNT

In the year 632 A.D., the Holy Prophet
felt that his mission was nearing
completion, and understanding that
the end of his life was near; he
decided to make a farewell pilgrimage
to Mecca. After completing the various
ceremonies of the Hajj, the Prophet
addressed the people gathered there
from the top of the Mount of Mercy, in
the Plain of Arafat:
"O people, listen to my words; for I do
not know if I shall be among you after
this year. Remember that you have to
appear before your Lord Who will
demand from you an account of all
your actions.
"O people, you have rights over your
wives and your wives have rights over
you. Remember, you must always
treat your wives with kindness.
Woman is weak and cannot protect
her own rights. When you married,

God appointed you the trustees of

those rights. You brought your wives
to your homes under the Law of God.
You must not, therefore, insult the
trust which God has placed in your
hands.
"O people feed your slaves as you
feed yourselves and clothe your
slaves as you clothe yourselves. If
they commit a fault which you are
unable to forgive, then pass them on
to someone else. They are part of
God's creation and are not to be
harshly treated.
"O people, listen to my words, and
remember that all Muslims are
brothers one of another. As you are
one brotherhood, you will not take
your brother's belongings which he
does not give you of his own goodwill.
And guard yourself against
committing injustice.
"O people, take note that I trample

under foot all un-Islamic customs and

traditions. All blood feuds are wiped
out. As God has made you one
brotherhood, so be not divided. An
Arab has no superiority over a non
Arab, nor a non Arab over an Arab;
nor is a white one to be preferred to a
dark one, nor a dark one to a white
one. This day, retaliation for all
murders committed in the days of
ignorance is cancelled and all sums of
interest are remitted.
"O people, worship your Lord, observe
Prayer, observe the Fast during
Ramadhan, pay the Zakat cheerfully,
perform the Pilgrimage, and obey
those in authority among you; God will
admit you to His paradise"
And he concluded:
"What I have said to you, you shall tell
the others who are not present"
With these words the Prophet finished
his address when a revelation came to

him:
"This day have I perfected for you
your religion and completed upon you
my favour and have chosen for you
Islam as Religion (5:4)
This is believed to be the last
revelation received by the Holy
Prophet and with it the process of
Quranic revelations, spanning a period
of twenty two years, came to a close.
THE PROPHET'S ILLNESS
Two months after returning from the
farewell pilgrimage, the Holy Prophet
fell ill. One day, after having led the
Prayer, he addressed the people
present in the mosque. He said,
"There is a slave among the slaves of
God to whom God has offered the
choice between this world and that
which is with Him. And the slave has
chosen that which is with God." When
Abu Bakr heard these words, he began
to weep; for he understood that the

Holy Prophet was speaking of himself

and that the choice he referred to was
his imminent death. The Holy Prophet
continued, "O people, the most
beneficent of men unto me in
companionship and generosity has
been Abu Bakr; and if I were to select
from all mankind an inseparable
friend, he would be Abu Bakr. But real
companionship and brotherhood is
ours when God unites us all in His
presence".
When the Prophet became so ill that
he could not even come to the
mosque, he asked that Abu Bakr lead
the daily Prayers. Hazrat A'isha knew
that her father was very sensitive and
prone to weeping and would be
greatly distressed taking the Prophet's
place. She, therefore, suggested
Omar's name instead. But the Holy
Prophet insisted that it be Abu Bakr.
One day the Prophet was feeling a

little better so he asked to be taken to

the mosque. Ibne Abbas and Ali
supported him from each side and,
with his feet dragging on the ground,
took him to the mosque. Abu Bakr had
already started leading the Prayer. As
Ibne Abbas and Ali took the Prophet to
the front row, the people tried to give
Abu Bakr a hint by clapping their
hands. Abu Bakr, however, was too
engrossed in the Prayer and did not
take any notice. Finally he became
aware of the Prophet's presence
behind him and wanted to move back.
The Prophet, however, indicated to
him to continue leading the Prayer
and asked lab Abbas and Ali to put
him down next to Abu Bakr. The
Prayer then continued in such a
manner that Abu Bakr was following
the Holy Prophet seated next to him
while the people behind were
following Abu Bakr. After the Prayer

was over the Prophet asked Abu Bakr

why he didn't continue leading the
Prayer after he was asked to do so.
Abu Bakr replied, "How dare the son of
Abu Qahafa lead the Prayer in the
presence of the Messenger of God."
As the Prophet's illness advanced, he
requested his wives to allow him to
spend his last days with A'isha, to
which they all agreed. One day
Fatimah, his daughter, came to see
him. A'isha saw the Holy Prophet
whisper something in Hazrat Fatimah's
ear, upon which Fatimah began to cry.
Then he whispered something else in
her ear, which made her smile
through her tears. When A'isha
queried Fatimah on what the Holy
Prophet was whispering to her, she
answered that it was a secret not to
be divulged. Much later, she told
A'isha that the Holy Prophet had
informed her that he was going to die

in that illness and this had made her

cry. Then the Holy Prophet told her
that she, Fatimah, would be the first
from the Prophet's house to join him,
and this had cheered her up.
The Prophet's Mosque in Medinah was
adjacent to his residence. One day the
Prophet stood by the window and
looked outside at the Muslims getting
ready to say their Fajr Prayers behind
Abu Bakr. The people looked at the
Holy Prophet's face and waited for him
to join them. He smiled at them and
indicated with his hand for Abu Bakr
to go ahead with the Prayer. That was
the last time the Muslims saw their
Prophet's face; that day at noon, the
Holy Prophet passed away. On June 8,
632 A.D., the Holy Prophet was buried
and thus ended the glorious career of
the Prophet of Islam, the greatest man
of Arabia, indeed of the whole world.
When Omar was told of the Prophet's

death, he did not believe it. He always

thought that the Holy Prophet was
going to outlive all of them. He,
therefore, proceeded to the mosque
and started telling the people that the
Prophet was merely absent in spirit
and will return soon.
When Abu Bakr heard the sad news,
he went straight to his daughter
A'isha's house and drew back the
cloak which covered the Prophet's
face. He looked at the face of his
departed friend and then bent down
and kissed it. "Dearer than my father
and mother," he said, "thou hast
tasted the death which God decreed
for thee. Thou art too precious with
the Lord for another death to befall
thee."
After this, Abu Bakr went out where
Omar was still addressing the people.
He asked Omar to be quiet but Omar
paid no attention. Finally Abu Bakr

started to speak to the people himself:

"O people, whosoever worships
Muhammad, let him then know that
Muhammad is dead. But whosoever
worships God, let him know that the
Lord is living and does not die"
Abu Bakr then recited the following
Quranic verses which were revealed
after the Battle of Uhud:
"And Muhammad is only a Messenger.
Verily, Messengers have passed away
before. If then he dies or is slain, will
you non back on your heels?" (3:145)
Hazrat Abu Bakr's words put a hush on
the crowd. Omar himself was
astounded. When realization finally
sank in that the Holy Prophet was
really dead, his legs could not carry
him and Omar fell to the ground.
The Holy Prophet's body was bathed
and laid out in the chamber of A'isha
where he had died. Next morning, the
inhabitants of Medinah came and

visited it, praying over his remains.

Abu Bakr and Omar entered the
chamber and prayed as follows:
"Peace be upon thee, O Prophet of
God, and mercy from the Lord and His
blessing. We bear witness that the
Prophet of God has delivered the
Message revealed to him; has fought
in the way of God until God gave his
religion victory; has fulfilled his words,
has drawn us to himself, and been
kind and tenderhearted towards the
believers; has sought no recompense
for delivering the Faith to us, neither
has he sold it for a price at any time."
In the evening, the final rites were
performed and the body was buried in
a grave dug in A'isha's chamber, at
the same place where the Prophet had
breathed his last. Later on, when Abu
Bakr died, he was buried in the same
chamber and, in due time, Omar as
well. Thus was fulfilled a dream of

A'isha that three moons fell, one after

another, into her chamber.
WIVES OF THE HOLY PROPHET
1. HAZRAT KHADIJAH (Marriage: 595
A.D.)
A fairly well to do lady of Mecca,
Khadijah was twice widowed, and
fifteen years his senior, when she
married the Prophet Muhammad. Her
former husbands were named Abu
Halah and Ateek.
Her marriage with the Holy Prophet
lasted twenty five years fifteen years
before and ten years after the
beginning of his prophetic mission. As
long as the Holy Prophet was married
to Khadijah, he did not take any other
wife.
Khadijah died about two years before
the Hijrah when the Holy Prophet was
fifty years old. She was buried in
Mecca. Khadijah was the Prophet's
only wife who bore him children that

lived past infancy.

The Prophet's love and regard for
Khadijah was so great that even after
her death the manner in which he
remembered her often made even the
likes of A'isha very jealous. On one
occasion Khadijah's younger sister,
Halah came to visit the Holy Prophet.
When he heard her voice he became
startled and remarked:
"It must be Halah; her voice is so
much like Khadijah's."
At this A'isha could no longer control
herself and remarked:
"How come, you always think of the
old woman who is dead, while God has
given you better wives?"
The Holy Prophet replied:
"It is not so. When people rejected me
she stood by me; when people
disbelieved, she believed and
accepted Islam; when I had no
support, she helped me."

2. HAZRAT SAUDAH (Marriage: 620

A.D.)
Saudah held the distinction of being
the first lady the Holy Prophet married
after the death of Khadijah. At the
time of her marriage to the Holy
Prophet Saudah was a widow of nearly
fifty years of age. The name of her
former husband was Sakran who was
an early convert to Islam. Both of
them had migrated to Abyssinia but
had returned to Mecca about the time
Khadijah died. Very soon afterwards
Sakran died, leaving Saudah a widow.
At the time of Khadijah's death, two
younger daughters of the Holy
Prophet Umm al Kalthum and Fatimah
were still young and unmarried. At the
suggestion of the wife of one of his
Companions, the Holy Prophet married
Saudah to be relieved of domestic
worry.
The marriage took place in Mecca, a

few months after Khadijah's death.

When the Holy Prophet migrated to
Medinah, Saudah also joined him
there. She died in 22 A.H. during the
Khilafat of Omar.
3. HAZRAT A'ISHA (Marriage: 622 A.D.)
A'isha was the daughter of Abu Bakr
and his wife Zaynab (Umm Roman). At
the time of the Prophet's marriage to
Saudah, the name of A'isha was also
brought to his attention. But A'isha
was then engaged to Jubayr bin
Mutim. Later on Jubayr who had not
embraced Islam broke the
engagement due to Abu Bakr's close
companionship with the Holy Prophet.
After her engagement with Jubayr was
dissolved, the Holy Prophet married
A'isha with Abu Bakr performing the
"nikah" ceremony. The marriage,
however, was not consummated till
after the Prophet's migration to
Medinah.

A'isha spent nine years with the Holy

Prophet and died in 57 A.H., at the age
of sixty six years. She was buried in
the graveyard in Medinah, known as
Janna-tul-Baqih.
A'isha was very dear to the Holy
Prophet not only because of her
youthfulness but also because of her
intelligence, quick wittedness and
piety. More than one quarter of all the
Ahadith quoted by the great compilers
of the Prophet's Traditions are
narrated by Hazrat A'isha.
4. HAZRAT HAFSAH (Marriage: 624
A.D.)
Hafsah was the daughter of Omar bin
Khattab. The Holy Prophet married her
in the third year of the Hijrah, soon
after her former husband, Khumays,
died of wounds sustained in the Battle
of Badr.
Hafsah was a very learned lady, and
the standard text of the Holy Quran, in

the sequence laid down by the Holy

Prophet, was kept in her custody.
Hazrat Hafsah died in 45 A.H., at the
age of sixty and was buried in the
Janna-tul-Baqih.
5. HAZRAT ZAYNAB BINT KHUZAYMAH
(Marriage: 625 A.D.)
Zaynab was first married to Tufayl bin
Harith who had divorced her. She then
married Abdullah bin Hajash who
became a martyr in the Battle of
Uhud. In consideration of her
bereavement, several Muslims offered
to marry her but she declined them
all. However, when the Holy Prophet
proposed to her she accepted the
honour. The marriage took place soon
after the Battle of Uhud, in 3 A.H. She
was thirty years old at the time.
Zaynab bint Khuzaymah, however, did
not live long and died within two or
three months after her marriage.
Besides Khadijah, Zaynab bint

Khuzaymah was the only other wife of

the Holy Prophet who died within his
lifetime. The funeral prayer was
performed by the Holy Prophet
himself, and Zaynab was buried in the
Janna tul-Baqih.
5. HAZRAT UMM SALMAH (Marriage:
626 A.D.)
Her real name was Hind and she was
the daughter of Suhayl and Atikah.
She was fast married to Abdullah bin
Abdul Asad who had taken the
"kunniyat" of Abu Salmah.
Both Umm Salmah and her husband
had embraced Islam in the early years
of the Prophet's mission and were also
among the first emigrants to
Abyssinia. Later on they returned to
Mecca and after the Holy Prophet's
migration to Medinah, followed him
there.
Abu Salmah suffered some bad
wounds in the Battle of Uhud and

eventually succumbed to blood

poisoning some eight months later.
Umm Salmah was a mature lady with
four children when she became a
widow.
When the Holy Prophet proposed to
her, she initially made some excuses
regarding her advanced age and
having many children but later on
accepted the honour. They were
married around 4 5 A.H.
Umm Salmah died in 63 A.H., at the
age of eighty four, and was the last of
the Prophet's surviving wives. She was
buried in the Janna-tul-Baqih,
alongside the Holy Prophet's other
wives.
7. HAZRAT JOWA'RIAH (Marriage:
626A.D.)
Formerly known as Barrah, Juwayriah
was the daughter of Harith, the Chief
of the Banu Musta'liq tribe. She was
married to Musafi who lost his life

fighting against the Muslims in the

Expedition of Banu Musta'liq, in the
fifth year of the Hijrah.
With the defeat of the Banu Musta'liq,
a large amount of booty and prisoners
of war came into the hands of the
Muslims. Juwayriah fell to the lot of a
warrior who demanded as ransom
quantity of gold beyond her means to
pay. She then came to the Holy
Prophet beseeching him for help. He
offered to marry her to which she, as
well as her master, agreed. She was
about twenty years old at the time.
When the Muslim warriors learned of
this marriage, they freed all captives
of the Banu Musta'liq clan since they
had all now become relatives of the
Holy Prophet by virtue of his marriage
to Juwayriah.
Juwayriah died in 50 A.H., at the age
of sixty five. She was also buried in
the Janna-tul-Baqih in Medinah.

8. HAZRAT ZAYNAB BINT JAHSH

(Marriage: 626 A.D.)
Zaynab was the daughter of
Umaymah, a sister of the Prophet's
father Abdullah and thereby a cousin
of the Holy Prophet. She belonged to
the noble clan of Hashim and was
proud of this fact.
When the Prophet launched his drive
for Islamic brotherhood and tried to
remove all signs of racial and ethnic
superiority, he arranged the marriage
of his cousin Zaynab to his freed
slave, Zayd.
Zaynab, however, could never get
adjusted to the idea of marrying a
freed slave and her marriage with
Zayd eventually led to a divorce due
to mutual incompatibility.
Since the Holy Prophet had been
responsible for arranging her marriage
and had guaranteed her upkeep, he
decided to marry her himself. Zaynab

was about thirty eight years old at the

time and the marriage took place in
the fifth year of the Hijrah.
Zaynab was the most generous of the
Holy Prophet's wives and used to give
away most of her annual stipend to
the poor. Before his death the Holy
Prophet once remarked to his wives:
"The first to join me among you is the
one with the longest hand."
The Prophet's wives took the hint
literally and started comparing the
lengths of their hands. It was after the
death of Zaynab that the other wives
realized that the Holy Prophet's words
actually alluded to the person's
generosity. Zaynab died in 20 A.H., at
the age of fifty-three.
9. HAZRAT UMME HABIBAH (Marriage:
628 A.D.)
Her real name was Ramlah and she
was the daughter of Abu Sufyan, a
staunch enemy of the Holy Prophet.

She had married Ubaydullah bin Jahsh

and both had embraced Islam in the
early days of the Prophet's mission. To
avoid the persecution of the Muslims
in Mecca, both Umm Habibah and her
husband went to Abyssinia with the
Second Emigration of the Muslims to
that country.
On reaching Abyssinia, her husband
converted to Christianity while Umm
Habibah remained steadfast in her
faith. After his conversion, Ubaydullah
separated from his wife and later on
died.
In the seventh year of the Hijrah, the
Holy Prophet sent his envoy from
Medinah to Negus, King of Abyssinia,
asking for Umm Habibah's hand in
marriage. Negus conveyed the
Prophet's proposal to Umm Habibah to
which she readily consented. Negus
himself presided over the marriage
ceremony and afterwards sent Umm

Habibah to Medinah under proper

escort. At the time of her marriage to
the Holy Prophet, Umm Habibah was
about thirty sin years of age.
Umm Habibah died in 44 A.H. at the
age of seventy three and was buried
in the Janna tul-Baqih in Medinah.
10. HAZRAT SAFIYAH (Marriage: 628
A.D.)
Her real name was Zaynab and she
was the daughter of Haiy bin Akhtab,
a chieftain of the Banu Nadir tribe of
the Jews. The Banu Nadir had been
expelled from Medinah after the Battle
of Uhud and had settled down at
Khyber.
Safiyah's first marriage to Sallam bin
Mishkan ended in divorce. She then
married Kinanah, a Jewish warrior at
Khyber. During the Battle of Khyber
her husband and father were both
killed and Safiyah, along with other
women, was captured. In deference to

her status among her own people, the

Holy Prophet released her and invited
her to embrace Islam. The Holy
Prophet then asked for her hand in
marriage, to which she readily agreed.
She was about eighteen years old at
the time.
Being of Jewish origin and an outsider,
Safiyah often received a
discriminatory treatment from the
Holy Prophet's other wives. Once
A'isha called her a "shrimp" on
account of her short stature. The Holy
Prophet overheard the remark and
said to A'isha:
"A'isha, you have said a word which, if
dropped in the sea, would pollute the
whole water."
On another occasion A'isha and
Zaynab teased Safiyah regarding their
ethnic superiority by saying that they
were not only the Prophet's wives but
were also related to him. When

Safiyah complained about this to the

Holy Prophet, he said:
"Safiyah, why didn't you reply saying
that your father was Aaron, your uncle
Moses and your husband is
Muhammad; so how can they be
superior to you?"
Safiyah died in 50 A.H., at the age of
sixty one and was buried in the Janna
tul-Baqih.
11. HAZRAT MAIMOONAH (Marriage:
629 A.D.)
Maimoonah was the daughter of
Harith of the Hawazin tribe and a
sister in law of the Prophet's uncle,
Abbas. She first married Masood bin
Amr who divorced her. She then
married Abu Rahm who died soon
after.
On the suggestion of Abbas, the Holy
Prophet married Maimoonah, after the
three day pilgrimage in the seventh
year of the Hijrah. The Holy Prophet

wanted to have the marriage

ceremony in Mecca and invite the
Quraysh, but the Meccans did not
allow him to stay in the city more than
the three days agreed upon in the
Treaty of Hudaybiya. The marriage
ceremony, therefore, took place at
Sarif, north of Mecca, and was
performed by Abbas. Maimoonah was
about thirty years old at the time.
Maimoonah died in 50 A.H., at the age
of seventy three and was buried at
Sarif, according to her will. Besides
Khadijah, Maimoonah is the only wife
of the Holy Prophet who was not
buried in the Janna tul Baqih in
Medinah.
12. HAZRAT MARIAH QIBTIAH
(Marriage: 629 A.D.)
After the Treaty of Hudaybiya, the
Holy Prophet sent his envoys to
various kings and rulers inviting them
to embrace Islam. One of the

recipients of these envoys was

Muqauqis, the Ruler of Egypt.
Muqauqis did not embrace Islam but,
very diplomatically, sent some
presents to the Holy Prophet including
two Coptic maidens named Mariah
and Sirin.
Both these girls embraced Islam.
Mariah was taken into marriage by the
Holy Prophet while Sirin, her sister,
was married to a Companion of the
Prophet. The marriage of Mariah took
place in the seventh or eighth year of
the Hijrah.
Mariah held the distinction of being
the only wife, other than Khadijah, to
bear the Holy Prophet a child, a son by
the name of Ibrahim. This son,
however, died in the tenth year of the
Hijrah when he was only eighteen
months old.
Mariah herself did not live long and
died five years later. She was buried in

the Janna-tul-Baqih graveyard.

A NOTE ON THE BATTLES FOUGHT
DURING THE LIFE OF THE HOLY
PROPHET
Much criticism is raised against Islam
today, attributing its rapid spread to
the use of sword and physical
compulsion. This however, is not
borne out by historical facts.
For the first fourteen years of his
twenty two year prophetic career, the
Holy Prophet passively bore all sorts of
persecutions and aggressions afflicted
upon him. And when finally the
permission to fight was granted by
God (22:39) the Holy Prophet fought
only in self defense or to check the
enemy's war preparations or to
establish peace in the area.
It should be noted that during the
eight year period from the Battle of
Badr to the Campaign of Tabuk, the

total number of battle casualties in

the whole of Arabia was only about
1250. Of these about 250 were
Muslims and about 1000 non Muslims.
These are extremely small numbers
even by the standards of those days,
and put the degree of warfare carried
out by the Muslims in its proper
perspective.

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Copyright by the Ahmadiyya
Muslim Community 1995-2016. All
rights reserved.
Jews of Arabia:The readers should be made
aware that the Quran considers the
JEWS as a RELIGION likeCHRISTIANITY,
which is of course totally wrong, since
the word JEW denotes a NATIONALITY
(people born in the Kingdom of JUDEA
or from parents who originated from
there) whose religion was and still
isMOUSAWIYOON (the followers of
Moses).
In Arabic they are called also AL
TAIFA AL MOUSAWIYA meaning the
followers of the MOSAIC SECT/FAITH.

Because of the uniqueness of

their beliefs among all the pagan
nations surrounding them, after
theirDIASPORA, the Nationality of the
Jews and their Religion became
synonymous thus identifying them
simply as JEWS.
In all cases that the word
Jew/Jews appears in this analysis, it
means MOUSAWI, the religion of the
Jews.
Hence the 'Jews' of Arabia, like
the Christians of Arabia, were
indigenous native Arabs of the
Peninsula and NOT foreigners; they
had willingly converted to these
beliefs, centuries beforeMuhammad
and his Quran.
This is NOT the same case as one
calling himself/herself an ARAB

although they may be from Tunisia,the

Sudan or Egypt for example.
Although Arab denotes a
nationality (one who originated from
the Arabian Peninsula or a descedant
there of), it does not necessarily
mean one is also a follower of
Muhammad/ 'Muslim' because one can
also be a Christian Arab or an
Arabized
- from among the subjugated peoples
- such as Egyptians, Algerians, Iraqis
etc for example whose land, culture,
religion, independence, traditions and
language were almost completely
taken over by those of the conquering
Arabs.
Historical Background
No authentic history of the
Arabian Jews exists in the world. They

have not left any writing of their own

in the form of a book or a tablet which
might throw light on their past, nor
have the Jewish historians and writers
of the non-Arab world made any
mention of them, the reason being
that after their settlement in
theArabian Peninsula they had
detached themselves from the main
body of the nation, and the Jews of the
world did not count them as among
themselves.
The reader should be made aware
from the very outset of this subject,
that the reason there are no records of
the historical existence of the Jews of
Arabia in the Penisula of the Arabs, is
simply because Muhammad and his
followers completely subjugated or
wiped out their villages, their books,
their very existence in the area of Al
Hijaz in the years 622 to 635 CE.

Just as they did with the

Christians and pagans of Arabia.
Hence all that we have are based
upon the records of the Arabian
victors.
The Jews of the Hijaz claimed that
they had come to settle in Arabia
during the Kingdom of Solomonwho
had trading relashionships with the
Arabs. It is a fact that in the Bible, it is
during the reign of king Solomon that
the first mention ever of the Arabs is
recorded; KingsI 10:15 .
He most probably sent emissaries
and traders - with military contingents
for security- to the Arabsespecially
among the coastal areas for the trade
routes to Africa and most probably,
India. Since according
toMuhammadan traditions, the Queen

of Sheba was allegedly from the

Arabian Yaman, then the aboveJewish
tradition is not baseless.
The second Jewish immigration,
according to the Jews, took, place in
587 B.C. whenNebuchadnezzer, the
king of Babylon, destroyed Jerusalem
and dispersed the Jews .
The Arabian Jews claimed that
several of their tribes at that time had
come to settle in Wadi al-Qura, Taima,
and Yathrib.(Al-Baladhuri, Futuh alBuldan).
As a matter of fact, what is more
concretely established is that when in
A.D. 70 the Romans massacred
thousands of JEWS in JUDEA, and then
in A.D. 132 forced many of them from
that land, many of the Jewishtribes
fled to find assylum in the Hijaz, a

territory that is contiguous to the

south of Judea.
There, being agriculturalists
among other things, they settled
wherever they found water springs
and greenery, and occupied the
fertile lands. Ailah, Maqna, Tabuk,
Taima, Wadi al Qura, Fadak
andKhayber came under their control
in that very period, and the tribes of
Bani Quraizah, Bani al-Nadir, Bani
Bahdal, and Bani Qainuqa also came
in the same period and settled around
Yathrib. They then built up their own
communal village and called it
Madina, meaning 'our country' in
Hebrew in memory ofJudea.
Yahtrib became a suburb of
Madina settled mostly by pagan
Arabs, such as the
Aus and Khazraj.

Among the tribes that settled in

Yathrib/Madina the Bani al Nadir and
the Bani Quraiytha were more
prominent for they belonged to the
Cohen or priest class. They were
looked upon as of noble descent and
enjoyed religious leadership among
their co-religionists. It is reported in
the traditions, that the Quraiythawere
allied to the Khazraj tribe while the
other two tribes, the Nadir and
Qaynouqa were allied to the Aus.
According to Arabian
tradition, the first Himyarite kingdom
(from the tribe of Himyar), in southwest Arabia - where modern Yaman is
situated - was established in about
130 BCE and lasted till 525 CE. This
kingdom stretched over the Yaman in
the south to Hadthramout in the west
and the town of Najran in the north.

Among the nine kings known to

historians of this dynasty, Abu Karib
As'ad Kamil (c.385-420) is reported to
have conquered Persia and later
embraced the faith of the Jews and
propagated it among his subjects (ibn
Ishaq p. 6-19).
It is not commonly known that the
last Hymiarite king, Dhu Nuwas was
of the faith of the Jews. According to
Al Tabari, he died in 525 in his wars
with the Abyssinian Christianswho had
conquered and subjugated southwestern Arabia.
Arabic sources expressly state,
that Judaism became widely spread
among the Bedouin tribes ofSouthern
Arabia and that Jewish converts were
also found among the Hamdan, a
North Yemenitetribe. This time, many

of the upper strata of society

embraced the faith of the Jews. Arab
historians attest to the fact, that the
Judaized tribes of Arabia always sided
with the pagan Arabs against the
African Abyssinians.
DHu NuwAs (d. 525) was an
Arabian king; the last ruler of the
independent Himyarite kingdom. He
embraced Judaism under the name
Yusuf (Joseph) after ascending the
throne (c. 518). An Arabic tradition
holds, that his subjects also became
converts. According to legend, in
retaliation for the persecution of Jews
in the Christian Byzantine empire, he
put to death some Byzantine
merchants who came to his kingdom.
On the surrender to his forces of the
Christian city of Najran (probably in
523), he invited the inhabitants to
embrace Judaism and when they

refused, executed many of them. He

was killed and his kingdom destroyed
in a combined attack by Abyssinia and
Byzantium. After his death and the
downfall of his kingdom,Christianity
rapidly gained ground in Southern
Arabia, especially among the former
converts toJudaism; but even then,
some Yemenite rulers were of the
Jewish faith.
In A. D. 450 or 451, the great
flood of Yaman occurred. As a result
of this, different tribes of the people
ofSaba were compelled to leave
Yaman and disperse in different parts
of Arabia.
Thus, the Bani Ghassan went to
settle in Syria, Bani Lakhm in Hirah
(Iraq), Bani Khuzaahbetween Jeddah
and Mecca and the Aus and the
Khazraj went to settle in Yathrib.

By the time of the 5th century,

the original Israelites/Jews had so
totally assmilated into the
Arabianenvironment, that extremely
few Hebrew names existed amongst
them. Their tribal structure was
Arabian;their alliances were with
pagan Arabian tribes; they married
and intermarried and were closely
associated by blood ties with these
tribes to such an extent that the 'Jews'
of one tribe fought the 'Jews' of
another tribe.
Of the 12 Jewish tribes that had
settled in Hijaz, none except the Bani
Zaura retained its Hebrewname. In
fact, there is nothing in the poetry of
the Jewish poets of the pre-Islamic
days to distinguish it from the poetry
of the Arab poets in language, ideas
and themes. Since the Jews and Arabs

are Semites,they are also physically

indistinguishable from each other.
In fact, by the time of
Muhammad, the original Jews had
given up their Hebrew culture and
language, even their Hebrew names,
and adopted Arabism instead. The
original Jews had become almost
entirelyArabized by a long process of
assimilation with the converted
Arabian tribes by inter marrying with
them.
Thus, by the beginning of the 7th
century, the majority of Arabian 'Jews'
were actually Judaized Arabswho had
converted or married into the older
but much diluted Israelites whom the
Quran calls " Allatheena Hadoo" that
is, those Arabs who had
- willingly and without coercion converted to the religion of the Jews.

Their language, their dress and their

poetry became indistinguishable from
the other Arabs.
Al Jumahi (845 CE) devotes a
section of his biographies (Tabaqat alShu'ara) to theJewish poets of AlMadina and its environs. Abu'l Faraj al
Isbahani in his Al Aghani cites a
number of Jewish poets in Arabia.
In summation, the only difference
between the 'Jews' and the pagan
Arabs in the Peninsula,was their
RELIGION.
In the tablets that have been
unearthed in the archaeological
research in the Hijaz no trace of the
Jews is found before the first century
of the Christian era, except for a few
Jewish names. Therefore, the history
of the Arabian Jews is based mostly on

the verbal traditions prevalent among

the pre Muhammadan eraArabs and
transmitted by the 'Muslims'
thereafter.
2: 62
Lo! those who believe (in
that which is revealed unto thee,
Muhammad), and those who are
Jews[Allatheena Hadoo], and
Christians, and Sabaeans whoever
believeth in Allah and the Last Day
and doeth right surely their reward is
with their Lord, and there shall no fear
come upon them neither shall they
grieve.
4: 46
Some of those who are Jews
[Allatheena Hadoo], change words
from their context and say: "We hear
and disobey; hear thou as one who
heareth not" and "Listen to us!"
distorting with their tongues and
slandering religion. If they had said:

"We hear and we obey; hear thou, and

look at us" it had been better for
them, and more upright. But Allah
hath cursed them for their disbelief,
so they believe not, save a few.
4: 160 Because of the wrongdoing of
the Jews [Allatheena Hadoo], We
forbade them good things which were
(before) made lawful unto them, and
because of their much hindering from
Allah's way,
*** From the linguistic point of
view, the Quran should have said
Al Yahood = the Jews instead of
Allatheena [those who] Hadoo
[became Jews] if it meantJEWS only
and not CONVERTS ***
The most astounding realization,
based upon the Hadiths, is that their
belief in the

One and Only God of Israel never

changed or wavered among these
Judaized Arabs to such an extent, that
even when the males of the Quraiytha
tribe were being BUTCHERED (600900 men and boys), byMuhammad
and his companions, only two of them
were willing to accept that
Muhammad was the messenger of
Allah.
Their incredible tenacity to stick
to their religious beliefs, and to deny
Muhammad what they clearly knew
were his utterly false claims to
prophethood, is attested to by the
fact, that among the thousands of
Jews and Judaized Arabs, less then
TEN people were willing to convert to
the cult of Muhammad even upon pain
of death.
As a TESTAMENT to their

incredible display of loyalty to, and

their refusal to betray their beliefs and
traditions, in the following Hadith,
Muhammad remarks ruefully upon
their tenacity.
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith 5.277
Narrated by Abu Huraira
The Prophet said, "Had only TEN JEWS
believed me, all the Jews would
definitely have believed me."
*** From among the thousands of
Jews in Arabia, NOT EVEN TEN, were
willing to submit to Muhammad's false
pretences and tyranny.
This, is the ULTIMATE MEASURE
OF MARTYRDOM ***
Before Muhammad appeared on
the scene, there was no religious or
'racial' discrimination between

theJudaized Arabs and the Pagan

Arabs especially since both are
SEMITES. The concept of ethnic
intolerance did not exist among the
pagan Arabs until Muhammad created
it in his Quran to justify the
destruction of the Judaised and
Christianised Arabs for having refused
to accept him as a prophet.
There is no historical proof to
show that the Jews ever engaged in
any proselytizing activities in Hijaz, or
that their rabbis invited the Arabs to
embrace Judaism like the Christian
priests and missionaries. None the
less, this does not preclude the fact
that ordinary pagan Arabs, or sveral of
their leaders, for whatever reasons of
their own, were willing to adopt the
traditions of the Jews.
That is why Judaism did not

spread as a religion and creed in the

Hijaz but remained only as a mark of
distinction of a few Israelite tribes, to
start with. The Jewish rabbis, however,
had a flourishing business in granting
amulets, charms and fortune telling
because of which they were held in
great awe by the Arabs for their
"knowledge" and practical wisdom in:
medicine, agriculture, metallurgy and
literature unlike the nomadic Arab
tribes and others semi sedentary
Arabs who were generally illiterate,
superstitious, ignorant of the
surrounding civilizations, without art
and with a very simple and
uncomplicated religion.
The Ka'ba, according to Ibn ishaq
(p 84) was an extremely primitive
structure of piled rocks surrounding a
well called Zamzam;

"it was made of loose stones above

a man's height, and they wanted to
raise it and roof it because men had
stolen part of the treasure of the Ka'ba
which used to be in a well in the
middle of it"."
Now a ship belonging to a Greek
merchant had been cast ashore at
Jedda and became a total wreck. They
took its timbers and got them ready to
roof the Ka'ba. It happened that in
Mecca there was a Copt who was a
carpenter, so everything they needed
was ready to hand"
Over the decades, the Jews and
the Judaized Arabs became
economically much stronger than
thepagan Arabs. Since they had
emigrated from more civilized and
culturally advanced countries of Judea
andSyria, they knew many such arts

as were unknown to the Arabs; they

also enjoyed trade relations with the
outside world.
Due to their acumen and
expertise, they captured the business
of importing grain in Yathrib and the
upperHijaz and exporting dried dates
to other countries. Poultry farming and
fishing also were mostly under their
control. They were good at cloth
weaving too. They had also set up
wine shops here and there, where
they sold wine which they imported
from Syria. The Bani Qainuqa
generally practised crafts such as that
of the goldsmith, blacksmith and
vessel making.
Those 'Jews' - of Israelite descent
or converted indigenous Arab converts
- were integrated and accepted by the
pagan natives. It is important to

repeat yet again, that the pagan

Arabs were almost entirely nomadic
people who abhorred and looked with
contempt at the concept of tilling the
land.
According to Philip Hitti's
monumental book "History of the
Arabs", it was the Jews who introduced
the following fruit to the Arabians:
Apples; apricots; watermelons;
pomegranates; lemons; oranges,
sugarcane; bananas and almonds
among others.
The greatest and most important
contribution by the Jews to Arabian
agriculture and subsequently their
heritage, was the introduction of the
PALM TREE, which existed mostly in
the fertile land of Iraq. It is called
'Tamr' in Arabic, whose root resides in
the Hebrew 'Tamar'meaning 'dates'.

Furthermore, each of their tribes

also had to enter into alliances with
one or another powerful Arab tribe for
the sake of its own protection so that
no other powerful tribe should
overawe it by its might. Because of
this, they had not only to take part in
the mutual wars of the Arabs but they
often had to go to war in support of
theArab tribe to which their tribe was
tied in alliance against another
Judaized tribe which was allied to the
enemy tribe.
In Yathrib the Bani Quraiytha and
the Bani an-Nadir were the allies of
the Aus while the Bani Qainuqa were
allied to the Khazraj.
A few years before Muhammad's
emigration to the Madina, these
Judaized tribes had confronted each

other in support of their respective

allies in the bloody war that took place
between the Aus and the Khazrajat
Buath.
The reader should be clearly
aware, that the following are the
Muhammadan, one- sided traditions of
what allegedly transpired.
As usual in the Muhammadan
'traditions', there are no PRIMARY or
even SECONDARYindependant and
reliable eye witness reports to assert
or contradict these alleged traditions.
Quotes from Muslim source:
Such were the conditions when
Muhammad came to Madina in
622AD, and ultimately created
an'Islamic' State there. One of the first
things that he accomplished soon

after establishing this state was the

unification of the Aus and the Khazraj
and the Emigrants into a brotherhood,
and the second was that he concluded
a treaty between the 'Muslims' and
the 'Jews' on definite conditions, in
which it was pledged that neither
party would encroach on the rights of
the other, and both would unite in a
joint defence against the external
enemies. Some important clauses of
this treaty are as follows, which
clearly show what the 'Jews' and the
Muslims had pledged to adhere to in
their mutual relationship:
"The 'Jews' must bear their
expenses and the Muslims their
expenses. Each must help the other
against anyone who attacks the
people of this document. They must
seek mutual advice and consultation,
and loyalty is a protection against

treachery. They shall sincerely wish

one another well. Their relations will
be governed by piety and recognition
of the rights of others, and not by sin
and wrongdoing. The wronged must
be helped. TheJews must pay with the
believers so long as the war lasts.
Yathrib shall be a sanctuary for the
people of this document. If any
dispute or controversy likely to cause
trouble should arise, it must be
referred to and toMuhammad the
Apostle of Allah; Quraish and their
helpers shall not be given protection.
The contracting parties are bound to
help one another against any attack
on Yathrib; Every one shall be
responsible for the defence of the
portion to which he belongs"
(lbn Hisham, vol. ii, pp. 147 to 150).
This was an absolute and
definitive covenant to the conditions

of which the Jews themselves had

agreed. But not very long after this
they began to show hostility towards
the Holy Prophet of Allah (upon whom
be Allah's peace) and Islam and the
Muslims, and their hostility and
perverseness went on increasing day
by day. Its main causes were three:
First, they considered Muhammad
merely as a chief of his people, who
should be content to have concluded
a political agreement with them and
should only concern himself with the
worldly interests of his group. But they
found that he was extending an
invitation to belief in Allah and the
Apostleship and the Book (which also
included belief in their own Prophets
and scriptures), and was urging the
people to give up disobedience of
Allah and adopt obedience to the
Divine Commands and abide by the

moral laws of their own prophets. This

they could not put up with. They
feared that if this universal ideological
movement gained momentum it
would destroy their rigid religiosity
and wipe out their racial nationhood.
Second, when they saw that the
Aus and the Khazraj and the
Emigrants were uniting into a
brotherhood and the people from the
Arab tribes of the surrounding areas,
who entered Islam, were also joining
this Islamic Brotherhood of Madinah
and forming a religious community,
they feared that the selfish policy that
they had been following of sowing
discord between the Arab tribes for
the promotion of their own well being
and interests for centuries, would not
work in the new system, but they
would face a united front of the Arabs
against which their intrigues and

machinations would not succeed.

Third, the work that the Holy
Messenger of Allah (upon whom be
Allah's peace) was carrying out of
reforming the society and civilization
included putting an end to all unlawful
methods in business and mutual
dealings. More than that; he had
declared taking and giving of interest
also as impure and unlawful earning.
This caused them the fear that if his
rule became established in Arabia, he
would declare interest legally
forbidden, and in this they saw their
own economic disaster and death.
They had adopted this hostile
attitude against the covenant even
before the Battle of Badr. But when
the Holy Prophet (upon whom be
Allah's peace) and the Muslims won a
decisive victory over the Quraish at

Badr, they were filled with grief and

anguish, malice and anger. They were
in fact anticipating that in that war the
powerful Quraish would deal a death
blow to the Muslims. But when the
battle was decided against their hopes
and wishes, they burst with anger and
grief.
Ka'b bin Ashraf, the chief of the
Bani an-Nadir, cried out:
"By Allah, if Muhammad has actually
killed these nobles of Arabia, the
earth's belly would be better for us
than its back."
Then he went to Makkah and
incited the people to vengeance by
writing and reciting provocative
elegies for the Quraish chiefs killed at
Badr. Then he returned to Madinah
and composed lyrical verses of an
insulting nature about the Muslim

women.
At last, enraged with his
mischief, the Holy Prophet (upon
whom be Allah's peace) sent
Muhammad bin Maslamah Ansari in
Rabi al-Awwal, A. H. 3, and had him
slain. (Ibn Sad, Ibn Hisham, Tabari).
UNQUOTE.
*** Muhammad had EVERYONE
and anyone who had opposed him by
verse or by deed,SLAUGHTERED or
ASSASSINATED through guile and
betrayal.
The Ahadith are the best source
for describing in detail these acts of
wanton MURDER andDECEPTION.
Tabari VIII:23 "The Messenger and his

Companions continued in the fear and

distress that Allah has described in
the Qur'an. Then Nu'aym came to the
Prophet. 'I 've become a Muslim, but
my tribe does not know of my Islam;
so command me whatever you will.'
Muhammad said, 'Make them abandon
each other if you can so that they will
leave us;
for war is deception.'"
Tabari IX:36/Ishaq:596 "'Prophet, this
group of Ansar have a grudge against
you for what you did with the booty
and how you divided it among you
own people.' 'Ansar, what is this talk I
hear from you? What is the grudge
you harbor against me? Do you think
ill of me? Did I not come to you when
you were erring and needy, and then
made rich by Allah?
' 'You came to us discredited, when

your message was rejected by the

Quraysh, and we believed you.
You were forsaken and deserted and
we assisted you.
You were a fugitive and we took you
in, sheltering you.
You were poor and in need, and we
comforted you."
*** Muhammad made them RICH,
ONLY through his leadership as the
consummate PIRATE of the ARABIAN
DESERT.
It was through their acts of
PIRACY and the PLUNDER of the
WEALTH and of the SWEATand
HONEST HARD WORK of other PEOPLE
that the Muhammadan Muslims
became RICH.

None of his followers, including

himself, worked for an HONEST living
and all the Ahadithprove this ***
Sunan of Abu-DawoodHadith 2631
Narrated byKa'b ibn Malik
When the Prophet (peace be upon
him) intended to go on an expedition,
he always pretended to be going
somewhere else, and he would say:
War is deception.
*** Muhammad REGULARLY and
methodically BETRAYED,DECEIVED
and BROKE at will, any and all
AGREEMENTS that he made with those
who did not believe him to be the
prophet ofAllah.
He did so with his own kith and
kin, the Quraysh and followed this
process of TREACHERYwith the 'Jews'

and Christians of Arabia ESPECIALLY,

because they were the most
knowingWITNESSES and a TESTAMENT
to his LIES, PERFIDY and PRETENSIONS
as the alleged'messenger of Allah' ***
All the explanations given above
are based on pure self interest,
conjecture, mendacity and prejudice.
The version of events described
above is of course written by the
victors - the Muhammadan Arabs who were also the aggressors and
victimizers. The reason that there are
no records from the Judaized,
Christian and pagan side is obvious,
since both the peoples and their
records were consequently obliterated
by Muhammad and his followers.
Contrary to all the mendacious

allegations above, most of the 'Jews'

and Christians of Arabia were
originally pagan Arabs who had without coercion - converted to the
religion of the Jews and toChristianity.
This fact is attested to by the
pagan Arab tribes of the Aus and
Khazraj, whose ancestors came from
theHimyarite kingdom of the Yaman
which had earlier converted to the
religion of the Jews. (Ya'qubi, vol ii,
p49 designates the Arabian tribes
from which they descended).
The Aus and Khazraj were the
ones who welcomed and protected
Muhammad in the Madina and who
were called the Ansar meaning
supporters/helpers by Muhammad.
Because of their proximity and
blood relations with their Judaized

Arab brothers and sisters, they were

the most prone to believe in the One
and Only God. They are the same who
later, after the death ofMuhammad,
had to contend with the religious and
political discrimination fostered upon
them by theQurayshites.
The 'Jews' of Madina were almost
totally Arab; they were after all,
natives of Arabia and not foreign
intruders or actual 'Jews', and even if
they were originally from Judea
- by the way, there was no Palestine -,
they became fully absorbed and
assimilated by the time ofMuhammad.
The 'Jews' at the beginning,
welcomed him as a brother
monotheist, who was attempting to
convert hispagan Arabian tribes to the
belief in the One and Only God.

Unfortunately, Muhammad's
original perception of his mission as
the 'Moses' of the pagan Arabs,slowly
transformed itself into a more militant
and uncompromising self esteem as a
prophet to all mankind and especially
to the Jews.
Muhammad actually started to
perceive himself and believe that he
was, the promised Messiah.
The 'Jews', for very good reasons,
refused to accept him as a prophet
- especially since he was not bringing
about any new concepts or ideas
which were either equal to, or superior
to theirs.
Because of his grandiose claims
to prophethood and his alleged
revelations, they constantly
questioned and ridiculed him,

especially since his alleged

'revelations' totally contradicted the
original versions in their Hebrew Bible.
These humiliating, but fully
warranted disputations, became
intolerable effrontery to him
personally, and a threat to his
inauthentic claims which were adding
to his difficulty in'converting' the
pagans to his cultic beliefs.
In the end, he had no choice but
to exterminate such witnesses to his
lies and pretensions.
Muhammad's personal legacy of
hate for the Jews who refused to
believe in him, is inscribed in
hisQuran. The entirety of the Quran is
only the reflection of Muhammad's
own
ALTER EGO

and thus, replete with innumerable

verses attacking, insulting,
denigrating and inciting
Muhammad'sfollowers against the
Jews.
In (Ibn Ishaq's p:6/18), there are
numerous passages that attest to the
above facts. The stories about
theTuba, Qurayza, Madina, Mecca etc
are very clear in showing the
incredible intertwining between
the'Jews' and the Arab tribes to such
an extent, that they are
indistinguishable from each other
excepting for their religious beliefs.
According to the reports in Ibn
Ishaq, it was two Jewish rabbis who
saved both the Madinaand Mecca
from the wrath of al Tubba (Ishaq 612) ***

Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith 2.1

Narrated byAbu Huraira
I heard Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h)
saying, "We (Muslims) are the last (to
come) but (will be) the foremost on
the Day of Resurrection though the
former nations were given the Holy
Scriptures before us. And this was
their day (Friday) the celebration of
which was made compulsory for them
but they differed about it. So Allah
gave us the guidance for it (Friday)
and all the other people are behind us
in this respect: the Jews' (holy day is)
tomorrow (i.e. Saturday) and the
Christians' (is) the day after tomorrow
(i.e. Sunday)."
*** As usual, Muhammad distorts
and contorts theological and historical
facts to suit his agenda of portraying
himself as a man of knowledge.

According to the Bible, which is

after all, the primary and ONLY source
of the story of the creation, the
beginning of the week starts on
Sunday and finishes on Friday.
Of course, Sunday is called EHAD
in the Hebrew of the Bible, meaning
the FIRST, andFriday is called SHESHI,
meaning the SIXTH.
Moreover, Muhammad defies
logic and facts, since Saturday
[Shabbath, meaningCESSATION OF
CREATION] as the last day of the
week, was ordained by God as a holy
day in the Torah, and both Muhammad
and the Quran assert its divine
sanctification and hence should not be
violated ***
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith 2.457

Narrated byAbi Aiyub

Once the Prophet went out after
sunset and heard a dreadful voice,
and said, "The Jews are being
punished in their graves."
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith 3.485
Narrated byAbdullah bin Umar
"Allah's Apostle gave the land of
Khaibar to the Jews to work on and
cultivate and take half of its yield. Ibn
'Umar added, "The land used to be
rented for a certain portion (of its
yield)." Nafi mentioned the amount of
the portion but I forgot it. Rafi' bin
Khadij said, "The Prophet forbade
renting farms." Narrated 'Ubaidullah
Nafi' said: Ibn 'Umar said: (The
contract of Khaibar continued) till
'Umar evacuated the Jews (from
Khaibar).
*** Muhammad was the one who

plundered and murdered the Jews of

Khayber in THEIR LAND.
He did not give them anything
beyond murder, subjugation,
humiliation and enslavement***
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith 3.531
Narrated byIbn Umar
Umar expelled the Jews and the
Christians from Hijaz. When Allah's
Apostle had conquered Khaibar, he
wanted to expel the Jews from it as its
land became the property of Allah, His
Apostle, and the Muslims. Allah's
Apostle intended to expel the Jews but
they requested him to let them stay
there on the condition that they would
do the labor and get half of the fruits.
Allah's Apostle told them, "We will let
you stay on thus condition, as long as
we wish." So, they (i.e. Jews) kept on
living there until 'Umar forced them to

go towards Taima' and Ariha'.

Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith 4.380
Narrated byIbn Umar
Umar bin Al-Khattab expelled all the
Jews and Christians from the land of
Hijaz. Allah's Apostle after conquering
Khaibar, thought of expelling the Jews
from the land which, after he
conquered it belonged to Allah, Allah's
Apostle and the Muslims. But the Jews
requested Allah's Apostle to leave
them there on the condition that they
would do the labor and get half of the
fruits (the land would yield). Allah's
Apostle said, "We shall keep you on
these terms as long as we wish." Thus
they stayed till the time of 'Umar's
Caliphate when he expelled them to
Taima and Ariha.
*** The 'Jews' and 'Christians' who
were expelled were actually native

ARABS who had more right to be in

the land of their birth, than the
plunderer Muhammad and his upstart
cult followers ***
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith 4.394
Narrated byAbu Huraira
When Khaibar was conquered, a
roasted poisoned sheep was
presented to the Prophets as a gift (by
the Jews). The Prophet ordered, "Let
all the Jews who have been here, be
assembled before me." The Jews were
collected and the Prophet said (to
them), "I am going to ask you a
question. Will you tell the truth?'' They
said, "Yes." The Prophet asked, "Who
is your father?" They replied, "So-andso." He said, "You have told a ie; your
father is so-and-so." They said, "You
are right." He siad, "Will you now tell
me the truth, if I ask you about
something?" They replied, "Yes, O

AbuAl-Qasim; and if we should tell a

lie, you can realize our lie as you have
done regarding our father." On that he
asked, "Who are the people of the
(Hell) Fire?" They said, "We shall
remain in the (Hell) Fire for a short
period, and after that you will replace
us." The Prophet said, "You may be
cursed and humiliated in it! By Allah,
we shall never replace you in it.'' Then
he asked, "Will you now tell me the
truth if I ask you a question?" They
said, "Yes, O Ab Li-Al-Qasim." He
asked, "Have you poisoned this
sheep?" They said, "Yes." He asked,
"What made you do so?"
They said, "We wanted to know if you
were a liar in which case we would get
rid of you, and if you are a prophet
then the poison would not harm you."
*** This totally fabricated story is
designed specifically to bestow upon

Muhammad the false mantle of

prophethood.
The same Muhammad who could
NOT remember the most momemtous
events of his life, those of the Night of
Revelations and his alleged visit to the
Temple of Solomon***
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith 4.660
Narrated byAisha and Ibn Abbas
On his death-bed Allah's Apostle put a
sheet over his face and when he felt
hot, he would remove it from his face.
When in that state (of putting and
removing the sheet) he said,
"May Allah's Curse be on the Jews and
the Christians for they build places of
worship at the graves of their
prophets." (By that) he intended to
warn (the Muslim) from what they (i.e.
Jews and Christians) had done.

Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith 4.694

Narrated bySaid bin Al Musaiyab
When Muawiya bin Abu Sufyan came
to Medina for the last time, he
delivered a sermon before us. He took
out a tuft of hair and said, "I never
thought that someone other than the
Jews would do such a thing (i.e. use
false hair)." The Prophet named such
a practice "Az-Zur (i.e. falsehood),"
meaning the use of false hair.
***The word Az zur is not Arabic
but Hebrew which means
prohibited***
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith 4.791 &
176
Narrated byAbdullah bin
Umar & 4.177 bu Abu Hurraira
I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "The
Jews will fight with you, and you will
be given victory over them so that a
stone will say, 'O Muslim! There is a

Jew behind me; kill him!' "

Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith 5.277
Narrated byAbu Huraira
The Prophet said,
"Had only ten Jews believe me, all the
Jews would definitely have believed
me."
*** This admission speaks
volumes about the tenacity of the
Arabian 'Jews' to theirMonotheistic
beliefs that not even TEN leaders were
willing to submit to or believe in the
balderdash, utter stupidities and lies
that Muhammad was preaching since
nothing coming from his mouth was
relevant or equal to what they already
had ***
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith 5.362
Narrated byIbn Umar

Bani An-Nadir and Bani Quraiza fought

(against the Prophet violating their
peace treaty), so the Prophet exiled
Bani An-Nadir and allowed Bani
Quraiza to remain at their places (in
Medina) taking nothing from them till
they fought against the Prophet
again). He then killed their men and
distributed their women, children and
property among the Muslims, but
some of them came to the Prophet
and he granted them safety, and they
embraced Islam. He exiled all the Jews
from Medina. They were the Jews of
Bani Qainuqa', the tribe of 'Abdullah
bin Salam and the Jews of Bani
Haritha and all the other Jews of
Medina.
*** Based upon all the 'Muslim'
records of the actions of Muhammad
vis a vis all other tribes, sects or
individuals, it was ALWAYS Muhammad

who
reneged, cheated and betrayed ALL
agreements he made with EVERYONE
the moment he had the upper hand to
suit and fulfill his agenda ***
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith 5.519
Narrated byAbu Imran
Anas looked at the people wearing
Tailsans (i.e. a special kind of head
covering worn by Jews in old days). On
that Anas said, "At this moment they
(i.e. those people) look like the Jews of
Khaibar."
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith 9.77
Narrated byAbu Huraira
While we were in the mosque, Allah's
Apostle came out to us and said, "Let
us proceed to the Jews." So we went
along with him till we reached Bait-alMidras (a place where the Torah used
to be recited and all the Jews of the

town used to gather). The Prophet

stood up and addressed them, "O
Assembly of Jews! Embrace Islam and
you will be safe!" The Jews replied, "O
Aba-l-Qasim! You have conveyed
Allah's message to us." The Prophet
said, "That is what I want (from you)."
He repeated his first statement for the
second time, and they said, "You have
conveyed Allah's message, O Aba-lQasim." Then he said it for the third
time and added, "You should know
that the earth belongs to Allah and His
Apostle, and I want to exile you from
this land, so whoever among you
owns some property, can sell it,
otherwise you should know that the
Earth belongs to Allah and His
Apostle."
(See Hadith No. 392, Vol. 4)
*** Because Muhammad coveted
the wealth of the 'Jews', he decided to

deprive them from it through his usual

MADE to ORDER 'revelations' ***
Al-Muwatta Hadith The Expulsion of
the Jews from Madina
Malik said, ''Umar ibn al-Khattab
expelled the Jews from Najran (a
jewish settlement in the Yemen) and
Fadak (a Jewish settlement thirty miles
from Madina). When the jews of
Khaybar left, they did not take any
fruit or land. The jews of Fadak took
half the fruit and half the land,
because the Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace,
had made a settlement with them for
that. So Umar entrusted to them the
value in gold, silver, camels, ropes
and saddle bags of half the fruit and
half the land, and handed the value
over to them and expelled them."
Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 4659

Narrated byZayd ibn Thabit

Allah's Messenger (peace be upon
him) ordered him to learn Syriac. One
version says he ordered him to learn
the writing of the Jews, saying, "I do
not trust the Jews about what is
written." He said he learned it in less
than half a month, and then wrote the
Prophet's communications to the Jews
and read what they had written when
they wrote to him.
Transmitted by
Tirmidhi.
*** What he learnt was the dialect
of the Jews of Arabia which was a
combination of Hebrewand Arabic.
That is why it took him only two
weeks to master it ***
Sunan of Abu-DawoodHadith 2159
Narrated byAbdullah Ibn Abbas
Ibn Umar misunderstood (the Qur'anic

verse, "So come to your tilth however

you will")--may Allah forgive him. The
fact is that this clan of the Ansar, who
were idolaters, lived in the company
of the Jews who were the people of
the Book.
They (the Ansar) accepted their
superiority over themselves in respect
of knowledge, and they followed most
of their actions. The people of the
Book (i.e. the Jews) used to have
intercourse with their women on one
side alone (i.e. lying on their backs).
This was the most concealing position
for (the vagina of) the women. This
clan of the Ansar adopted this practice
from them.
But this tribe of the Quraysh used to
uncover their women completely, and
seek pleasure with them from in front
and behind and laying them on their
backs. When the muhajirun (the
immigrants) came to Medina, a man

married a woman of the Ansar. He

began to do the same kind of action
with her, but she disliked it, and said
to him: We were approached on one
side (i.e. lying on the back); do it so,
otherwise keep away from me.
This matter of theirs spread widely,
and it reached the Apostle of Allah
(peace be upon him). So Allah, the
Exalted, sent down the Qur'anic verse:
"Your wives are a tilth to you, so come
to your tilth however you will," i.e.
from in front, from behind or lying on
the back. But this verse meant the
place of the delivery of the child, i.e.
the vagina.
*** As usual, Muhammad very
conveniently 'received' a verse
allowing his followers to have
intercourse with the women of the
Ansar contrary to what they were
used to, by an instantlySANCTIFIED

'revelation' from the ever ready and

willing Allah ***
Sunan of Abu-DawoodHadith 2166
Narrated byAbuSa'id al-Khudri
A man said: Apostle of Allah, I have a
slave-girl and I withdraw the penis
from her (while having intercourse),
and I dislike that she becomes
pregnant. I intend (by intercourse)
what the men intend by it. The Jews
say that withdrawing the penis (azl) is
burying the living girls on a small
scale. He (the Prophet) said: The Jews
told a lie. If Allah intends to create it,
you cannot turn it away.
Sunan of Abu-DawoodHadith 3001
Narrated byAbdullah ibn Umar
Umar said: The Apostle of Allah (peace
be upon him) had transaction with the
Jews of Khaybar on condition that we
should expel them when we wish. If

anyone has property (with them), he

should take it back, for I am going to
expel the Jews. So he expelled them.
*** This so called 'transaction'
was the one sided imposed conditions
by the criminal upon his victim as can
be read from its contents ***
Sunan of Abu-DawoodHadith 3406
Narrated byAisha, Ummul Mu'minin
The Prophet (peace be upon him) used
to send Abdullah ibn Rawahah (to
Khaybar), and he would assess the
amount of dates when they began to
ripen before they were eaten (by the
Jews). He would then give choice to
the Jews that they have them (on their
possession) by that assessment or
could assign to them (Muslims) by
that assignment, so that the (amount
of) zakat could be calculated before
the fruit became eatable and

distributed (among the people).

*** Once more, these onerous and
vile economic taxes were imposed
upon the victimized'Jews' by
Muhammad and his followers after
having subjugated them through
treachery and betrayal ***
Sunan of Abu-DawoodHadith 4511
Narrated bySome men
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said
to the Jews and started with them:
Fifty of you should take the oaths. But
they refused (to take the oaths). He
then said to the Ansar: Prove your
claim. They said: Do we take the oaths
without seeing, Apostle of Allah? The
Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him)
then imposed the blood-wit on the
Jews because he (the slain) was found
among them.

*** In the tradition of the Jews unlike Muhammad and his followers they are prohibited from pronouncing
the name of God in vain. That is why
they refused to take the oath.
The followers of Muhammad on
the other hand, pronounce the name
ALLAH innumerable times a day with
complete disregard as to the veracity
of what they are saying.
Muhammad left his legacy of
HATEMONGERING, WARMONFERING,
DECEPTION & BETRAYAL, forever
embedded in his Quran.
That is why during the last 1450
years of Muhammadan Islam and for
the forseeable future, his followers
THINK, ACT and BEHAVE in his exact
same manner.

They are forever his CLONES ***

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Full text of "The Origins of the Galla
and Somali tribes"
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a day or two after, that using the
cloth, one discovered the insect
within its folds. A complete cocoon
had been made, constructed
entirely of excreta passed by the

insect.
Prior to casting the larval skin, just
before pupation, the larva
becomes more contracted and
assumes a pinkish colouration; the
anal
end becomes markedly crenated. The
length of the larva in this stage
is only 23 mm.
Pupa. When the larval skin is cast,
the pupa is at first white,
subsequently turning to a light
orange-brown. The pupa shows the
outline of the perfect insect. The wing
and elytra cases are curled
over the lateral and on to the ventral
surface of the abdomen, and are
supported along the upper and lower
edges by the mid and posterior
pairs of legs. The Head is depressed
ventrally and supported on either

side by the anterior pair of legs. The

antennae, which are remarkably
short, are curved downwards. Length
of pupa, 25 mm.; width,
16.7 m.m.
The pupal stage of insects kept under
observation, at room
temperature, lasted six weeks. When
the beetle first emerges it is
light orange brown on the upper
surface and orange yellow on the
venter of the abdomen. The elytra
remained soft for twenty-four
hours, and did not change to a jet
black colour until two days later.
The thoracic integument remains
brown for another 48 hours.

THE OEIGINS OF THE GALLA AND

SOMALI TEIBES.

By Juxon Barton, m.a.

The origin, language, customs,
characteristics, and habits of the
Galla and the Somali present so many
points of similarity that an
attempt to give a historical account of
the origins of one necessitates
some detail of the other.
The Galla, probably one of the most
ancient of races now existing,
may be regarded as the parent of the
Somali tribe, and as such first
come under consideration.
Thb Galla". .
" On taking a general survey of the
racial history of Africa," says
Dr. Haddon, " it is manifest that the
critical area is the North-Eastern

region which abuts on Southern

Arabia," geologically but a short
time has elapsed snice Africa and Asia
were joined, paleolithic

implements similar to those found in

the Congo have been found in
Somaliiand, and in short, there are
good grounds for the belief that
the principal races of Africa crossed
from Southern Asia.
The Galla, or as they call themselves
Oromo (the sons of men),
have had various origins ascribed to
them, and the word " Galla " is
that used of them by the Abyssinians
and Arabs. Dr. Ludwig Krapf
states that this word means "to go
home," and Miss A.
Wernher has recently suggested the

Galla words of farewell Agum

ngalla corroborates this statement.
The Abyssinians however derive
the Galla from an Abyssinian lady of
rank who was given in marriage
to a slave from Gurague to whom she
bore seven sons who became
dreaded robbers and the founders of
tribes inhabiting the country about
the iiiver Galla whence they took their
name. Moslem tradition
has it that Galla are Meccan Arabs
who settled on the East Coast of
Africa during the Wakt-el-Jahiliveh, or
Time of Ignorance, and that
their name is derived from the reply of
Ullabu, their Chief, to the
summons of the Phophet calling on
the tribe to accept Al-Islam, the
messenger returning stated " He said '
No ' " (Gha la) an example
of the Moslem love of philological
analogy.

It is interesting, however, to note the

similarity between the
Galla word for both God and Sky, Wak,
and the idol Wak of the
pre-islamic pantheon at Mecca, of
which the Kaaba alone survives;
and again the Galla legend of a Kitab
or Holy Book, to the loss of
which they ascribe the fallen fortunes
of their race. The Galla
themselves aver that in the beginning
of their history they crossed a
great sea or lake, the Bed Sea. A story
of kingship and a coronation
feast is told, and women, as in the
early history of Arabia, have held
princely rank.
Probably those Galla whose southward
route lay near the East
Coast of Africa and who are now found
along the Tana Eiver and in

the neighbourhood of Witu are

correctly described by Dr. Krapf as
" more primitive " than those of
Abyssinia whom he met during his
activities there between 1838 and
1842, in that they are the relicts of
the early migrants and had little
contact with the races of Abyssinia.
Incidentally Dr. Krapf, himself a
German, described the Galla as the
'- Germans of Africa."
A theory as to the origin of the
Equatorial Galla is advanced in
the unsigned article " Gallas " in the
Encyclopaedia Brittanica, which
states :
" The home of the Southern Galla was
possibly in a district
East of Victoria Nyanza, for the tribes
near Mount Kenya are

stated to go on a periodical pilgrimage

to the mountain, making
offerings as to their mother."
The chain of causation is. obscure.

Herodotus in 450 B.C. shows the horn

of Africa and the countries
Southward to the Eiver Juba as
inhabited by " Macrobians ";
Erastothenes in 200 B.C. denotes the
area " Cinamomifera Eegio ";
and Ptolemy in 150 A.D. shows
"Barbaria"; Cape Gardafui as
" Aromata Prontus "; the interior as. "
Myrrhifera Eegio," the coast
hinterland as " Azania," a Latinised
form of the Arabic Ajam
used in conjunction with the word bar

to denote a non-Arab
country.
It is probable that shortly before or in
early Christian times there
was a migration of pastoral Hamites
from Asia into Eastern Africa
abutting on Asia, the Galla preceding.
This, migration was
contemporary with that of the peoples
designated by Sir H. Johnston
as " Eed Sea Kushites " (Hadendowa,
Danakil, etc.) and was a little
to the Southwards.
Thence, by reason of pressure from
fresh immigrants the first
comers were forced to seek new
pastures, either in the West between
the forest and desert near the great
rivers, or Southwards towards the
mountains of Eastern Africa.

Paulitschke, following Tellez in the

XVII. Century, Hiob Ludolf
and James Bruce, in writing of the
Galla in Abyssinia, gives the date
of their arrival in that country as about
1537, and their starting point
to have been South of the Gulf of
Aden and states that they were
still in the region opppsite to the Gulf
in the XIII Century.
The old Arab Sultanate of Zeyla,
founded it is said, in the VII.
Century, had become a powerful State
by the XIII. Century, A.D.,
and embraced a large number of Galla
converts under its rule, until
the mixed race which resulted broke it
up into a number of petty
emirates under Galla-Somali chiefs.
It is certain that between 1528 and
1540 A.D. armies of

Mohammedans, under Mohamed Gran

(or Granye, the left handed),
a Somali, conquered a large part of
what is now Abyssinia. Portuguese
intervention was sought and a fleet
arrived in 1541, 400 musqueteers
under Christopher da Gama, a brother
of the Admiral Vasco, took the
held, at first with success, but
eventually they were defeated and
their leader executed. Ultimately
Mohamed Gran was routed in 1543
by the Portuguese. These campaigns,
had wide-spread effect on the
stratification of peoples in this region.
During the Portuguese occupation of
the East Coast of Africa the
Galla were the most powerful tribe
between Abyssinia and Mombasa
and were thought to extend far to the
South, hey even besieged
Jesus i'ort in Mombasa and were

practically suzerain over the semiArab petty sultanates in the Lamu

archipelago. In 1824 Captain
Owen, in charge of a charting
expedition, notes the Galla settlement
near Witu. In 1843 when Dr. Krapf was
expelled from Abyssinia he
heard a rumour at Aden of the
equatorial Galla, and on Christmas
Eve
8

of that year, accompanied by his wife

and travelling in a nativi dhow,
he anchored at the mouth of the Juba
Biver; the next day ho reached
the Island of Koyama, the most
northern of the Dundas Group, and
had " the very great pleasure of
meeting with the Gallas of the tribe

Dado."
The island of Koyama is said to have
been peopled from Kismayu
owing to the Galla raids on that port.
But on the other hand some
of the islanders claim to be descended
from the Garreh, a semi-pagan
tribe, closely allied to the Galla-Somali
group and inhabiting part of
the coast near Merca in Italian
Somaliland and the country about
Dolo
in the north of the Kenya Province of
Jubaland. Again a
.Koran in one of the mosques on
Koyama Island shows a pedigree of
a present-day family for some ten
generations; in this, first may be
noticed pagan Galla nomenclature,
next plain Islamic names, later
at about the height of the ivory and
slave tra^e t.he titles of " Haji "

and " Said," and finally the presentday return to ordinary Moslem
names. An aged baobab tree on the
mainland directly opposite to
this Island also bears numerous tribal
marks identified by Galla as
peculiar to themselves which the
islanders state were carved by their
progenitors before they crossed from
the mainland.
The Galla then originated in Central or
Southern Arabia, crossed
the Bed Sea, penetrated into the
foothills of Abyssinia, turned South,
leaving substantial settlements of
their blood behind them, and were
driven to their last outpost along the
Tana Biver by conflict with the
Somali, a race which they had helped
to found.
The Somali.

The Somali, Sir Eichard Burton has

characterised as " nothing
but a slice of the great Galla nation
Islamised and Semiticised by
repeated immigrations from Arabia."
The Somali belong to the Eastern
Hamitic family of which the
chief members are the Galla and Afar,
the Abyssinian Ajan, and the
Beja tribes between the Nubian Nile
and the Bed Sea. They, or
rather the Galla, their progenitors,
have been identified with the
people of Punt, and it is said that they
were known to the early
dynasties of Egypt. Somalis since their
conversion to Islam are
prone to regard themselves as pure
Arabs, but in spite of geographical
propinquity the influence of Arabia has
been very slight even upon the

Somali language, the structure and

vocabulary of which is essentially
Hamitic with marked affinities to the
Galla and Afar tongues. The
Somali is not however a pure Hamite
and the physical characteristics
of the race show signs of
interbreeding with Galla, Afar,
Abyssinians,
Bantu, and negroes.
The origin of the designation Somali is
in considerable dispute.
The Abyssinians shortly derive "
Somali " from the Ambaric

Swtnahe, art unbeliever. Another

theory is given by Dr. Brake
Brbckmaa, that a Hindu, Earn Nag, a
trader on the coast of
Somaliland, married a Galla woman by

whom he had a son Somal,

so called on account of his father's
wealth, and that the son had
a daughter Donbirro who married
Darod the son of an Arab Jiberti
bin Ismail, and from Darod a number
of Somali tribes do in fact claim
descent. There would not seem to be
much to recommend this theory
of a Hindu trusting himself among the
savage Galla tribes, as from
accounts of the annual fairs of
Berberah it appears that the Indian
traders came but once a year and sat
in their boats while the
merchandise was placed on the seashore by the Galla.
Professor Eriedrich Batzel seems to
support Dr. Drake
Brockman's theory when he speaks of
a legendary Parsee immigration
of about 500 A.D., which is said to

have monopolised the trade of

the country, and to which is attributed
the ruins of fortified
settlements, aquaducts, and cisterns
showing undoubted traces of
Indian influence. That there was
contact between the coast of
Somaliland and the Indian trader is
certain, but that there was any
attempt at colonisation seems unlikely
merely from the structural
similarity in buildings for the
architectural influence of India is
found
in Arabia, and, after the Crusades, in
England in the style known as
lndo-Saracenic.
During the rule of the Ptolemies in
Egypt and in the Byzantine
period the Bed Sea and the coast of
Somaliland were explored to a
certain extent, and it is said that the

Greeks settled on the

neighbouring Island of Socotra. The
maps of Herodotus,
Erastothenes, and Ptolemy have been
noted in speaking of the Galla.
Between the 12th and 18th centuries
no less than six geographers
mapped the coast line of the present
Somali country, but it is not
until 1815 that the name Somali
occurs, when it was applied by Smith
to the present Italian Somaliland.
Sir Eichard Burton's quoted dictum of
the origin of the Somali
race is doubtless correct, and it
remains to consider the influence of
Arab immigration upon these people.
The subject is obscured
by the mass of fable and pretentious
legend which has
gathered around the semi-mythical
personages claimed as ancestors

Dy the Somali. Jiberi (Strong in Faith)

bin Ismail bin Akil
is supposed by Somali genealogists to
have been a noble Arab from
the Hedjaz, who, forced to flee from
his country for political reasons,
was shipwrecked on the Somali coast
where he married a Hawiyah
woman called Donbirro, by whom he
had a son Darod. The Issak
tribes of Somalis discredit Darod's
origin and state that he was a
Galla slave who stole the Phophet's
slippers for which he was rebuked
with " Inna tarud na huu Verily we
have rejected thee," hence
Darod the Eejected.
10

Through .Kablulla, Darod's son,

descent is claimed by the Herti

Somalia, whose principal branches are
the Medjertain, Dulbahanta,
and Wersengeli. Again, sub-dividing
into innumerable septs, through
Darod's second son are descended the
Ogaden who have branched into
the Mohamed ZuDeir, Aulihan,
Magharbul, Habr Suliman, Abd Wak,
Ker Abduiia, and Her Mohamed; the
last named three clans are now
found near the Kiver Tana. The
Marehan Somalia are probably the
most direct descendants of Darod.
Somali tradition places the advent
of Darod's father Jiberti bin Ismail, as
two hundred years after the
Megira. from then onwards the
families become less pagan, and in
1260 it is said that Said Yusuf El
Bagdadi and Mohamed bin Yunis
-bil Siddik, two Arabs came across
from Arabia, subdued an infidel

magician and settled among the

Somalis.
In 1400 A.D. comes the almost certain
descent of the Issak tribes
from Sheriff Issak bin Ahmed. The
story runs that he, with fortyfour holy men from Hadramout, sat for
four days on the hill Auliya
Jiombo in Somaliland planning the
conversion of the country. The
Issak Somalis aver that the documents
proving this descent were
stolen by Yemen Arab Sheriffs in order
to discredit their noble origin.
By Magaden, an Abyssinian woman,
Sheriff Issak begat Gerharjia,
Awai, and Arab, and, by a slave, Jalla,
Sambal, and Eambar, all
these sub-tribes prefix the
matronymic Habr, though it appears
doubtful whether a noble Arab would
give his sons pagan names.

The descendants of Sheriff Issak and

the forty-four saints with
their increasing number of proselytes
so multiplied that about 1500
A.D. they drove the unconverted
pagans to the West and South.
The nature of the country and its lack
of grazing and water, forced
the Somalis to follow in the wake of
the Galla, and about 1840 1850
the Ogaden and Marehan crossed the
head-waters of the Juba and
encountered the Galla again.
Ultimately the Galla were driven
through Biskaya (the Place of Battles)
to the Tana Eiver where still
a dwindling remnant of the tribe is
found, to be followed closely by
the Somali who is now moving
Westwards to the Lorian Swamp.
To sum up this brief history of the

Somali it appears that first

came an exodus from Southern Arabia
of various pastoral Hamitiu
peoples who crossed the Bed Sea to
the countries about Cape Gardafui.
They then became tinctured by
religion and intermarriage with
Sinbadlike Arabs and thus formed the Somali
tribes, destined to drive their
fore-runners the Galla Westwards and
Southwards, and to follow
them, not for conquest but for
grazing, until the present day.
The future of this intelligent, facile,
inconstant, indolent,
avaricious and complex people is full
of interest; the Arabs have it
that " God made Somaliland, then the
Somali, then he laughed."

Culture
The Inconvenient Truth About Jews
From Arab Lands: They Were Expelled
Adi SchwartzJune 1, 2014getty images
(Haaretz) Nathan Weinstock hadnt
planned to write a book about the
Jews of Arab lands. But when he
looked for information about the
modern history of Moroccan or Iraqi
Jewry, he was surprised to discover
that there was no book in French that
told the story of the elimination of the
Jewish communities in the Middle East
and North Africa in the mid-20th
century.
In the end, he says, I decided to
write it myself.
One of the surprising discoveries he
made was about the powerful bond
with their roots felt by many of the
roughly 1 million Jews in North Africa
and the Middle East who left their

homes in the decade after the

creation of Israel.
The story I knew, Weinstock relates
in a Skype interview from his home in
Nice, in the south of France, was that
the Jews were happy to leave the Arab
countries the moment they were given
the opportunity to do so. We were not
told anything about the Jews deep
connection with Arab culture, for
example. It was only later that I
learned that Jewish writers were the
foundation of Iraqi literature. And that
in mid-19th-century Egypt, the man
who invented the nationalist slogan
Egypt for the Egyptians, and was
known as the Egyptian Molire, was
a Jew named Jacob Sanua.
In the course of my research, he
continues, I found out that the story
we had been told that the Jews left
the Arab countries because they were
Zionists was for the most part

wrong. True, they had an affinity for

the Land of Israel that is certainly
correct but the organized Zionist
movement was very weak in the Arab
countries. The great mass of Jews left
under duress. They were expelled.
They were subjected to such
enormous pressure that they had no
choice but to leave.
Weinstock, a self-taught historian, now
in his 70s, who previously published
studies about the Bund movement in
Eastern Europe and Yiddish literature,
decided to assume the task of
chronicling the expulsion of the Jews
from the Arab countries. The result is
a book that was published in France in
2008 as Une si longue prsence:
Comment le monde arabe a perdu ses
Juifs, 1947-1967 (A Very Long
Presence: How the Arab World Lost Its
Jews, 1947-1967) and has now
appeared in Hebrew (Babel Books;

translated by Hagit Bat-Ada).

This is a very thorough, detailed,
interesting and persuasive book, with
more than 900 footnotes, and it is one
of the first to deal in this context with
the Jewish minority in Ottoman
Palestine. Weinstock has mostly relied
on secondary sources, but has also
used some primary sources in French
from the archives of the Alliance
Israelite Universelle in Paris, for
example.
I'm a Mizrahi Jew. Do I Count as a
Person of Color?
Sigal SamuelAugust 10, 2015
What makes Weinstocks decision to
write about the Jews expulsion from
the Arab world especially surprising is
his own political biography: He was
one of the leading figures in the antiZionist left in France during the 1960s
and 70s. From viewing Israel and

Zionism as a colonial project aimed at

dispossessing the Palestinians,
Weinstock underwent a dramatic
conceptual upheaval that led him to
address a painful and rarely discussed
aspect of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
This book is the story of a tragedy,
he writes in a special introduction to
the Hebrew edition, of the uprooting
of hundreds of thousands of Mizrahi
Jews, who were torn cruelly from their
homes and homelands. Whole
communities of Jews, who had always
resided in the heart of the ArabMuslim world, underwent expulsion,
persecution and malicious
liquidations Nevertheless, this
drama remains unknown and it has
been denied for a lengthy period.
Weinstock, who was born in Antwerp
in 1939, espoused anti-Zionist, proPalestinian views even before the

1967 Six-Day War. As such, he was

invited, three weeks before the wars
outbreak, to speak to the Palestinian
students union in Paris. The Paris
correspondent of the Israeli
newspaper Maariv, Uri Dan, reported
about the event at the time: Most
depressing of all was the appearance
of Nathan Weinstock, a Jew, who had a
place of honor on the stage and
delivered the keynote address
Weinstock was even more extreme
than the Arabs in the abuse he hurled
against Israel.
In retrospect, Weinstock explains, that
event showed him the degree to
which he played the part of the
useful idiot at the time. I was
thrilled when I got up to speak to the
Palestinian students, he told me.
Very naively, I was convinced that
the Palestinian students would be
happy to hear my pacifist message.

So I was astonished when not one of

them showed the least interest in
what I said. Instead, they listened
ecstatically to Radio Cairo, delighting
in every word and swallowing the
boastful announcements that the Arab
armies would soon throw all the Jews
into the sea.
In 1969, Weinstock published
Zionism: False Messiah, an antiZionist pamphlet (in French; an
English translation came out a decade
later) that quickly became the bible of
anti-Israeli propaganda in France.
Gradually, however, he says, he
became aware of the anti-Semitic
nature of the blind assault on Israel.
First, the Zionists are condemned,
then the Zionist takeover of the
media, and finally Zionist world
domination. When I was quoted, my
criticism of the Palestinians, however
minor, was always omitted. In the

end, I understood that I had been

used. My listeners took no interest
whatsoever in me. For them, I was a
Jewish alibi for their anti-Jewish
posture.
The straw that broke the camels back
for Weinstock was the failure of the
Camp David summit in 2000. Once
again the Palestinian leadership
avoided taking responsibility, he
says. The Palestinian leadership was
cowardly, declining to tell their nation
that one has to know when to
conclude the struggle, because the
central goal has been achieved.
How do you account for your polar
reversal of position from anti-Zionist
guru of the radical left as a young
man, to supporter of Israel today?
In the 1960s I was under strong
Trotskyite influence, and I took a
doctrinaire approach to issues not
based on a genuine attempt to

analyze them, but in order to adjust

them to simplistic, pre-set positions.
The radical left has not reconsidered
that period, and in many senses
sounds exactly the same today. When
one looks at who supports the
Palestinians in Europe and it is clear
that the Palestinians do indeed have
rights that need to be addressed one
sees that they dont care about
anything else: not the Armenians, not
the Cypriot-Greek issue, not whats
happening in Western Sahara. Only
one thing interests them, and I cannot
accept that.
We also need to remember, he
continues that Israel took a selfrighteous stance in that period, and it
was very difficult to voice criticism
about its behavior. In the meantime, a
generation of new historians sprang
up in Israel, such as Benny Morris,
who took a realistic view of history. As

in every country, there are dark areas

in Israel which need to be examined.
But has there been any country in
history without dark corners that were
kept hidden? This process is underway
in Israel today but where are the
Palestinian new historians? To
emerge from the tangle, the
Palestinians must show courage and
choose the path of coexistence with
the Israelis. This is a task that only
they can perform for themselves.
In 1945, Weinstock notes, almost one
million Jews lived in the Arab world,
whereas today there are about 4,500,
the great majority of them in Morocco.
According to Weinstock, there is no
precedent for such a dramatic
termination of Jewish communities
anywhere in the world, including
during the Holocaust. What, then,
brought about the massive departure
of Jews from the Arab countries? It

was not Zionism that disconnected the

Jews from their surroundings, he says.
On the contrary: In most cases, the
Zionist movement had a hard time
mustering supporters. Jews also tried
to become part of the Arab nationalliberation movements. For example,
the chief rabbi of Egypt during the
mid-20th century, Chaim Nahum,
often spoke out against Zionism; in
Iraq, Jewish communists founded the
Anti-Zionist League. Activist Jewish
communists in North Africa expressed
solidarity with the Maghreb peoples
and were in the forefront of the
demand for national liberation.
Weinstock cites a large number of
attacks and pogroms against Jewish
communities that are rarely
mentioned in history curricula in
Israel. In 1912, 12 Jews were killed in
Shiraz, Iran, and 51 were killed that
year in Fez, Morocco. In 1934, 25 Jews

were killed in the Algerian city of

Constantine.
In Iraq, 150 Jews were murdered in the
Farhud of 1941, a three-day pogrom.
Seven years later, upon Israels
establishment, Iraq declared martial
law and launched a wave of antiJewish persecutions. Many Jews were
arrested, tried and convicted, some
were sentenced to death, others were
given jail terms or slapped with large
fines. At this stage, the Jews were
forbidden to leave the country, but in
March 1950 Iraq allowed the Jews to
emigrate, provided they gave up their
citizenship and their property.
The ongoing deterioration in the
Jews situation and the atmosphere of
hate surrounding them led to a mass
flight from the country, Weinstock
writes.
The majority of the Jewish population
(90 percent of the community of

150,000) left that year, amid a

massive plundering of their property
by the authorities.
In Egypt, anti-Jewish disturbances
broke out in November 1945, on the
anniversary of the Balfour Declaration,
but the declaration of the State of
Israel three years later triggered
serious persecution. Hundreds of Jews
were arrested, accused of involvement
in Zionist or communist plots and had
their property confiscated. Continuous
attacks on Jews began that June.
Bombs were planted in the Jewish
quarter of Cairo, and it and the Jewish
section of Alexandria were set ablaze.
Half the countrys Jewish community
left at that time, with the remainder
being expelled during the Sinai War of
1956. The Jews who were driven out
were not allowed to take with or sell
their property.
The police arrived and pulled grocers,

carpenters, woodworkers and glaziers

but also well-known lawyers from
their beds, Weinstock writes.
Is there anything in common among
the different communities?
Yes, in terms of the legal and social
status that the Jews shared under
Islamic rule. They possessed dhimmi
status, meaning protected person. It
afforded the Jews the authorities
protection, but at the same time
placed them in an inferior position,
humiliated and scorned. Jews were not
allowed to bear arms in these
countries, in which carrying a weapon
was considered a salient sign of
manhood. In some cases, as in early19th-century Morocco, Jews were
made to go about barefoot, or to wear
humiliating clothes.
In return for protection by the
government, the Jews had to pay a

special tax. Nothing better describes

the contempt entailed in the status of
dhimmitude, Weinstock writes, than
the ritual of humiliation that
accompanied the annual payment of
the subjugation tax in Morocco, as
recently as the end of the 19th
century. Every year, on a fixed date,
the head of each Jewish community
had to turn over the money to the
sultans representative, who for his
part had to slap [the Jew] or hit him
with a stick in order to hammer home
the inequality between giver and
recipient, by nature of their birth.
In Yemen, the Latrines Ordinance,
introduced in the same spirit, obliged
the Jewish community periodically to
clean out cesspools and clear away
animal carcasses that blocked public
roads. (The law remained in force until
1950.)
Weinstock describes a very different

state of affairs from the oft-voiced

myth about the harmonious relations
between Jews and Arabs under Islamic
rule. Less than 100 years after the
Ottoman sultan invited the exiles from
Spain to settle throughout his empire,
for example, one of his descendants,
Murat III, ordered the liquidation of all
the Jews. The sultans Jewish
physician persuaded his mother to
intercede, and the order was
rescinded.
Over the years, numerous laws were
enacted that discriminated against the
Jews from a prohibition against
horseback riding to the necessity of
wearing particular clothing, and from
a ban on giving testimony in court to a
prohibition against building homes
over a certain height.
At the same time, Weinstock notes,
the laws were not enforced identically
in every place and in every period. For

example, a study of the Cairo Geniza

documents, which date back to the
ninth century, shows that the clothing
regulations were not observed at all.
There were periods in which the Jews
succeeded very well in the Muslim
world, Weinstock says. At times they
were part of the elite. The dhimmi
regulations and the scale of
humiliation also differed from place to
place and from one period to another.
But the central axis that dictated the
attitude toward the Jews was their
dhimmi status, which meant
subjugation to the ruling Muslim
group.
Weinstock quotes a Moroccan sultan
saying in the mid-19th century: Our
glorious religion grants them only
marks of opprobrium and inferiority.
Weinstock also examines the situation
in the Holy Land through the dhimmi
prism. The Jewish minority that lived

under Ottoman rule experienced

humiliation and subordination, he
says. Anti-Jewish riots were fomented
time and again in the 18th and 19th
centuries. He quotes the British consul
in Palestine as writing in 1831 that the
extortion and acts of suppression
against the Jews were so numerous
that it was said that the Jews have to
pay even for the air they breathe.
In the twilight of Ottoman rule, a
century ago, the first Hebrew city
was founded (present-day Tel Aviv), a
revival of the Hebrew language began
to be felt, and Jewish cooperative
farming settlements were established.
The local Arab population, Weinstock
says, felt that the ground was being
pulled from under it, as the dhimmi
Jews, who were supposed to possess
inferior status, were now striving for
more even for independence.
According to Weinstock, underlying

the growing hostility toward the Jewish

population in Palestine was the
realization that the dhimmi Jews were
shaking off their traditional legal
status of humiliation and submission.
In retrospect, the writer maintains,
dhimmi status, on the one hand, and
the declared attempt by the Zionist
movement to be free of it, on the
other, led ultimately to the Arabs
rejection of the United Nations
partition plan in 1947 and to the War
of Independence the following year.
Local Palestinians and the Arab world
refused to grant the Jews of the
country a status different from
dhimmi, and they were even less
likely to recognize the Jews national
rights. Zionism, for its part, could not
accept Arab sovereignty over all of
Palestine, a situation in which the
Jewish minority would again find itself
under dhimmi status. Historically,

then, Weinstock says, dhimmi status

is the root of the conflict.
What impact does this relationship
have today?
It continues to affect Israeli-Arab
relations even today, because in Arab
eyes the Jew who now lives in Israel is
the same Jew whom they customarily
saw as humiliated and who is now
taking his revenge. The Arabs
experience Israels establishment and
existence to this day as very painful
revenge and as the reversal of
dhimmitude. This is a very meaningful
and deep aspect of the current
political problem, which we cannot
allow ourselves to ignore. Without
understanding this, it is impossible to
understand the conflict.
Then why is it not dealt with more by
academics and the press?
For the Jewish world, the reason is
that Ashkenazi Jews, in Israel and

elsewhere, continue to be indifferent

to and even disdainful of the Mizrahi
Jews. For the Arab world, this should
come as no surprise, as self-criticism
is not popular among Arab journalists,
intellectuals and public-opinion
leaders. With the exception of a very
short incidental note by [the late Prof.]
Edward Said in one of his books, it is
hard to find serious references to the
massive emigration of Jews from the
Arab countries and its causes.
The left tends to avoid the subject,
because they dont consider it
kosher. The left has become
extraordinarily dogmatic and lacks the
ability of self-criticism today. People
define themselves as identifying with
the Palestinian cause, and thats all:
There is no thought behind it. This
subject might upset their one-sided
worldview, so they simply avoid it.
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-inconvenient-truth-about-jews-fromarab-lands/#ixzz4DP7TP6QY
INDIA AND ETHIOPIAFROM THE
SEVENTH CENTURY B. C.BYSUNITY
KUMAR CHATTERJINational Professor of
India in HumanitiesEmeritus Professor
of Comparative PhilologyIn the
University of CalcuttaASIATIC SOCIETY
1 PARK STREET CALCUTTA16 1968
( Published by the Asiatic Society
andPrinted by George A. Nullis, Baptist
Mission Press 41a Acharyya Jagdish
Bose Road, Calcutta 17.)IX
THE `HABSHIS' (ABYSSINIANS OR
ETHIOPIANS INCLUDING GALLAS

AND SOMALIS, AND NEGROES) IN

INDIA FROM AFTER A.D. 1200
During all this period, particularly from
after the rise of Islam and the hostile
impact of Islam through the Arab,
Persian and Turki invasions of India
and the Muslim-Christian strug.-le in
Ethiopia, India was herself in a very
critical situation, and Ethiopia was
equally shorn of her past glory. They
could not maintain their direct
connexions. Ethiopian adventurers
and fortune-seekers would come out
of their country and take part in the
wider life, and would share
opportunities with others-Arabs and
other Muslims-who were now in
possession of the field. Then, Africa as
a source of black slaves, who were
much in demand in Arabia from preMuslim times, was now being tapped
more than ever, and numbers of
Negro and other slaves were procured

both from the coast-lands as well as

the interior, and sold in Arabia and
Egypt and from these countries they
were passed on to the newly-Islamized
peoples of Iran and Central Asia. The
Central Asian Turks, after they were
established in Asia Minor and in
Byzantium, continued to have their
preference for the slaves of black
colour from Africa. They were liked for
their simplicity, their faithfulness, as
well as ruthlessness when they were
trained into it. These slaves fell into
two not very clearly distinguished
categories of (1) Negros or Black
Africans properthe Aswad (Sudan =
`Black People'), and (2) the Uabash
or Habshis (i.e. the Abyssinians or
Ethiopians). The cultured or advanced
Ethiopians, willingly or by force
leaving their country and finding
themselves in the Arab and other
Muslim worlds of Iran, Central Asia

and India far away from their home,

were compelled through force of
circumstances to accept Islam. They
were also sold as common slaves by
Arab slavers in spite of their superior
mentality and culture, and they could
not remain Christian in an atmosphere
of slavery in Islamic lands or under
Muslim masters. The Negro slaves,
whether coming, like the Ethiopians,
through the Red Sea ports, or
overland through Central Africa to
Egypt and North-West Africa (Berber
and Arab lands), had to accept the
Muslim religion as a matter of course.
Another class of African slaves coming
to Muslim lands from the High Middle
Ages, whether Negroes or Ethiopians,
were the eunuchs. Somehow, Ethiopia
came to be known as the land which
sent a good supply of eunuchs for the
Muslim countries-particularly the
courts and harems of Muslim rulers. In

India, the term Habshi Khoja, or

`Abyssinian Eunuch', has come to be
associatedp. 60THE HABSHIS IN
INDIA FROM AFTER A.D. 1200with
the Harem of a Muslim king (as in
Muslim romances and stories) as
guards, and as servants in charge of
the women in the establishment of the
harem. But although the employment
of African or Ethiopian eunuchs in the
courts and seraglios of the Turkish
Sultans of Istanbul in their great days,
fifteenth-eighteenth centuries, was a
noteworthy fact, in the harems of the
Indian Muslim rulers, the eunuchspecially black African eunuch-was
rarely to be seen, and was never the
rule. In Emperor Akbar's harem, for
example, in the sixteenth century, the
ministering personnel consisted only
of women, and the guards stationed
outside the inner quarters of the
women used to be Hindu Rajput

soldiers, whose trustworthiness and

bravery were universally admitted.
Nevertheless, some Negro (Kafri) and
Ethiopian (Abyssinian Habshi) slaves
appear to have found their way into
India from the time of the first Turki
conquerors of North India, who were
established in Delhi as Rulers of the
Turki Slave Dynasty from the
beginning of the thirteenth century
A.D. The first real conquerors of North
India from the Muslim world were
Turanian or Central Asian Turki in
origin-Turks from. Central Asia who
were established as a Hermenyolk
among Iranians (Persians), Afghans
and Hindus in what is now
Afghanistan. The Arab episode in
Sindh, which started when Sindh was
conquered in A.D. 712 by Muhammad
bin Qasim on behalf of the Omayyad
Caliph of Damascus, did not endure
for more than 50 years, after which

Persian adventurers took possession

of Sindh. In the meanwhile, the Turki
rulers of Afghanistan, Mahmud of
Ghazna and the Ghoris, led plundering
raids against Panjab and the interior of
India, ultimately leading to the
annexation of Panjab to the Ghaznavid
empire by Mahmud of Ghazna. Finally,
we have the defeat and slaying of
Prithwlraj Chauhan, the last Hindu
King of Delhi and Ajmer, by Sabuktagin Muhammad Ghori at the Second
Battle of Tarain in A.D. 1192. The
permanent establishment of a Turki
Muslim line of kings, who gradually
brought the greater part of Northern
India under the sway of the Turks,
took place in 1203, when Qutbuddin
Aibak became Sultan of Delhi. The
country as conquered by the Turks
was really ruled by the Turki military
leaders who were quite a turbulent
and independent lot. After Qutbuddin

Aibak, the head of the Turki State was

Shamsuddin lltutmish or Altamash
(A.D. 1206-1236), and he was
succeeded by his daughter, Raziah
(Raziyyah, A.D. 12361240). Queen
Raziah was not liked by the Turkish
war-lords because she was a woman
who assumed the state of a male
ruler, as a king, and came out in the
open, and her attempts at ruling with
a firm hand were resisted by her own
people, the Turki chiefs and noblemen,
the chief of the Forty Personal Slaves
and Associates of Iltutmish. This was
aggravated by the fact that Queen
Raziah showed in public special
favours to a slave of Ethiopian
(Habshi)origin, whom she raised to the
position of "Master of the Stables, or
Horses " (Amim-i-Akhfr), who
appeared to be intimately connected
with her in her personal life like
helping her to mount her horse by

lifting her up bodily. We have thus

evide:tce of a Habshi slaveevidently
from the Ethiopian coast-land-coming
to India and acquiring a position of
importance among the ruling class of
the newly-established Turki Muslim
state in Delhi. This Habshi slave,
whose name was Jalaluddin (or
Jamaluddin) Yaqut, turned grandee,
was looked upon with aversion by the
Turkish magnates, and they
thoroughly disliked him as the
favourite of Raziah. His colour must
have been one of the main reasons.
The Turki leaders rebelled openly
against Raziah, and she was defeated,
and her favourite the Habshi Master of
Horse was killed. Raziah as an astute
move in politics married one of the
rebel chiefs named Malik Altuniya of
Bhatindah, but this did not in the long
run help herboth her husband and
herself were finally defeated and killed

by her foes. This was the first incident

in which a slave-adventurer of Habshi
or Ethiopian origin had taken a part in
Muslim India.Habshi slaves or other
adventurers were found in good
number in Delhi for some centuries
after this. From the evidence of the
Arab traveller from Maghrab or NorthWest Africa, Ibn Batuta, middle of the
fourteenth century, we have good
light on the presence and importance
of these Habshis as mercenaries both
in the Indian mainland and in Indian
waters. They were coming to
IndiaSouthern and Western India (the
Deccan)-by sea from the Ethiopian
and Arab coast-lands in an unending
stream, particularly from the time of
the establishment of Muslim States in
the Deccan and South India in the
fourteenth century. Under the
umbrage of the Arab traders, possibly
as their clients, these Islamized

Ethiopians were arriving even before.

There is in the sculptures in the
Orissan temple of the Sun-god at
Konarak a bas-relief of long-robed
Arab traders (with Ethiopians among
them, it may be) bringing, as a
present for the local Hindu King of
Orissa, a giraffe as a curiosity. The
zebra was also similarly brought to
India in the sixteenth century-it was
already taken to Agra, and Emperor
Jahangir's court-painters made a
picture of it. Horses from Arabia and
Persia for the armies of the Indian
kings, both Hindu and Muslim, formed
a very common object of trade which
Arab and Habshi merchants used to
bring, along with other articles.
In the great Muslim Bahmani kingdom
built up and maintained mainly by
native Muslim Indians from North India
in the Deccan (1347-151.8), armies of
slaves and mercenaries of Abyssinian

Habshis, who came through the

Western India ports, used to be
recruited. Numbers of them drifted
from the fourteenth-fifteenth centuries
from Bengal and North India where
also they had come. They were
employed along with the Uzbek: and
other Tatar or Central Asian Turkispeaking mercenaries; and both the
groups were known as Mamluks, or
`Owned Slaves'. They were found in
large numbers, and they served their
employers in fighting against the
South Indian Hindu State of
Vijayanagara and the Hindu States in
the North like Orissa. The Habshis or
Abyssinians, because of their
dark colour, were looked down
upon by the other foreigners from
Central Asia and Iran, who were
men of white or yellow complexion;
and as a result the black or dark
Habshis were forced to make common

cause with the local people, Marathas,

Telugus and Kannadigas.Between
1518 and 1526, the vast Bahmani
empire was split up into five
Muhammadan States of Bijapur,
Ahmadnagar, Golconda, Bidar and
Berar (all of these were by tl-je end of
the seventeenth century gradually
conquered and absorbed into the
Mogul empire). This disruption of the
Bahmani empire had begun earlier,
before the formal split-up in 1526.
Some of these new States were
carved out of the Bahmani empire by
Muslim leaders of foreign origin,
others by Hindus converted to Islam.
The Adil Shahi Dynasty of Bijapur was
started by a Turkish adventurer from
Istanbul (born in A.D. 1489), said to be
of the family of the Sultan of the
Ottoman empire. The Nizam Shahi
Dynasty of Ahmadnagar was founded
by Ahmad, a Hindu (Brahman) convert

(born in A..D. 1490), and it was

consolidated by Brahman ministers
and officers. The Quli Qatb Shahi
House of Golconda was set up by a
Turkman soldier from Central Asia
(born in A.D. 1512), whose family later
intermarried with Telugu Hindus. The
Imad Shahis of Berar were of
converted Hindu origin, Fathullah, the
founder being born in A.D. 1484; and
so were the Barid Shahis of Bidar,
Muslims of Indian origin (tdo founder
Kasim was born in A.D. 1498).The
Habshis were to be found in the army
and civil services in all of these States.
But in Ahmadnagar they were more
prominent. Ahang (or Nehang) Khan
was the Abyssinian chief of a small
State feudatory to Ahmadnagar, c.
A.D. 1586, when Emperor Akbar was
seeking to conquer Ahmadnagar.
Ahang Khan joined the heroic
Amazonian warrior queen of

Ahmadnagar, Chand Bibi, or Chand

Sultana, but later on he went against
Chand Sultdna, besieged and
defeated her. Through revolt among
her troops, Chand Sultana was
surrounded by insurgent soldiers and
murdered. Ahang Khan continued to
be an important figure in the State but
retired into obscurity after the State
was annexed to the Mogul empire in
1637. Malik `Ambar, another Habshi,
became a distinguished Minister of
Ahmadnagar during the time of
Emperor Jahangir. The Habshis in the
State joined the local Hindus in giving
resistance to the North Indian forces,
Moguls and other Muslims and
Rajputs, when Jahangir sought to
conquer Ahmadnagar. The king of the
State was a young man, and his
Minister was Malik `Ambar, and he
carried on the administration with
great efficiency. In 1612 the Moguls

captured Ahmadnagar, but Malik

`Ambar who was a good soldier also
loyally fought on with varying fortunes
and defeated the Moguls and
recaptured the city of Ahmadnagar,
taking advantage of dissension among
the Mogul generals. He introduced
into Ahmadnagar the new revenue
system of Todar Mall, the great
Finance Minister of Emperor Akbar,
and he also founded the city of
Aurangabad. Malik `Ambar was
great both as a soldier and as an
administrator. He joined Shah Jaban in
his revolt against his father, Jahangir.
Malik `Ambar, respected by all, died
at the age of 80, in 1628. Malik
`Ambar's son, Fath 'Ali Khan,
became Minister, but he murdered his
master the king and had finally to
surrender to the king of Bijapur (see
Plate XXII).There were other
prominent Habshis who took a

leading part in the affairs of the

Deccan States in the sixteentheighteenth centuries. The Habshi
mercenaries were always there in
their thousands to take sides in any
political struggle. Indian Muslims in
some cases intermarried with them,
and the real Ethiopians as a
Semitic people, in spite of their
dark colour, could easily be
merged among the Indians. The
mother of the Ahmadnagar Sultan,
Ibrahim Nizam Shah (c. 1594), was a
Habshi lady, queen of his father,
Burhan Shah. Contemporary with
Ahang Khan and Malik `Ambar in
Ahmadnagar and Bijapur, were a
number of prominent Habshi
notabilities and military leaders, like
Yakut Khudawand Khan and his sons,
Shahzadah Khan and Ghalib Khan,
who made themselves men of
authority, in the State of Bidar during

the first quarter of the sixteenth

century; Malik Yakut Sultana, a leader
of the Habshis, in the State of
Khandesh under the Farrukhi Kings;
Ikhlas Khan, Hamid Khan and Dilawar
Khan, Habshi nobles, contemporaries
of Chand Sultana in Ahmadnagar; and
a number of other Habshi chiefs with
their men in Bijapur State, besides
others elsewhere.The Habshis also
took part in the affairs of Bengal
during the second half of the fifteenth
century. Habshi slaves were
introduced into the court of the
Muslim Sultans of Bengal. The Bengal
Sultan Ruqnuddin Barbak (A.D. 14591474), son of Sultan Nasiruddin
Mahmud I (1442-1459), is said to have
imported into his court an army of
Habshi guards and soldiers. He was
engaged in wars with Orissa and
Kamrup (Assam), Hindu States, as well
as fighting in Chittagong, which was

under the Buddhist Maghs or Arakan

Burmese. These Habshis, favoured by
the king, grew in power during the
reigns of Sultan Ruqnuddzn Barbak's
two successors, Shamsuddin Yusuf
(1473-1481) and Jalaluddin Fath
(1481-1487). The Abyssinians, as a
sort of Praetorian guards, now became
a problem and a menace for the
stability of the State. They became
arrogant and oppressive to the
people, and controlled the palace and
the city. The people who resented the
Habshi oppression leagued with the
chief eunuch of the palace, the
Khwaju-Sera Sultan Shahzadah, and
with the support of the paiks or
Bengali foot-soldiers, Sultan
Shahzadah succeeded in murdering
the King Jalaluddln Fath. The loyal
Habshi commander of the forces,
Amiru-l-umara Malik Andil (or
Andiyal), was away in a campaign,

and this enabled Sultan Shahzadah to

put himself in power in this way. The
ruling house was removed from the
scene.Then started a period of Habshi
domination and rule over Bengal, for
six years, from A.D. 1487 to 1493.
With the help of Habshi troops and
Bengali pdiks or light footmen, Sultan
Shahzada h, after murdering his
master, made himself king under the
name of Sultaxi Barbak, the Eunuch
King. Malik Andil, the loyal
Abyssinian general, was biding his
time to avenge his master's murder,
and very soon he succeeded in killing
him.Malik Andil offered to place
Jalaluddin Fath's infant son on the
throne, but the dignitaries and the
people, beginning with the widow of
Jalaluddln Fath (she had feelings of
gratitude for the avenger of her
husband's murder) prevailed upon
Malik Andil to ascend the throne. He

did it, assuming the name of

Sharfuddln Firuz. He ruled for three
years from 1487 to 1490.`In the dark
annals of Abyssinian predominance in
Bengal, Firuz's reign alone provides
a welcome relief. He is credited with
having ruled justly and efficiently. His
reputation as a soldier inspired
respect and awe; and his attachment
to the Ilyas Shahi house made the
people forget his race. His kindness
and beneficence evoked warm praises
from the historians' (History of Bengal,
Vol. II, p. 139: edited by Sir Jadunath
Sarkar, University of Dacca, 1948). He
appears to have been murdered by
the turbulent pail,'s who now became
the king-makers.The next king
Nasiruddln Mahmud II (1490-1491) is
believed to have been a son of
Jalaluddln Fath. He was under a tutor
appointed by Malik Andil, also an
Abyssinian like himself, Habsh Khan.

He acted as regent to the new king.

But Habsh Khan was put out of the
world by another Abyssinian, Sidi
Badr, nicknamed Diwana or `the
Madman', who assumed regentship,
and very soon secretly despatched the
boy king, and placed himself on the
throne as Shamsuddin Muzaffar
(Sidi Badr, Diwana), who ruled for two
years (1491-1493). His rule was a
veritable reign of terror, and there was
a secret conspiracy headed by his
wazir Sayyad Husain. Ultimately Sidi
Badr shut himself with a few thousand
of his mercenaries in the citadel,
where be was beleaguered for some
months, and was killed when he came
out on a desperate sally.Thus ended
the Habshi episode (1487-1493) in
Bengal. Sayyad Husain, of Arab origin,
became the next king of Bengal as
`Alauddin Shah (1493-1519), and a
new and a stable period of rule was

ushered in. The Habshi adventurers

were expelled from Bengal, and they
drifted to other parts of India,
including the Deccan.The Ethiopiansincluding all types of people in
Ethiopia and adjacent countries-who
came to India through the centuries
and took part in its affairs and lived on
there, gradually became Indians, as a
section of the Indian Muslim
community. The Habshis formed part
of the naval defence forces of the
various independent States of India
from the seventeenth. century; and
whether in hostile or friendly relation
with the Maratha and other navies on
the Arabian Sea, they were equally
eager to defend Indian coasts from
the Portuguese and other European
invaders by sea.The Habshis, who
were also known under the respectful
sobriquet of SIDIS or `Masters' (from
the Arabic Saidi. `my lord'), carved

out for themselves a little State on the

Bombay coast, that of Janjira, about
40 miles to the south of Bombay. It
was a State of 326 sq. miles with a
population of about 110,000. It was
founded by a Sidi captain, whose
people were for generations admirals
of the Muslim States of Bijapur and
Ahmadnagar, from the first quarter of
the sixteenth century. The ruler was
known to be of the `Habshi race', and
had the title of Nawab. The State was
also known as Habsan. It came under
the direct rule of the British in India in
1870. After India's Independence,
Janjira was abolished as a feudatory
State, and was merged
into the State of Bombay as an
integral part of India in the year 1948.
In this way, the last historic survival of
the Ethiopian connexion of India
became a thing of the past, and like
the Habshi people itself, their special

centre also became a part of India. `

Habshi ' people are now found in the
western areas of India-Maharashtra
and Gujarat-mosdy as working
classes, heavy labourers and such
like, and they retain their separate
social existence and remnants of their
mongrel speeches-Somali, Galla and
Arabic.But, nevertheless, the Habash
people of India gave to India's Roll of
Honour at least two great names-Malik
Andil of Bengal (c. A.D. 1490) and
Malik `Ambar of Ahmadnagar (c.
A.D. 1615): just as, in the Hall of
Humanity, at least two great men of
Ethiopia have a right of their own for
special niches-King `Ezana, of the
fourth century A.D., and Emperor
Haile Selassie I, Patriot and Saviour of
his people from Italian aggression,
great Restorer and Reformer, and
Father of Modern Ethiopia at the
present day (apart from the

semilegendary Menelik, the son of

King Solomon of Israel and Queen
Maqeda of Sheba, tenth century B.C.).
A study of Ethiopia's connexion with
foreign lauds like India during recent
centuries will not be complete without
a reference to the greatest poet of
Russia, Alexander Pushkin (17991837), and his Ethiopian ancestor. His
great-grandfather was a `Negro'
hostage from Abyssinia or Ethiopia,
belonging to a rich family of landlords,
who was brought to Constantinople as
a small boy, and was in the seraglio of
the Turkish Sultan. He was sent to
serve as a page-boy to Peter the Great
of Russia in 1705 or 1706. His name
was Ibrahim or Abraham, and his
intelligence and ability made him a
great favourite of Tsar Peter, and his
patronymic became Petrov (`the Son
of Peter'). He was also known as
Abraham Hannibal. His brothers from

Ethiopia, wanted to ransom him back

later in life, but he stayed on in
Russia. He became highly educated,
-and his godfather, Peter the Great,
made him an officer in the army and
sent him to France from where he
brought a library of some 400 books.
He became a distinguished writer on
engineering. He passed away at the
age of 83 in 1781. Pushkin wrote on
his ancestor in two of his books (see
Richard Pankhurst, op. cit., Appendix
F, pp. 423-26. Abraham Petrov's
portrait is available).p. 61-67

Authentic History of King Negash of

Abyssinia (Currently Ethiopia)

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Table of Contents
Title Pages
Introduction

.
Statement of the
Problem

Objectives of the
research

Research
Questions
..
Methods of data
Collection
..
King
Nejash
..
The First March to
Ethiopia..
How Nejash Treated the
Immigrants..........................................
The Quraysh
Messengers
..

Their Relation after Islam achieved

Victory...
The list of Sahabas who came to
Ethiopia..
The Women Sohabyat Who came to
Ethiopia
The Letter Exchanges between King
Nejash and
Prophet Mohammed (PBUH)

References
.
Annexes
.

Introduction
There is a common and established

image and understanding about the

spread of Islam in the world. Several
people including intellectuals who
write on the issue assume that Islam
is a militant religion. Samuel P.
Huntington, for example, in his so
called thesis of clash of Civilizations,
described Islam as a militant religion
starting from its origin. However, one
can find Ethiopia, the first country,
which allowed the migrants of Prophet
Mohammed (PBUH) to exercise their
faith peacefully. His Eminency Dr. M. N
Alam 43rd direct dissecent of the
Prophet of Islam, president of the
world spiritual assembly New York
USA, UN Head Quarter Permanent
representative of the UNECA, Addis
Ababa since 1985 and 2004 visited
this country. He has been here for the
great respect of king Nejash and his
contribution for the Prophet of Islam. I
am lucky that I got to know him and

took several life changing knowledge

and experience. While I was trying to
grasp knowledge of Islamic thought,
His Eminency told me that, Ethiopia is
a shelter for the good people as well
as for the bad people. This shows that
this country is an umbrella for those
who were following the doctrine of
Islam and for those who couldnt find
a place in their home place. During
that time the king who ruled Abyssinia
was a Christian king. This paper deals
with biography of this great king
Nejash. He was the contemporary of
Prophet Mohammed. It was during his
time that Arabian society including
near and dear relatives of the Prophet
Mohammed refused to accept Islam,
which was introduced for the first time
then by the last prophet of Islam and
mankind. Because of this, the Prophet
of Islam sent his people to Abyssinia.
The king received them and asked

about their faith, they answered that it

is a monotheistic belief by refering
some versions of the Holy Quran. His
Eminency Dr. Alams opinion is that
human being is a crown creation of
God. Descendents of Abraham, the
Jewish, Christian and Muslim are
cousin brothers. The king was
convinced by Islamic teaching in
accordance of the holy Quran and
allowed them to practice their religion
in the Abyssinian territory. So that
today, in Ethiopia there are
approximately 50% Muslim population
while there are 20% Muslims in the
African region. Since then Islam has
been practiced peacefully in all parts
of Ethiopia. Till now there is a 100%
freedom of the practice of Islam due
to the current governments effort of
religious freedom in the country. In the
later days, the king himself was
convinced by Islam and became a

believer of the faith

The first Muslims in Ethiopia were
refugees from Mecca, persecuted by
the new leading tribe, the reactionary
Quraysh. They were honerly received
by the ruler of Ethiopia, whom Arabic
tradition was named Ashama ibn
Abjar, and he settled them in Negash.
Located in the northern Tigray
province, Negash is the historical
center of Islam in Ethiopia and parts of
East Africa Berry (1991).
Due to this, The Prophet of Islam
ordered all Muslims not to declare
Jihad on Ethiopia. What makes Islam
peculiar in Ethiopia, unlike from the
rest of the world, is that, in the first
place it was preached, spread and
accepted peacefully throughout the
whole territory of Ethiopia. Secondly,
Islam always co-existed in peace with
other religions. That is why that one
can find family members in Ethiopia

who exercise different religions in the

same roof. I will try to say more on
Islam and Ethiopia in the near future.
This paper assess the background of
the introduction of Islam to Ethiopia
(the then Abyssinia). For this reason
the lions share of the story gives
emphasis on King Nejash.
Statement of the Problem
For centuries, the then Abyssinia,
Ethiopia had been remembered as an
Orthodox Christian state. There was
no separation of state and religion,
secularism. This makes the perception
towards this state is that; Ethiopia is a
state of Christians. It is true that
several brutal rulers of the kingdom
slaughtered Muslims. It is also true
that Muslims were considered as
secondary citizens. In addition,
forceful conversion of their belief to
Christianity was evident particularly
during the reign of King Yohannes 4th.

This kind of system and perception

towards the system does not only
have domestic consequences. In
addition, the perception and
understanding of the international
community towards Ethiopians
Muslims has been blurred. People
know Ethiopia by its Christian
kingdom and Christian kings. Due to
lack of the separation of state and
religion, the history of this country
was recorded by the church.
However, Islam and Ethiopia have
known each other since the birth of
Islam in the Arabian Peninsula.
Ethiopians were among the first
Muslims. This true history has not
been recorded and properly handled.
Therefore, it is the obligation of every
citizen to search for the true history of
Ethiopia. This paper is just the
beginning of the search for this
history. It concentrates on the

beginning of Islam in Ethiopia. The

pioneer to introduce Islam to Ethiopia
is the then, powerful Christian king
Nejash. The biography of this powerful
king, his connections to early years of
the spread of Islam, his influence on
the rest of Africa to spread Islam is the
concern of this research.
Objectives of the Research
The Objectives of this Research are:
-To consider the contributions of King
Nejash to Islamic history
-To assess the biography of king
Nejash in relation to Islam
-To study the beginning of real Islamic
history in Ethiopia and Africa
-To search the reasons why the
powerful orthodox Christian king
Negash converted in to Islam?
-To assess the relation between king
Nejash and the Prophet Mohammed
(PBUH)
Research Questions

This paper tries to answer the

following questions:
1. How Islam inters in to the land
of Abyssinia peacefully?
2. How king Nejash accepted and
spread Islam throughout Ethiopia and
Africa?
3. Why Ethiopia become the first
Diaspora to Islam?
4. Why Ethiopia is chosen by the
Prophet Mohammed?
5. Why the powerful Orthodox
Christian king Nejash become a
Muslim?
Methods of Data Collection
This research used both the primary
and secondary data. Field observation
and unstructured interviews for the
former; literatures, books, internet,
magazines, brochures, etc are used
for the later one.

King Nejash
Since Ethiopians evacuated from
Yemen, the relationship with the
Arabian Peninsula was interrupted.
According to several Arabian authentic
history and resourceful record,
between the years 575-630 G.C, there
were two attention-seeking kings in
Ethiopia. The first king was ruling the
state of Abissinya or the Habesha
peole before the Holy Koran came in
to existence as a guiding document of
human beings. The second one lived
during the era of Prophet Mohammed
(PBUH). The former one was known by
the name Abhar while the latters
name is Ashama Ibn Abhar. Ashama
had a friendly relationship with the
Arab world.
After a successful coup detats on the
throne of king Abhar, he was
assassinated. Architects of the coup
brought his brother to the throne (who

was the uncle to Ashama). Due to the

fear of revenge from Ashama for his
fathers death, they excluded him
from rivalry to power.
According to Abubakar Bin
Abdurahuman, Prophet Mohammeds
beloved wife Aisha (RA) said, Except
Nejash (Ashama), Abhar had no child
at all. But his uncle who became a
king had twelve sons and daughters.
They were all members of the
Habesha Royal family. The coups
dtat and assassination was also
based on this calculation of lack of
children except one Nejash. The
young Nejashi was obliged to live with
his uncle. During his childhood, he
was smart and able to attract the
attention of his uncle. This success
and attention seeking created
insecurity within the coup makers.
They demanded his uncle to avoid him
or warned that they will kill Nejash.

The king (his uncle) refused the plan

of the assassination. And he
suggested them to make Nejashi far
away from the territory of their state.
They took him to the market and sold
him as a slave for 6 dihram and send
him by boat to abroad. During the
same night, the king was dead by a
wave while he was praying in order to
get a rainfall. All the sons of the king
were unfit to the Palace. There were
demands to appoint Al-Nejash as a
king. Most people agreed on the
suitability of his ability to become the
kings successor. The responsibility of
the kingship can only be accomplished
by the boy who was sold this morning.
If you are concerned for the Habesha
people, bring him back. Suggestions
were strong like this.
By hardship they somehow found
Prince Nejash and bring him back to

the capital city. They gave him the

throne. And he stayed as a king of
Habesa until he passed away by the
9th year of the Hijira (Muslim
calendar), as Prophet Mohammed
migrated from Mecca to Medina. There
are several names that are sited in
different historical documents. For
example Pankhurst and Hancock call
him Armah. Tadesse identified him as
AL-Asmaha, son of Abdjar and father
of Arma. Munnro Hay refers to him as
Asmaha Ibn Abjar. And others called
him as Ashama, the Kings local name.
His Eminency Dr. Alam 43rd direct
decendent of the Prophet Mohammed
(PBUH) acknowledged the information
from the Hadis and several references
of Islamic scholars quoted as the king
Nejash as a great King of Abissynia
became a Muslim in the beginning of
the 7th Century from the Prophet
Mohammed influence. After the king

received Islam, the Prophet

Mohammed put his name as Ahmed
Al- Negash. His family members also
accept Islam. And he was died after
15 years he left his kingdom of Aksum
to Wukro which is found 60 kilo
meters north of Mekele. He
established spiritual kingdom with
Negashs new vision of Islam to
preach Islam around the Abyssinian
territories and across the African
countries of Algeria, morocco, South
Africa, Mauritania, Cameroon, Zambia,
Nigeria, and other African territories.
King Nejash died in 630 AD in his
spiritual kingdom of Negash town and
he was lay down in front of the
Negash mosque with Prophet
Mohammeds important suhabis. They
were trying to cross to Mecca but due
to their old ages they are sick by the
undesirable mysterious diseases. So
that he couldnt attend Haji

(pilgrimage) and had no chance to

meet the Prophet Mohammed directly.
But his near and dear children and
relatives succeeded to meet the
Prophet in Medina, 630kms from the
Holy city of Mecca. When the Prophet
received the messages of the death of
King Ahmed Al-Negash Prophet with
his Caliphs and followers celebrate the
prayer Gavai of Jenaza in holy Medina
mosque. We feel proud the powerful
orthodox Christian king become a
Muslim caliph for African region. He
preached Islam about 15 years in the
African territories including Abyssinia.
So that today 55% Muslim in Ethiopia.
95% in Cameroon, 65% in Nigeria,
80% in Sudan, 25% in Kenya are
believed to be Muslim citizens.
R. Rudol Unf (western scholar who
studied the Arabian and Ethiopian
History), in his book, 2nd edition page
249: stated that Historians agreed

that, there was a king during the Era

of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) in
Ethiopia by the Name Asmaha
(Armaha II). There are archiological
findings of coins minted by his name.
The text on the coins reads as king
Armaha, the kind and peaceful one.
Asmaha (Armaha II) is another name
of King Nejash. The administration of
the king prevailed justice and peace in
the territories.
The First March to Ethiopia
In the book written on the biography
of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), Ibn
Eshaq said the following:
The Prophet Mohammed (PBUH)
realized that he could not protect his
followers form the attacks, and said
go to the Habesha, there is a
Christian king there. There is justice in
his kingdom. Habesha is the land of
truth. Therefore, go there until we
achieve victory with the help of Allah

.
Amu Aymen, an Ethiopian woman, had
influenced the psychology of the
Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). She was
the slave of Abdalah Bin Abdul
Mutolib. She was there when Abdalah
married the prophets mother, Amina.
In addition, Amu Aymen was behind
Amina when she gave birth to the
Prophet. While Amina went to visit her
relatives in Medina, Amu Aymen feed
her breast to the Prophet Mohammed
(PBUH). Amina could not come back to
Mecca, rather passed away while she
was in the middle of her journey. Since
then, Amu Aymen along with Arabian
mother Halima, became the second
mother of the Prophet Mohammed
(PBUH). She nourished the Prophet
while he was living with his
grandfather Abdel Mutolib and his
uncle Abu Tualib. The Prophet
Mohammed (PBUH) witnessed this

after he became matured by saying

she has been my second mother.
This historical attachment made the
Prophet to love and to have a positive
attitude towards Habeshians.
Therefore, Islam was introduced to
Ethiopia before the majority sections
of the quraysh societies in Mecca
accepted it. The Prophet sent his
relatives and intimate friends to
Ethiopia (Habesha) due to the abovementioned strong attachments that
created confidence to him on the king
and his people. By the leadership of
Osman Bin Afwan, third Kalif of Islam
and son in law of Prophet Mohammed
along the Prophets daughter 120
people among them 26 are women,
left Mecca to Abissynia.
Habesha became the first Diaspora for
Islam. It was not a simple incident;
rather there was prior trade and
economic ties between the Habeshans

and the Arab world.

The first march (Hijira) in 615 AD had
a group of eleven men and four
women. The list of the Sahhbas who
migrated to Ethiopia in the first march
includes the following.
1. Osman Bin Affan
2. Rukya Bint Resul (Mohammed)The wife of Osman
3. Abu Huzeyfa Bin Outba
4. Shelet Bin seid-wife of Abu
Huzeyfa
5. Zubeyr Bin Al-Awam
6. Musab Bin Oumr
7. Abdurahman Bin Awuf
8. Abu Selemah Bin Abdel Ased
9. Amu Selemah- wife of Abu
Selmah
10. Ousman Bin Mezun
11. Amir Abin Rebiah-Leader of
the group
12. Layla Bint Abi Asmah Wife of
Amir

In the second hijirra to Al-Nejash there

were 83 men and 11 women who
started their life in Ethiopia.

How Nejash Treated the Immigrants?

The Quraysh Messengers
Fearing the spread and preach of
Islam in Ethiopia, the Kureish people
send delegates to Ethiopia (Al-Nejash).
Two persons were selected.
1. Abdalah Bin Abi Rebiah
2. Amr Ibnel As
They also came up with lots of gift to
Al-Nejash and the priests. During this
time Abu Tualib was disturbed
because his son Jafer was in Ethiopia.
Therefore, Abu Tualib (the Prophets
grandfather) sent a message to AlNejash in a form of poem, which

demanded the safe living of the

Muslims in Ethiopia or return back
them.
Abdellah and Amr demanded Nejash
not to accept those Muslims who
betrayed their society and their
traditional belief. And the priests
supported them because of the gifts
that they brought in. The king
(Nejash) sent delegates to the
Muslims who were living in Ethiopia
and Jafer (the spoken person of the
Muslims) answered the questions by
going in presence to the king.
We were ignorant, we believed in the
gods, we ate dead animals those
which are not halal), we performed
adultery, we commonly had conflict
with our relatives, abuse women, we
didnt like our neighbors. But Allah
(SW) sent us the messenger and
made us one under the umbrella of
Islam and the Glorious Holy Quran

said Jafar. The king asked Jafer if he

has any document, which is given
from Almighty God to Mohammed
(PBUH).
He said, YES and read them Suretul
Meryem, the chapter of description of
Jesus Christ and his Holy virgin
mother. King Nejash cried and the
Priests also cried and Nejash said,
This has similar source with the
message that was brought by Jesus
Christ. My religion and your religion
Islam are almost same. I am very glad
to say that to my council of Ministers,
the prophet Mohammed followers and
relatives may stay in Abyssinia in
peace as long as they want. God Bless
them. The Holywood film, the
Message, the Story of Islam in a CD.
Then, Nejash refused the demands of
Amr and Abdelah Bin Rabiah and
expel them immediately from
Abyssinia. According to sources the

king said to them If you have given a

mountain of gold, I would not give up
these people who have taken asylum
with me. Then, King Nejash cut of the
relation with Abu Sufian who was the
Kuraysh leader and king of Saudi
Arabia. Considering the actions of that
king at that point in time, we can say
that, King Nejash is the one who
introduced political asylum, care for
refugee, human rights protection and
care for the human nature irrespective
of any prejudice or bias.
Their Relation after Islam achieved
Victory
The relationship between Nejash and
Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) created a
very tight friendly and peaceful
relationship between the Muslims and
Christians in Ethiopia.
According to several sources the Holy
Quran also acknowledged the actions
of Nejash. And the prophet

Mohammed (PBUH) said that: In the

Holy Kuraan, we found the positive
contributions of Christians. It is
concerned with king Nejash and his
colleagues.
In the first Hijira, I mentioned the
issue of messengers who were sent
from The Prophet Mohammed (PBUH)
to King Nejash. In this section in will
focus on the list of members of the
Sahbas and Sahabyat. Their number
amounts 94 Sahbas and 26 female
Sehabyat. They are all listed as
follows.

The list of Sahabas who came to

Ethiopia:

1. Arbed Ibn Humeyr

2. Aswed Bin Newfel
3. Beshir Bin Al-Haris
4. Temin Bin Al-Haris
5. Jafer Bin Abu-Tualib
He was the spokesperson of the
delegates and he was very articulate
in his speeches.
He lost his hands during the war
He was shot more than 70 times while
he was dead
6. Jehim Bin Keys Bin Abd
7. Al Haris Bin Al-Haris
8. Al-Haris Bin Halid Bin Sohir
9. Haris Bin Abd Bin keys
10. Hatib Bin Al-Hirs
11. Hatib Bin Amr Bin Abdshems
12. Hajaj Bin Hars Bin Keys
13. Hetuab Bin Al-Hars Bin
Muimer
14. Halid Bin Hazam Bin
Huweylid
15. Halid Bin Seid Ibnul As

 He accepted Islam following

Abubeker Sediq
16. Huneys Bin Huzafa Bin Keys
17. Zubeyr Bin Al-Awam
18. Saib Bin Al-Hars Bin Keys
19. Saib Bin Mezur Bin Habib
20. Seid Bin Hewla Bin Amir
21. Seid Bin Abdeyn Keys Bin
Lukeyt
22. Seid Bin Al-Hars Bin Keys Bin
Seid
23. Seid Bin Amir At-Temimiy
24. Sufiyan Bin Amir Bin Rezik
25. Sekran Bin Amr Bin
Abdshems
26. Selemet Bin Hisham Bin
Mugirah
27. Selit Bin Amr Bin Abdshems
28. Sehl Bin Wehib Bin Rebiah
Bin Amr
29. Sehil Bin Wehb Ibn Rebiah
Bin Amr
30. Suweybit Bin Seid Bin

Hermelah Bin Malik

31. Shejai Bin Abi Wehib Bin
Wehib Bin Rebia
32. Shemenas Bin Ousman Bin
Sherid Bin Haremiyi
33. Tolib Bin Azhar Bin Abd
34. Tuablib Bin Oumeyr Bin Wehil
Bin Abd
35. Amir Bin Rebiah Bin Kaib Bin
Malik
36. Amir Bin Abdeluah Bin AlJerrah Bin Hilal
He is one of those who were
confirmed to be in the Heaven
37. Amir Bin Malik Bin Uhaib Bin
Abdmenaf
38. Ubeydulah Bin Jehish Bin
Rebab Bin Yeimer
39. Abdelah Bin Hirs Bin Keys Bin
Adey
40. Abdelah Bin Huzafah Bin
Keys Bin Adey
41. Abdelah Bin Sufian Bin Abdel

Ased Bin Helal

42. Abdelah Bin Sahil Bin Amr
43. Abdelah Bin Abdel Ased Bin
Hilal
44. Abdelah Bin Mehremah Bin
Abdeluziza
45. Abdelah Bin Mesud Bin Gafil
Bin Hubeyb
46. Abdelah Bin Meziun Bin
Habib Bin Wehib
47. Abdelah Bin Mugera Bin
Muaykeb
48. Abdurahman Bin Awf Bin
Abdawf
He has been remembered in his
Islamic charity
49. Abd Bin Jehsh Bin Rebab Bin
Yeimer
50. Utbet Bin Gezwan Bin Jebir
Bin Wehif
51. Utbet Bin Mesud Bin Gafil Bin
Habib
52. Usman Bin Rabiah Bin Ahban

Bin Wehib
53. Usman Bin Abd Bin Genem
Bin Zehir
54. Usman Bin Sherid Bin
Suweyd
55. Usman Bin Affan Bin Abel As
Bin Ummeyah
56. Usman Bin Mezun Bin Habib
Bin Wehib
57. Adiy Bin Nedlah Bin
Abdeluzza Bin Harsan Bin Awf
58. Urwet Bin Asaseh (Ibn Abi
Asaseh) Bin Abdeluzza
59. Ammar Bin Yasir Bin Amir Bin
Malik Bin Kinanar
60. Omer Bin Sufian Bin
Abdelased Bin Hilal Bin Abdelah
61. Omer Bin Umeya Bin Hirs Bin
Ased Bin Abdeluzza
62. Amr Bin Umeya Bin Huweylid
Bin Abdelah
63. Amr Bin Al-Jehim
64. Omer Bin Abi Serh Bin Rabiah

Bin Hilal Bin Malik

65. Amr Bin Seid Bin Al-As Bin
Umeya Bin Abdshems
66. Amr Bin Al-As Bin Wail Bin
Hashim Bin Seid
67. Amr Bin Usman Bin Keib Bin
Seid Bin Teym
68. Omer Bin Rebab Bin
Huzeyfah
69. Ayyash Bin Amr
70. Ayyad Bin Zehir Bin Abi
Shedad Bin Rebiah Bin Hilal
71. Firas Bin Nedir Bin Hirs Bin
Ilkima Bin Kuldah
72. Kudamah Bin Mezun Bin
Habib Bin Wehib Bin Huzafah
73. Keys Bin Huzafah Bin Keys
Bin Ady Bin Seid Bin Sehim
74. Keys Bin Abdelah
75. Malik Bin Zemah Bin Keys Bin
Abdshemis Bin Abdowd
76. Malik Bin Wehib Bin
Abdemenaf Bin Zahra Bin Kilab

77. Muhamya Bin Juzi Bin

Abdyegus Bin Uweyj Bin Omer
78. Musab Bin Omer Bin Hashim
Bin Abdmenaf Bin Abdedar
79. Mutolib Bin Azhar Bin Abdawf
Bin Abdel Hirs Bin Zahra
80. Muateb Bin Awf Bin Amir Bin
Al-Fedl Bin Afif
81. Meimer Bin Al-Hirs Bin Keys
Bin Ady Bin Seid Bin Sehim
82. Meimer Bin Abdelah Bin
Nedlah Bin Abdel Uzaz Bin Harsan
83. Muaykib Ibn Abi Fatimet
84. Mikdad Bin Amr Bin Seileba
Bin Malik Bin Sherid Bin Rebiah
85. Nebih Bin Osman Bin Rebiah
Bin Wehib Bin Huzafah
86. Hebar Bin Sufian Bin Abdel
Ased Bin Hilal Bin Abdelah
87. Hisham Bin Abi Huzeyfa Bin
Mehishem Bin MUgira
88. Hesham Bin Alas Bin Wail Bin
Hisham

89. Yezid Bin Zemia Bin Al-Aswed

Bin Mutolib Bin Ased
90. Abu Huzeyfa Bin Utba Bin
Rebia Bin Abd Shems Bin Abdmenaf
91. Abu Rum Bin Umeyr Bin
Hashim Bin Abdmenaf Bin Abddodar
92. Abu Sebret Bin Bbi Rehm Bin
Abdel Uzza Bin Abi Keys Bin Abd
93. Abu Fekiha Mewla Beni
Abdedar
94. Abu Keys Ibnel Hirs Bin Keys
Bin Adiy Bin Seid Bin Sehim
The Women Sohabyat Who came to
Ethiopia
1. Asmai Bint Selema (Bint
Mehrem Bin Jendel Bin Abir Bin
Nehshel)
2. Asmai Bint Umeys Bin Meibed
Ibnel Hirs Bin Keib Bin Teym Bin Malik
3. Umeyma Bint Helef Bin Asad Bin
Amir Bin Beyaduah Bin Sebi
4. Bereket Bint Yesar
5. Hasna Amu Shurehbil

6. Hamnet Bint Jehsh Bin Rebab

7. Hewlet Bint Aswed Bin
Huzeyman
8. Raituah Bint Alhirs Bin Habilah
Bin Amir Bin Keib Bin Seid
9. Rukyah Bint Muhammed,
Daughter of the Prophet Mohammed
(PBUH)
10. Remlah Bint Abu Sufian Bin
Sohir Bin Harb Bin Umeya Bin
Abdshems
11. Remlah Bint Abi Awf Bin
Subeyret Bin Seid
12. Zeyneb Bint Jehsh Bin
Reyyab
13. Sehlet Bint Sehil Bin Amr
14. Sewda Bint Zema Bin Keys
Bin Abdshems Bint Abdwd Bin Nesr
15. Omra Bint Sedy Bin Wekdan
Bin Abdshems Bin Abdwd
16. Fatimet Bint Al-MujelilBin
Abdelah Bin Keys Bin Abdwd
17. Fatimet BinT Sofwan Bin

Umeya Bin Muhris Bin Sheq

18. Fekiha Bint Yesar
19. Qehtom Bint Alkemah Bin
Abdelah Bin Abikeys
20. Leyla Bint Abi Hasma Bin
Huzeyfa Bin Ganim Bin Amir
21. Hamiyet Bint Khalid (Khelef)
22. Hend Bint Abi Umeyah
23. Amu Habiba Bint Jehsh Bin
Rebab Al-Asedya
24. Amu Kulsum Bint Sehil Ibn
Amr
25. Amu Yekezot Bint Alkima
Amu Selit Bin Selit
26. Amu Aymen Bereket
Alhabeshiya

The Letter Exchanges between King

Nejash and the Prophet Mohammed
(PBUH)
The relation between King Nejash and
the Prophet Mohammed has dated
back to the early years of the
expansion of Islam. Through time
there was exchange of messages
between the two. Their relation
became stronger due to the influence
of Amu Aymen and Bilal Al-Habesh on
the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). One
of the letters of the Prophet of Islam
reads as follows.
In the name of Allah the most
merciful the most beneficent, from
Mohammed the Prophet of Allah to
Alnegashi the king of Al-Habesha
(Abyssinia), greetings I thank Allah the

Almighty the all dominating and I

witness and testify that Issa (Jesus) is
the Spirit of Allah and his word which
He gave to Merriam (Mary) the
virtuous, and created him from his
spirit. And I am inviting you very
honestly to accept Islam and become
a good Muslim. And rule in peace and
prosperity to the Habesh-Abyssinia
with peace and believe in Allah the
Almighty only without any partner to
obey him and follow me and what was
revealed to me for I become the
messenger and Prophet of Allah. I
have sent my cousin designated as a
special envoy Jaffer and my beloved
Muslims. When they come to you,
receive them well and stay away from
arrogance and call you and your
solders to believe in Allah. And I have
given my message and may Allahs
blessings fall on those who follow the
snail path.

It is necessary to ask why the Prophet

had chosen Abyssinia. There can be
two main explanations. The first
reason is the influence of Amu Aymen,
a slave Habesha (Abyssinian) woman
who shaped and nourished the
Prophet during his childhood.
According to several sources Amu
Aymen is the most important figure to
the Prophet of Islam. The second
reason is what we can call the Bilal
effect, who was another slave from
the same origin and a slave bought by
the Arabian king Umeyah and crown
prince Abu Sufian and Princes Hindia,
the cruel and unmerciful women at
that time. They tried to destroy the
kingdom of Islam, Prophet Mohammed
and his beloved followers. The Great
Bilal is the first person to make the
prayer call (Azan) for Muslims. He
upgraded himself from being an
ordinary slave to become commander

in chief for the Muslim world. He was

very strong, obedient, brave, and
innocent person. He made history and
dedicated all of his life to the Prophet
of Islam. His works are waking up calls
for all the Habeshan people. According
to His Eminency Dr. Alam direct
descendant of the Prophet of Islam, in
the visit of the grave of King Nejash
on the 11th of January 2009, the
Great Bilal is now rest in Damasks, the
capital of Syria.
Therefore, these two personalities
played their own role to influence the
Prophets perception towards the
Habesha (Abyssinian) land. The
Prophet Mohammed directed his
followers to left Mecca immediately
towards to Abyssinia. The Prophet
cousin, the Great Hamza supported
this journey which was led by Jafer Bin
Abutualib along with Hazrat Osman
Bin Afuan and Prophet Daughter

Rukya and other 121 most influential

Muslims left from Mecca to Abyssinia,
to King Nejash, who was the Great
Christian King who has a knowledge,
spirituality, capacity and qualified in
all testimony of bible which originated
by Almighty from Allah to Jesus Christ.
There is a prescription and declaration
about Prophet Mohammeds arrival
with the glorious Koran. The holy
Koran also indicates the human being
is a crown creation of God. The Jewish,
Christian and Muslim are cousin
brothers who are the descendents of
Abraham. According to these main
religions, Jesus Christ will emerge and
co creates heaven on earth with Imam
Mehedy (PBUH). King Nejash
understood that and in a humble way
received the followers of Islam. And
with dignity and status and assured
them to stay in Abyssinia with peace
as long as they want, and he

converted to be a Muslim. According

to Islamic literatures King Nejash is
remembered among the first non-Arab
African Muslim next to Bilal and Amu
Aymen.
His Eminency advised his spiritual son
Dr. Selahadin and Dr. Meskerem
Melaku (Meryem) to send official
proposal to the UN Secretary General
from the World Human Rights Council
to record King Nejashs contribution to
world as the first political asylum offer.
This was the first political asylum in
world history. Unfortunately, the UN
does not recognize this history. His
Eminency argues that, Nowadays 55%
of the Ethiopia people is Muslims. In
accordance of His eminency Dr.
Alams statement the Muslims of
Ethiopia are neglected politically,
officially and mentally by the Christian
rulers for the last 1400 years.
There were several letter exchanges

between King Nejash and Prophet

Mohammed (PBUH). The letter that
was sent to the Prophet from King
Nejash stated the following.
In the name of Allah the most
merciful and the most beneficent, to
Allahs Prophet Mohammed (SAW),
from Alnegash (Abyssinia) Armaha the
son of Abhar the king of Al-Habasha
(Abyssinia). A greeting, the Messenger
of Allah, there is no true God but Allah
who guided me to accept Islam.I have
received your letter and what you said
about Issa. In the name of the God of
the skies and the earth that Issa is
exactly what you said he is in your
letter. And we have received your
cousin Jaffer, chief of the delegation
and his companions, I witness that
you are Allahs Prophet and
messenger. In the name of Allah, the
Almighty I have sent you my son Arha
son of Al Asmha the son of Abhar. If

you wish I will come to you myself and

I give my word that what I said is the
truth.
What we can see from this letter is
that King Nejash has an interest to go
and visit the Arabia as a Muslim ruler
of Abyssinia. The final seat of King
Nejash is found in Negash town of
northern Ethiopia, which is named
after the name of the great king. This
town is found in the Plateau of the
Wukro area which is located 60 kilo
meters north of Mekele town, the
capital of the Tigray Regional State.
His Eminency visited the area with so
much hardship by crossing the road
from Addis to Negash. He Prayed
Selatel Zuhur and Asir in the 12 & 13
of January 2009.
Several historic record and findings
suggest that, King Nejash came to the
south from his Palace which was
situated between Atsbi (East of

Negash) and Hawzien (west of

Negash). Negash town is found in
exactly equidistant from Atsbi and
Hawzien. There are also arguments
that King Nejashs seat was in Aksum,
one of the Ancient civilized areas of
the world, before he came to the
Negash area. This shows the seat of
King Nejash was located in the
Northen part of Ethiopia. The
marching to the south was to cross to
the holy city of Mecca. In his last years
King Nejash stopped his political
leadership and started to serve the
Almighty Allah. And he had a plan of
fulfilling one of the pillars of Islam by
visiting the Holly City of Mecca for
pilgrimage. However, King Nejash
found the area of Negash comfortable
to live with a suitable weather
condition. Local residents and
religious leaders witness that King
Nejash stayed in that area for 15

years. It is in this location that King

Nejashs soul rest in peace. Even if
king Negash could not make the
journey to the holy city of Mecca, one
of his sons was able to reach and
reside there. Another son was dead
while he was trying cross the Red Sea.
The settlement of King Nejash in the
Negash area was accompanied by the
sahbas who came from the Arabia.
The grave of those Sahbas is found in
there. Total of 15 descendents of the
Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) were
dead in Negash town, 10 men and 5
women. 12 of them rest together with
King Nejashs body. King Nejash was
dead by 630 AD. Three of the Sahbas
rest in the same compound but
outside of the house in which King
Nejashs grave is found. The local
residents have only the record of the
name of those three:
1. Hazrat Mussa Bin Harris

2. Sharif Abdalla
3. Alley Bin Nadla
His Eminency Dr. Alam 43rd decedent
of the Prophet, as the capacity of the
President of the World Spiritual
Assembly and chief of the mission of
the WHRSC and UNECA Civil Society
Representative tried to find out the
history of King Nejash. In the month of
Muhrem 11th January 2009, after 4
years of search, finally find out the
King Nejashs mosque and grave
accompanied by his spiritual son Dr.
Selahadin and his secretary Dr.
Meskerem Melaku (Meryem), Orthodox
Christian, the gift of King Nejash.

References
-Ofcansky, Thomas P.; LaVerle Berry
(1991). Ethiopia and the Early Islamic
Period
-Islam in Ethiopia. Mohammed Toib Ibn
Yusuus Al-Yusuf Translated to Amharic
by
-Edris Mohammed. Nejash Publishing,
Addis Ababa
-The list is derived from the Arabic
book by Mohammed Toib Ibn Yusuus
Al-Yusuf, and Edris Mohammeds
Ethiopia and Islam Books.
-Authentic History of the World, By His
Eminency Dr. Hazrat Shah Sufi

Mohammed Nurul alam, President of

the World spiritual Assembly; Chief of
Mission to the UNECA, and UN Hear
Quarter New York, USA.
-Tigray: The Open Air Museum. Tigray
Tourism Commission, Mekele, Ethiopia.
-Negash, The Second Mecca
Brochure by the Tigray Tourism
Commission.
-Interview with His Eminency Dr.
Hazrat Shah Sufi Mohammed Nurul
Alam in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, January
2009.
-Interview with the Administrator of
King Nejash, Shek Ahmed Adem Dani
and Shek Mohammed Zeynu Ismail,
on January 2009.
First footsteps in East Africa, by
Richard Burton
Chapter 4
The Somal, their Origin and
Peculiarities.
Before leaving Zayla, I must not

neglect a short description of its

inhabitants, and the remarkable
Somal races around it.
Eastern Africa, like Arabia, presents a
population composed of three
markedly distinct races.
1. The Aborigines or Hamites, such as
the Negro Sawahili, the Bushmen,
Hottentots, and other races, having
such physiological peculiarities as the
steatopyge, the tablier, and other
developments described, in 1815, by
the great Cuvier.
2. The almost pure Caucasian of the
northern regions, west of Egypt: their
immigration comes within the range of
comparatively modern history.
3. The half-castes in Eastern Africa are
represented principally by the
Abyssinians, Gallas, Somals, and
Kafirs. The first-named people derive
their descent from Menelek, son of
Solomon by the Queen of Sheba: it is

evident from their features and figures

too well known to require
description that they are descended
from Semitic as well as Hamitic
progenitors. 1 About the origin of the
Gallas there is a diversity of
opinion.2Some declare them to be
Meccan Arabs, who settled on the
western coast of the Red Sea at a
remote epoch: according to the
Abyssinians, however, and there is
little to find fault with in their theory,
the Gallas are descended from a
princess of their nation, who was
given in marriage to a slave from the
country south of Gurague. She bare
seven sons, who became mighty
robbers and founders of tribes: their
progenitors obtained the name of
Gallas, after the river Gala, in
Gurague, where they gained a
decisive victory our their kinsmen the
Abyssins.3 A variety of ethnologic and

physiological reasons into which

space and subject prevent my
entering argue the Kafirs of the
Cape to be a northern people, pushed
southwards by some, to us, as yet,
unknown cause. The origin of the
Somal is a matter of modern history.
Barbarah (Berberah)4, according to
the Kamus, is a well known town in El
Maghrib, and a race located between
El Zanj Zanzibar and the Negrotic
coast and El Habash5: they are
descended from the Himyar chiefs
Sanhaj ([Arabic]) and Sumamah
([Arabic]), and they arrived at the
epoch of the conquest of Africa by the
king Afrikus (Scipio Africanus?). A few
details upon the subject of mutilation
and excision prove these to have been
the progenitors of the Somal6, who
are nothing but a slice of the great
Galla nation Islamised and Semiticised
by repeated immigrations from Arabia.

In the Kamus we also read that Samal

([Arabic]) is the name of the father of
a tribe, so called because he thrust
out ([Arabic], samala) his brothers
eye.7 The Shaykh Jami, a celebrated
genealogist, informed me that in A.H.
666 = A.D. 1266-7, the Sayyid Yusuf el
Baghdadi visited the port of Siyaro
near Berberah, then occupied by an
infidel magician, who passed through
mountains by the power of his
gramarye: the saint summoned to his
aid Mohammed bin Tunis el Siddiki, of
Bayt el Fakih in Arabia, and by their
united prayers a hill closed upon the
pagan. Deformed by fable, the
foundation of the tale is fact: the
numerous descendants of the holy
men still pay an annual fine, by way of
blood-money to the family of the
infidel chief. The last and most
important Arab immigration took
place about fifteen generations or 450

years ago, when the Sherif Ishak bin

Ahmed8 left his native country
Hazramaut, and, with forty-four saints,
before mentioned, landed on Makhar
the windward coast extending from
Karam Harbour to Cape Guardafui. At
the town of Met, near Burnt Island,
where his tomb still exists, he became
the father of all the gentle blood and
the only certain descent in the Somali
country: by Magaden, a free woman,
he had Gerhajis, Awal, and Arab; and
by a slave or slaves, Jailah, Sambur,
and Rambad. Hence the great clans,
Habr Gerhajis and Awal, who prefer
the matronymic Habr signifying a
mother since, according to their
dictum, no man knows who may be
his sire.9 These increased and
multiplied by connection and
affiliation to such an extent that about
300 years ago they drove their
progenitors, the Galla, from Berberah,

and gradually encroached upon them,

till they intrenched themselves in the
Highlands of Harar.
The old and pagan genealogies still
known to the Somal, are Dirr, Aydur,
Darud, and, according to some,
Hawiyah. Dirr and Aydur, of whom
nothing is certainly known but the
name10, are the progenitors of the
northern Somal, the Eesa, Gudabirsi,
Ishak, and Bursuk tribes. Darud Jabarti
11 bin Ismail bin Akil (or Ukayl) is
supposed by his descendants to have
been a noble Arab from El Hejaz, who,
obliged to flee his country, was
wrecked on the north-east coast of
Africa, where he married a daughter of
the Hawiyah tribe: rival races declare
him to have been a Galla slave, who,
stealing the Prophets slippers12, was
dismissed with the words, Inna-taradna-hu (verily we have rejected him):
hence his name Tarud ([Arabic]) or

Darud, the Rejected.13 The

etymological part of the story is,
doubtless, fabulous; it expresses,
however, the popular belief that the
founder of the eastward or windward
tribes, now extending over the
seaboard from Bunder Jedid to Ras
Hafun, and southward from the sea to
the Webbes14, was a man of ignoble
origin. The children of Darud are now
divided into two great bodies: Harti
is the family name of the Dulbahanta,
Ogadayn, Warsangali and Mijjarthayn,
who call themselves sons of Harti bin
Kombo bin Kabl Ullah bin Darud: the
other Darud tribes not included under
that appellation are the Girhi, Berteri,
Marayhan, and Bahabr Ali. The
Hawiyah are doubtless of ancient and
pagan origin; they call all Somal
except themselves Hashiyah, and thus
claim to be equivalent to the rest of
the nation. Some attempt, as usual, to

establish a holy origin, deriving

themselves like the Shaykhash from
the Caliph Abubekr: the antiquity, and
consequently the Pagan origin of the
Hawiyah are proved by its present
widely scattered state; it is a powerful
tribe in the Mijjarthayn country, and
yet is found in the hills of Harar.
The Somal, therefore, by their own
traditions, as well as their strongly
marked physical peculiarities, their
customs, and their geographical
position, may be determined to be a
half-caste tribe, an offshoot of the
great Galla race, approximated, like
the originally Negro-Egyptian, to the
Caucasian type by a steady influx of
pure Asiatic blood.
In personal appearance the race is not
unprepossessing. The crinal hair is
hard and wiry, growing, like that of a
half-caste West Indian, in stiff ringlets
which sprout in tufts from the scalp,

and, attaining a moderate length,

which they rarely surpass, bang down.
A few elders, savans, and the wealthy,
who can afford the luxury of a turban,
shave the head. More generally, each
filament is duly picked out with the
comb or a wooden scratcher like a
knitting-needle, and the mass made to
resemble a childs pudding, an old
bob-wig, a mop, a counsellors peruke,
or an old-fashioned coachmans wig
there are a hundred ways of dressing
the head. The Bedouins, true
specimens of the greasy African
race, wear locks dripping with rancid
butter, and accuse their citizen
brethren of being more like birds than
men. The colouring matter of the hair,
naturally a bluish-black, is removed by
a mixture of quicklime and water, or in
the desert by a lessive of ashes15:
this makes it a dull yellowish-white,
which is converted into red

permanently by henna, temporarily by

ochreish earth kneaded with water.
The ridiculous Somali peruke of
crimsoned sheepskin almost as
barbarous an article as the Welsh is
apparently a foreign invention: I rarely
saw one in the low country, although
the hill tribes about Harar sometimes
wear a black or white scratch-wig.
The head is rather long than round,
and generally of the amiable variety,
it is gracefully put on the shoulders,
belongs equally to Africa and Arabia,
and would be exceedingly weak but
for the beauty of the brow. As far as
the mouth, the face, with the
exception of high cheek-bones, is
good; the contour of the forehead
ennobles it; the eyes are large and
well-formed, and the upper features
are frequently handsome and
expressive. The jaw, however, is
almost invariably prognathous and

African; the broad, turned-out lips

betray approximation to the Negro;
and the chin projects to the detriment
of the facial angle. The beard is
represented by a few tufts; it is rare to
see anything equal to even the Arab
development: the long and ample
eyebrows admired by the people are
uncommon, and the mustachios are
short and thin, often twisted outwards
in two dwarf curls. The mouth is
coarse as well as thick-lipped; the
teeth rarely project as in the Negro,
but they are not good; the habit of
perpetually chewing coarse Surat
tobacco stains them16, the gums
become black and mottled, and the
use of ashes with the quid discolours
the lips. The skin, amongst the tribes
inhabiting the hot regions, is smooth,
black, and glossy; as the altitude
increases it becomes lighter, and
about Harar it is generally of a cafe au

lait colour. The Bedouins are fond of

raising beauty marks in the shape of
ghastly seams, and the thickness of
the epidermis favours the size of
thesestigmates. The male figure is tall
and somewhat ungainly. In only one
instance I observed an approach to
the steatopyge, making the shape to
resemble the letter S; but the
shoulders are high, the trunk is
straight, the thighs fall off, the shin
bones bow slightly forwards, and the
feet, like the hands, are coarse, large,
and flat. Yet with their hair, of a light
straw colour, decked with the light
waving feather, and their coal-black
complexions set off by that most
graceful of garments the clean white
Tobe17, the contrasts are decidedly
effective.
In mind the Somal are peculiar as in
body. They are a people of most
susceptible character, and withal

uncommonly hard to please. They

dislike the Arabs, fear and abhor the
Turks, have a horror of Franks, and
despise all other Asiatics who with
them come under the general name of
Hindi (Indians). The latter are abused
on all occasions for cowardice, and a
want of generosity, which has given
rise to the following piquant epigram:
Ask not from the Hindi thy want:
Impossible that the Hindi can be
generous!
Had there been one liberal man in El
Hind,
Allah had raised up a prophet in El
Hind!
They have all the levity and instability
of the Negro character; light-minded
as the Abyssinians described by
Gobat as constant in nothing but
inconstancy soft, merry, and
affectionate souls, they pass without
any apparent transition into a state of

fury, when they are capable of terrible

atrocities. At Aden they appear
happier than in their native country.
There I have often seen a man
clapping his hands and dancing,
childlike, alone to relieve the
exuberance of his spirits: here they
become, as the Mongols and other
pastoral people, a melancholy race,
who will sit for hours upon a bank
gazing at the moon, or croning some
old ditty under the trees. This state is
doubtless increased by the perpetual
presence of danger and the
uncertainty of life, which make them
think of other things but dancing and
singing. Much learning seems to make
them mad; like the half-crazy Fakihs of
the Sahara in Northern Africa, the
Widad, or priest, is generally unfitted
for the affairs of this world, and the
Hafiz or Koran-reciter, is almost idiotic.
As regards courage, they are no

exception to the generality of savage

races. They have none of the
recklessness standing in lieu of creed
which characterises the civilised man.
In their great battles a score is
considered a heavy loss; usually they
will run after the fall of half a dozen:
amongst a Kraal full of braves who
boast a hundred murders, not a single
maimed or wounded man will be seen,
whereas in an Arabian camp half the
male population will bear the marks of
lead and steel. The bravest will shirk
fighting if he has forgotten his shield:
the sight of a lion and the sound of a
gun elicit screams of terror, and their
Kaum or forays much resemble the
style of tactics rendered obsolete by
the Great Turenne, when the
tacticians chief aim was not to fall in
with his enemy. Yet they are by no
means deficient in the wily valour of
wild men: two or three will murder a

sleeper bravely enough; and when the

passions of rival tribes, between
whom there has been a blood feud for
ages, are violently excited, they will
use with asperity the dagger and
spear. Their massacres are fearful. In
February, 1847, a small sept, the
Ayyal Tunis, being expelled from
Berberah, settled at the roadstead of
Bulhar, where a few merchants,
principally Indian and Arab, joined
them. The men were in the habit of
leaving their women and children, sick
and aged, at the encampment inland,
whilst, descending to the beach, they
carried on their trade. One day, as
they were thus employed,
unsuspicious of danger, a foraging
party of about 2500 Eesas attacked
the camp: men, women, and children
were indiscriminately put to the spear,
and the plunderers returned to their
villages in safety, laden with an

immense amount of booty. At present,

a man armed with a revolver would be
a terror to the country; the day,
however, will come when the
matchlock will supersede the assegai,
and then the harmless spearman in
his strong mountains will become, like
the Arab, a formidable foe. Travelling
among the Bedouins, I found them
kind and hospitable. A pinch of snuff
or a handful of tobacco sufficed to win
every heart, and a few yards of coarse
cotton cloth supplied all our wants, I
was petted like a child, forced to drink
milk and to eat mutton; girls were
offered to me in marriage; the people
begged me to settle amongst them, to
head their predatory expeditions, free
them from lions, and kill their
elephants; and often a man has
exclaimed in pitying accents, What
hath brought thee, delicate as thou
art, to sit with us on the cowhide in

this cold under a tree? Of course they

were beggars, princes and paupers,
lairds and loons, being all equally
unfortunate; the Arabs have named
the country Bilad Wa Issi the Land
of Give me Something; but their
wants were easily satisfied, and the
open hand always made a friend.
The Somal hold mainly to the Shafei
school of El Islam: their principal
peculiarity is that of not reciting
prayers over the dead even in the
towns. The marriage ceremony is
simple: the price of the bride and the
feast being duly arranged, the formula
is recited by some priest or pilgrim. I
have often been requested to officiate
on these occasions, and the End of
Time has done it by irreverently
reciting the Fatihah over the happy
pair.18 The Somal, as usual amongst
the heterogeneous mass
amalgamated by El Islam, have a

diversity of superstitions attesting

their Pagan origin. Such for instance
are their oaths by stones, their
reverence of cairns and holy trees,
and their ordeals of fire and water, the
Bolungo of Western Africa. A man
accused of murder or theft walks
down a trench full of live charcoal and
about a spears length, or he draws
out of the flames a smiths anvil
heated to redness: some prefer
picking four or five cowries from a
large pot full of boiling water. The
member used is at once rolled up in
the intestines of a sheep and not
inspected for a whole day. They have
traditionary seers called Tawuli, like
the Greegree-men of Western Africa,
who, by inspecting the fat and bones
of slaughtered cattle, do medicine,
predict rains, battles, and diseases of
animals. This class is of both sexes:
they never pray or bathe, and are

therefore considered always impure;

thus, being feared, they are greatly
respected by the vulgar. Their
predictions are delivered in a rude
rhyme, often put for importance into
the mouth of some deceased seer.
During the three months called
Rajalo19the Koran is not read over
graves, and no marriage ever takes
place. The reason of this peculiarity is
stated to be imitation of their ancestor
Ishak, who happened not to contract a
matrimonial alliance at such epoch: it
is, however, a manifest remnant of the
Pagans auspicious and inauspicious
months. Thus they sacrifice shecamels in the month Sabuh, and keep
holy with feasts and bonfires the
Dubshid or New Years Day.20 At
certain unlucky periods when the
moon is in ill-omened Asterisms those
who die are placed in bundles of
matting upon a tree, the idea being

that if buried a loss would result to the

tribe. 21
Though superstitious, the Somal are
not bigoted like the Arabs, with the
exception of those who, wishing to
become learned, visit Yemen or El
Hejaz, and catch the complaint.
Nominal Mohammedans, El Islam
hangs so lightly upon them, that
apparently they care little for making
it binding upon others.
The Somali language is no longer
unknown to Europe. It is strange that
a dialect which has no written
character should so abound in poetry
and eloquence. There are thousands
of songs, some local, others general,
upon all conceivable subjects, such as
camel loading, drawing water, and
elephant hunting; every man of
education knows a variety of them.
The rhyme is imperfect, being
generally formed by the syllable ay

(pronounced as in our word hay),

which gives the verse a monotonous
regularity; but, assisted by a tolerably
regular alliteration and cadence, it can
never be mistaken for prose, even
without the song which invariably
accompanies it. The country teems
with poets, poetasters, poetitos, and
poetaccios: every man has his
recognised position in literature as
accurately defined as though he had
been reviewed in a century of
magazines the fine ear of this
people22 causing them to take the
greatest pleasure in harmonious
sounds and poetical expressions,
whereas a false quantity or a prosaic
phrase excite their violent indignation.
Many of these compositions are so
idiomatic that Arabs settled for years
amongst the Somal cannot
understand them, though perfectly
acquainted with the conversational

style. Every chief in the country must

have a panegyric to be sung by his
clan, and the great patronise light
literature by keeping a poet. The
amatory is of course the favourite
theme: sometimes it appears in
dialogue, the rudest form, we are told,
of the Drama. The subjects are
frequently pastoral: the lover for
instance invites his mistress to walk
with him towards the well in Lahelo,
the Arcadia of the land; he compares
her legs to the tall straight Libi tree,
and imprecates the direst curses on
her head if she refuse to drink with
him the milk of his favourite camel.
There are a few celebrated ethical
compositions, in which the father
lavishes upon his son all the treasures
of Somali good advice, long as the
somniferous sermons of Mentor to the
insipid son of Ulysses. Sometimes a
black Tyrtaeus breaks into a wild

lament for the loss of warriors or

territory; he taunts the clan with
cowardice, reminds them of their slain
kindred, better men than themselves,
whose spirits cannot rest unavenged
in their gory graves, and urges a
furious onslaught upon the exulting
victor.
And now, dear L., I will attempt to
gratify your just curiosity concerning
the sex in Eastern Africa.
The Somali matron is distinguished
externally from the maiden by a
fillet of blue network or indigo-dyed
cotton, which, covering the head and
containing the hair, hangs down to the
neck. Virgins wear their locks long,
parted in the middle, and plaited in a
multitude of hard thin pigtails: on
certain festivals they twine flowers
and plaster the head like Kafir women
with a red ochre the coiffure has
the merit of originality. With massive

rounded features, large flat craniums,

long big eyes, broad brows, heavy
chins, rich brown complexions, and
round faces, they greatly resemble the
stony beauties of Egypt the models
of the land ere Persia, Greece, and
Rome reformed the profile and
bleached the skin. They are of the
Venus Kallipyga order of beauty: the
feature is scarcely ever seen amongst
young girls, but after the first child it
becomes remarkable to a stranger.
The Arabs have not failed to make it a
matter of jibe.
Tis a wonderful fact that your hips
swell
Like boiled rice or a skin blown out,
sings a satirical Yemeni: the Somal
retort by comparing the lank
haunches of their neighbours to those
of tadpoles or young frogs. One of
their peculiar charms is a soft, low,
and plaintive voice, derived from their

African progenitors. Always an

excellent thing in woman, here it has
an undefinable charm. I have often
lain awake for hours listening to the
conversation of the Bedouin girls,
whose accents sounded in my ears
rather like music than mere utterance.
In muscular strength and endurance
the women of the Somal are far
superior to their lords: at home they
are engaged all day in domestic
affairs, and tending the cattle; on
journeys their manifold duties are to
load and drive the camels, to look
after the ropes, and, if necessary, to
make them; to pitch the hut, to bring
water and firewood, and to cook. Both
sexes are equally temperate from
necessity; the mead and the milletbeer, so common among the
Abyssinians and the Danakil, are
entirely unknown to the Somal of the
plains. As regards their morals, I

regret to say that the traveller does

not find them in the golden state
which Teetotal doctrines lead him to
expect. After much wandering, we are
almost tempted to believe the bad
doctrine that morality is a matter of
geography; that nations and races
have, like individuals, a pet vice, and
that by restraining one you only
exasperate another. As a general rule
Somali women prefer amourettes with
strangers, following the well-known
Arab proverb, The new comer filleth
the eye. In cases of scandal, the
womans tribe revenges its honour
upon the man. Should a wife
disappear with a fellow-clansman, and
her husband accord divorce, no penal
measures are taken, but she suffers in
reputation, and her female friends do
not spare her. Generally, the Somali
women are of cold temperament, the
result of artificial as well as natural

causes: like the Kafirs, they are very

prolific, but peculiarly bad mothers,
neither loved nor respected by their
children. The fair sex lasts longer in
Eastern Africa than in India and
Arabia: at thirty, however, charms are
on the wane, and when old age comes
on they are no exceptions to the
hideous decrepitude of the East.
The Somal, when they can afford it,
marry between the ages of fifteen and
twenty. Connections between tribes
are common, and entitle the stranger
to immunity from the blood-feud: men
of family refuse, however, to ally
themselves with the servile castes.
Contrary to the Arab custom, none of
these people will marry cousins; at the
same time a man will give his
daughter to his uncle, and take to
wife, like the Jews and Gallas, a
brothers relict. Some clans, the Habr
Yunis for instance, refuse maidens of

the same or even of a consanguineous

family. This is probably a political
device to preserve nationality and
provide against a common enemy. The
bride, as usual in the East, is rarely
consulted, but frequent tete a tetes at
the well and in the bush when tending
cattle effectually obviate this
inconvenience: her relatives settle the
marriage portion, which varies from a
cloth and a bead necklace to fifty
sheep or thirty dollars, and dowries
are unknown. In the towns marriage
ceremonies are celebrated with
feasting and music. On first entering
the nuptial hut, the bridegroom draws
forth his horsewhip and inflicts
memorable chastisement upon the
fair person of his bride, with the view
of taming any lurking propensity to
shrewishness.23 This is carrying out
with a will the Arab proverb,
The slave girl from her capture, the

wife from her wedding.

During the space of a week the
spouse remains with his espoused,
scarcely ever venturing out of the hut;
his friends avoid him, and no lesser
event than a plundering party or
dollars to gain, would justify any
intrusion. If the correctness of the wife
be doubted, the husband on the
morning after marriage digs a hole
before his door and veils it with
matting, or he rends the skirt of his
Tobe, or he tears open some new hutcovering: this disgraces the womans
family. Polygamy is indispensable in a
country where children are the
principal wealth.24 The chiefs, arrived
at manhood, immediately marry four
wives: they divorce the old and
unfruitful, and, as amongst the Kafirs,
allow themselves an unlimited number
in peculiar cases, especially when
many of the sons have fallen.

Daughters, as usual in Oriental

countries, do not count as part of
the family: they are, however, utilised
by the father, who disposes of them to
those who can increase his wealth and
importance. Divorce is exceedingly
common, for the men are liable to
sudden fits of disgust. There is little
ceremony in contracting marriage
with any but maidens. I have heard a
man propose after half an hours
acquaintance, and the fair ones reply
was generally the question direct
concerning settlements. Old men
frequently marry young girls, but then
the portion is high and the menage a
trois common.
The Somal know none of the
exaggerated and chivalrous ideas by
which passion becomes refined
affection amongst the Arab Bedouins
and the sons of civilisation, nor did I
ever hear of an African abandoning

the spear and the sex to become a

Darwaysh. Their Hudhudu, however,
reminds the traveller of the Abyssinian
eye-love, the Afghans Namzadbazi, and the Semites Ishkuzri,
which for want of a better expression
we translate Platonic love.25 This
meeting of the sexes, however, is
allowed in Africa by male relatives; in
Arabia and Central Asia it provokes
their direst indignation. Curious to
say, throughout the Somali country,
kissing is entirely unknown.
Children are carried on their mothers
backs or laid sprawling upon the
ground for the first two years26: they
are circumcised at the age of seven or
eight, provided with a small spear,
and allowed to run about naked till the
age of puberty. They learn by
conversation, not books, eat as much
as they can beg, borrow and steal,
and grow up healthy, strong, and well

proportioned according to their race.

As in El Islam generally, so here, a
man cannot make a will. The property
of the deceased is divided amongst
his children the daughters receiving
a small portion, if any of it. When a
man dies without issue, his goods and
chattels are seized upon by his
nearest male relatives; one of them
generally marries the widow, or she is
sent back to her family. Relicts, as a
rule, receive no legacies.
You will have remarked, dear L., that
the people of Zayla are by no means
industrious. They depend for support
upon the Desert: the Bedouin
becomes the Nazil or guest of the
townsman, and he is bound to receive
a little tobacco, a few beads, a bit of
coarse cotton cloth, or, on great
occasions, a penny looking-glass and
a cheap German razor, in return for
his slaves, ivories, hides, gums, milk,

and grain. Any violation of the tie is

severely punished by the Governor,
and it can be dissolved only by the
formula of triple divorce: of course the
wild men are hopelessly cheated27,
and their citizen brethren live in
plenty and indolence. After the early
breakfast, the male portion of the
community leave their houses on
business, that is to say, to chat, visit,
and flaner about the streets and
mosques. 28 They return to dinner
and the siesta, after which they issue
forth again, and do not come home till
night. Friday is always an idle day,
festivals are frequent, and there is no
work during weddings and mournings.
The women begin after dawn to plait
mats and superintend the slaves, who
are sprinkling the house with water,
grinding grain for breakfast, cooking,
and breaking up firewood: to judge,
however, from the amount of chatting

and laughter, there appears to be far

less work than play.
In these small places it is easy to
observe the mechanism of a
government which, en grand,
becomes that of Delhi, Teheran, and
Constantinople. The Governor farms
the place from the Porte: he may do
what he pleases as long as he pays
his rent with punctuality and provides
presents and douceurs for the Pasha
of Mocha. He punishes the petty
offences of theft, quarrels, and arson
by fines, the bastinado, the stocks, or
confinement in an Arish or thatch-hut:
the latter is a severe penalty, as the
prisoner must provide himself with
food. In cases of murder, he either
refers to Mocha or he carries out the
Kisas lex talionis by delivering
the slayer to the relatives of the slain.
The Kazi has the administration of the
Shariat or religious law: he cannot,

however, pronounce sentence without

the Governors permission; and
generally his powers are confined to
questions of divorce, alimony,
manumission, the wound-mulct, and
similar cases which come within
Koranic jurisdiction. Thus the religious
code is ancillary and often opposed to
El Jabr,the tyranny, the
popular designation of what we call
Civil Law.29 Yet is El Jabr, despite its
name, generally preferred by the
worldly wise. The Governor contents
himself with a moderate bribe, the
Kazi is insatiable: the former may
possibly allow you to escape
unplundered, the latter assuredly will
not. This I believe to be the history of
religious jurisdiction in most parts of
the world.
1 Eusebius declares that the
Abyssinians migrated from Asia to
Africa whilst the Hebrews were in

Egypt (circ. A. M. 2345); and Syncellus

places the event about the age of the
Judges.
2 Moslems, ever fond of philological
fable, thus derive the word Galla.
When Ullabu, the chief, was
summoned by Mohammed to Islamise,
the messenger returned to report that
he said no, Kal la pronounced Gal
la which impious refusal, said the
Prophet, should from that time
become the name of the race.
3 Others have derived them from
Metcha, Karaiyo, and Tulema, three
sons of an AEthiopian Emperor by a
female slave. They have, according to
some travellers, a prophecy that one
day they will march to the east and
north, and conquer the inheritance of
their Jewish ancestors. Mr. Johnston
asserts that the word Galla is merely
another form of Calla, which in the
ancient Persian, Sanscrit, Celtic, and

their modern derivative languages,

under modified, but not changed
terms, is expressive of blackness.
The Gallas, however, are not a black
people.
4 The Aden stone has been supposed
to name the Berbers, who must
have been Gallas from the vicinity of
Berberah. A certain amount of doubt
still hangs on the interpretation: the
Rev. Mr. Forster and Dr. Bird being the
principal contrasts.
Rev. Mr. Forster.
Dr. Bird
We assailed with cries of hatred and
rage the Abyssinians and Berbers.
We rode forth wrathfully against this
refuse of mankind.
He, the Syrian philosopher in Abadan,
Bishop of Cape Aden, who inscribed
this in the desert, blesses the
institution of the faith.
5 This word is generally translated

Abyssinia; oriental geographers,

however, use it in a more extended
sense. The Turks have held
possessions in Habash, in Abyssinia
never.
6 The same words are repeated in the
Infak el Maysur fl Tarikh bilad el Takrur
(Appendix to Denham and
Clappertons Travels, No. xii.), again
confounding the Berbers and the
Somal. Afrikus, according to that
author, was a king of Yemen who
expelled the Berbers from Syria!
7 The learned Somal invariably spell
their national name with an initial Sin,
and disregard the derivation from
Saumal ([Arabic]), which would allude
to the hardihood of the wild people.
An intelligent modern traveller derives
Somali from the Abyssinian
Soumahe or heathens, and asserts
that it corresponds with the Arabic
word Kafir or unbeliever, the name by

which Edrisi, the Arabian geographer,

knew and described the inhabitants of
the Affah (Afar) coast, to the east of
the Straits of Bab el Mandeb. Such
derivation is, however, unadvisable.
8 According to others he was the son
of Abdullah. The written genealogies
of the Somal were, it is said, stolen by
the Sherifs of Yemen, who feared to
leave with the wild people documents
that prove the nobility of their
descent.
9 The salient doubt suggested by this
genealogy is the barbarous nature of
the names. A noble Arab would not
call his children Gerhajis, Awal, and
Rambad.
10 Lieut. Cruttenden applies the term
Edoor (Aydur) to the descendants of
Ishak, the children of Gerhajis, Awal,
and Jailah. His informants and mine
differ, therefore, toto coelo. According
to some, Dirr was the father of Aydur;

others make Dirr (it has been written

Tir and Durr) to have been the name
of the Galla family into which Shaykh
Ishak married.
11 Some travellers make Jabarti or
Ghiberti to signify slaves from the
Abyssinian Guebra; others Strong in
the Faith (El Islam). Bruce applies it
to the Moslems of Abyssinia: it is still
used, though rarely, by the Somal,
who in these times generally
designate by it the Sawahili or Negro
Moslems.
12 The same scandalous story is told
of the venerable patron saint of Aden,
the Sherif Haydrus.
13 Darud bin Ismails tomb is near the
Yubbay Tug in the windward
mountains; an account of it will be
found in Lieut. Spekes diary.
14 The two rivers Shebayli and Juba.
15 Curious to any this mixture does
not destroy the hair; it would soon

render a European bald. Some of the

Somal have applied it to their beards;
the result has been the breaking and
falling off of the filaments.
16 Few Somal except the citizens
smoke, on account of the expense, all,
however, use the Takhzinah or quid.
17 The best description of the dress is
that of Fenelon: Leurs habits sont
aises a faire, car en ce doux climat on
ne porte quune piece detoffe fine et
legere, qui nest point taillee, et que
chacun met a longs plis autour de son
corps pour la modestie; lui donnant la
forme quil veut.
18 Equivalent to reading out the
Church Catechism at an English
wedding.
19 Certain months of the lunar year. In
1854, the third Rajalo, corresponding
with Rabia the Second, began on the
21st of December.
20 The word literally means, lighting

of fire. It corresponds with the Nayruz

of Yemen, a palpable derivation, as
the word itself proves, from the old
Guebre conquerors. In Arabia New
Years Day is called Ras el Sanah, and
is not celebrated by any peculiar
solemnities. The ancient religion of
the Afar coast was Sabaeism, probably
derived from the Berbers or shepherds
according to Bruce the first faith of
the East, and the only religion of
Eastern Africa. The Somal still retain a
tradition that the Furs, or ancient
Guebres, once ruled the land.
21 Their names also are generally
derived from their Pagan ancestors: a
list of the most common may be
interesting to ethnologists. Men are
called Rirash, Igah, Beuh, Fahi,
Samattar, Farih, Madar, Raghe,
Dubayr, Irik, Diddar, Awalah, and
Alyan. Womens names are Aybla,
Ayyo, Aurala, Ambar, Zahabo,

Ashkaro, Alka, Asoba, Gelo, Gobe,

Mayran and Samaweda.
22 It is proved by the facility with
which they pick up languages,
Western us well as Eastern, by mere
ear and memory.
23 So the old Muscovites, we are told,
always began married life with a
sound flogging.
24 I would not advise polygamy
amongst highly civilised races, where
the sexes are nearly equal, and where
reproduction becomes a minor duty.
Monogamy is the growth of
civilisation: a plurality of wives is the
natural condition of man in thinly
populated countries, where he who
has the largest family is the greatest
benefactor of his kind.
25 The old French term la petite oie
explains it better. Some trace of the
custom may be found in the Kafirs
Slambuka or Schlabonka, for a

description of which I must refer to

the traveller Delegorgue.
26 The Somal ignore the Kafir custom
during lactation.
27 The citizens have learned the
Asiatic art of bargaining under a cloth.
Both parties sit opposite each other,
holding hands: if the little finger for
instance be clasped, it means 6, 60, or
600 dollars, according to the value of
the article for sale; if the ring finger, 7,
70, or 700, and so on.
28 So, according to M. Krapf, the
Suaheli of Eastern Africa wastes his
morning hours in running from house
to house, to his friends or superiors,ku
amkia (as he calls it), to make his
morning salutations. A worse than
Asiatic idleness is the curse of this
part of the world.
29 Diwan el Jabr, for instance, is a civil
court, opposed to the Mahkamah or
the Kazis tribunal.

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STRONA GWNA KOMUNIKATY

INFORMACJE KONSULARNE KONTAKT

About Yemen:

Location
Maps
Climate and weather
Geographical Divisions
Historical Background

Links:
Yemen Parliament
President
Central Bank of Yemen
Ministry of Planning
General Investment Authority
Ministry of Planning
Tax Authority
Customs Authority
Ministry of Oil

and Mineral Resources

Ministry of Human Rights

Location
The Republic of Yemen lies in the
South of Arabia (The Arabian
Peninsula), south-west of Asia,
between latitudes 12 and 20 degrees
to the north of the equator, and
between longitudes 41and 54 degrees
to the south of Greenwich, bordered
on the north by Saudi Arabia, on the
south by the Arab Sea and the Gulf of
Aden, on the east by the Sultanate of
Oman and on the west by the Red
Sea.
back

Maps
The administrative units of the
Republic of Yemen consist of 19
Governates and the capital
secretariat, the city of Sana'a. Each
Governate is composed of a number
of' districts and centers, the
Governates are as follows: Sana'a,
Aden, Taiz, Hudaidah, Hadhramout,
Sa'da, Al .Jouf. Marib, 'Shabwa, Abyan,
Dhamar, Ibb, Lahj, Mahweet, AlMahara, Al-Baydha, Hajja, Amran, AlDhalia.
back
Climate and weather
Since Yemen is endowed with a varied
topography, the climate, in general,

also varies, although there are no

major seasonal differences. We can
say there are two long seasons:
summer and winter During summer,
the temperature and humidity are
high in the coastal areas, while the
climate is moderate during winter.
From time to time the rainfall, due to
the monsoon, moderates the
temperature over the coastal areas in
summer. In the mountain areas, the
weather is moderate in summer and
cold in winter during the night and in
the early morning, but the bright sun
rays raise the temperature during the
day making the weather very
moderate in these parts of the
country.
back
Geographical Divisions

In view of its topographical structure,

the Republic of Yemen is divided into
five regions: Mountain, Highland,
Coastal,the Empty Quarter, and the
Yemeni Islands.
1. Mountain region with heights
ranging between 1000-3760 m high
The western mountain range
represent a large area of the country.
It is the range called Al-Surat
mountains stretching longitudinally
from the north to the south and
transversally from the west to the east
which resembles the letter "L". These
heights go down in different
directions. They descend sharply
westwards to the Red Sea, southwards
to the Gulf of Aden, and eastwards
and northwards to the interior desert

areas. In the mountain heights,

stretching from the north to the south,
there are a number of basins (beds),
of considerable agricultural
importance with large populations,
such as Sana'a basin, Yarim basin,
Jahran flatland, Sa'da flatland, Alboun
flatland, Aqwat Hadhramout bed and
Si'aith bed in Mahara. The most
prominent mountains in these heights
are the mountains of Attaq, Bayhan,
Mukairas, Al-Dhalie', Yafie', Sabra,
Hudhour Alsheikh, Miswar and Prophet
Shu'aib which at 3766m above sea
level is the highest mountain in
Arabia.
2. The Highland region
This area lies to the east and north of
the mountainous heights going in
parallel to the heights towards the

Empty Quarter. The maximum height

of this area is 1000m gradually
descending. Such area is represented
by the highlands in Sana'a, Al Jouf,
Shabwa, Hadhramout and Mahara.
The out- skirts of this area in the north
overlap with the Empty Quarter.
3. The Coastal Area
This area includes the coastal plains
overlooking the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden
and Arabian Sea. They are connected
to each other forming a coastal strip
that extends from the Oman border
south- westward to Bab Al-Mandab.
This strip then changes its direction
northward to the borders of Saudi
Arabia, thus making it more than
2400km. long. The width of the plains
range from 30 to 60 km.

4. The Empty Quarter

This is a Yemeni desert area located to
the north of Hadhramout highlands,
and to the south of the western
heights. This area consists of desert
plains covered with gravel, sand and
sandy dunes in Volving in some parts
desert plants and vast oases, that
were formed due to the collection of
the seasonal water. It is inhabited by
the wandering nomads because of its
pastoral land.
5. The Yemeni Islands
This part of the country consists of
islands scattered along the coasts of
Yemen. There are 120 islands, most of
which are located in the Red Sea. The
biggest islands are Kamaran, Greater

Hunaish, Minor Hunaish, the rest of

Archipelago, Zaqar, Zubair, AL-Tayr
and the strategic island of Meon at the
Bab AI-Mandeb. In addition there are
islands located in the Gulf of Aden and
thc Arabian Sea, the largest of which
is Soqatra.
back
Historical Background
The diversity of the natural
environment: plains, mountains and
deserts may be common in many
countries, but it is unique in Yemen.
Yemen's highlands are an extension of
a chain of the Trans-Arabian
Peninsula's high mountains which cut
across, in parallel, from the Red Sea in
the west to the Arabian desert, The
Empty Quarter, in the east, the shape

of which resembles the letter "L".

Because of the height of this mountain
chain, which is the highest in the
Arabian Peninsula, rain clouds, carried
by the seasonal winds from the Indian
Ocean during the spring and summer,
causes rainfall, which differs greatly
from 1he rest of the area.
The rains are not normally heavy, but
when it pours, torrents flow across a
number of valleys. Some goes east to
the desert and some west to the Red
Sea, or south to the waters of the
Arabian Sea. Under these
circumstances and climate, people of
the Stone Age lived here tens of
thousands of' years ago experiencing
the various stages of that period.
There are many relics dating hack to
this era are now in exhibit at the
National Museum in Sana'a. The
facade of caves show distinct traces of

the Hunter Gatherers Society. While

on top of the eastern mountain chain,
2000*2300m above sea level, more
sophisticated societies lived during
the Bronze Age.
Unsuccessful attempt at dam
construction can be traced back to the
bronze age. The people, after this
failure, emigrated down-stream to the
valleys in the East of Yemen, and it is
here where civilization in this part of
the world began to flourish. Yemeni
civilization didn't flourish on the hanks
of rivers, as in many other ancient
civilizations, but in the valleys. The
Sheba dynasty flourished in the
valleys of Dhanah and Ma'een in the
Jouf Valley to the north of Sheba.
Similarly, other dynasties such as
Qataban in the Baihan Valley,
Hadharmout in the valley of Armah
and Osan in the valley of Markhah.

Sheba
is the oldest of the Yemeni
civilizations. Historians consider the
start of the Sabean Dynasty as the
beginning of historical accounts for
Yemen's ancient states. This historical
period began in 715BC, the year when
Yathea'a Amirbayn, one of the oldest
Macarabi, King of Sheba, paid
protection money to Serjoun, the King
of Assyria, as told by the Assyrian
annals.
The first line of Sabean Macarabis and
kings existed around the same time as
the kings of Ma'een. The only time
Ma'een was defeated was by Sheba,
its neighbor. The sovereignty of Sheba
also extended to cover the ancient
states of Osan, Qataban and

Hadramout. Qataban and Hadramout

had sided with Sheba against the
State of Osan.
Regardless of which Yemeni dynasty
was the oldest, strongest or reigned
longest" the most recent
archaeological researches state that
the Iron Age extended from 1200BC
until 332BC. Thus, the beginnings of
the flourishing history of Southern
Arabia civilizations was 1st century
BC. The people lived by means of
agriculture and it was around this time
that dams and canals were
constructed to irrigate the land to
provide food and camels domesticated
to help with the work load. The
development of political systems was
similar in each dynasty. Their location,
between 1ndia and Africa, on one
side, and between Egypt and Syria on
the other, generated a good income

from the taxes paid for the protection

of the camel caravans transporting
incense from Hadhramout and Dhofar
(Oman) in the East. These caravans
were also used to carry other goods,
whatever would fetch a good price
and was light enough for the camels
to carry, which arrived into Yemen at
the port of Qana on thc Arabian Sea.
From there they would be transported
through the cities and stations of
Hadhramout, Qataban, Sabean and
the Ma'een Dynasties on to the port of
Gaza on the Mediterranean coast.
Cities flourished and the architectural
style developed. The temples of the
Astrological Triangle' were built along
with the dams and canals which
surrounded the capital cities of Marib,
Ma'een, Tamna'a and Shabwa.
The capitals of the civilizations of
southern Arabia had strong contact

with ancient Eastern civilizations.

Before the birth of Christ, a campaign
by a Roman Commander failed in an
attempt to take control of' the incense
road. However, Hippalos, a Greek
sailor, had discovered the closely
guarded secret of the ancient
Yemenis: the monsoon winds, which
gust eastward to India during the
summer and to the west towards
Africa during the winter and made
transportation by sea so very difficult.
The discovery by the Greeks on how
to use the monsoon winds to their
advantage, was followed by a ban,
introduced by the Christian Church, on
the use of incense which resulted in
the incense road losing its
importance. The Great Dam also
collapsed and the Sheba Dynasty
dispersed to the hills. This was evident
by the dams, cities, palaces and
temples which sprang up in Sama'i,

Sana'a and Dhafar, and also on the

trade road across the plateau by way
of the Assa'd' path.
The sand dunes, however, preserved
the outer crust of the ancient Yemeni
civilization in Eastern Yemen, in a way
similar to the process of preserving
flowers pressed within the pages of a
book, and as a result, archeologists
have been able to trace the history of
ancient Sheba.
The Himyarite Dynasty followed with
its rulers, the Kings of Sheba, Dhu
Raidan, Hadramout, Yamant and their
tribes on the high plateau and coastal
region, until the Abyssinian
(Ethiopians), occupied Yemen in the
year 525AD. The Abyssinians ruled for
fifty years until 575AD. That year was
known as the Year of the Elephant',
because Abraha used them in his

failed campaign to occupy the Qa'ba,

Islam's most holiest of shrines. Saif
Ibn Dhi Yazan expelled the Abyssinians
from Yemen with the help of the
Persian Empire, but only to place
Yemen under the direct influence of
Persian Empire. This continued until
the people of Yemen heard the Islamic
call. They voluntarily adopted Islam as
their new religion; and Yemeni
battalions were at the vanguard of the
Islamic armies. Yemenis played
leading roles in the building of the
Islamic state, which stretched from
China in the east to Andalusia to the
west.
Yemen came under the direct
administration of the Islamic state
during the rule of the Caliphs in
Madina, continuing through the
Ommiad Dynasty in Damascus and
the Abbasid Dynasty in Baghdad.

However, on the decline of Islamic

state in Baghdad, several dynasties
ruled Yemen starting from the 9th
century AD. At various stages in the
history of Yemen there was more than
one dynasty in existence, fighting
each other at times and peacefully coexisting at other times. Some of them
had formally followed either the
Caliphate of Baghdad or the Caliphate
of Cairo. The direct rule of some of
these states included the largest parts
of Yemen. Among these states were:
Ziyadiya State
the capital of which was Zabid, 819 *
1018AD.
Ya'firiya State
in Shibam kawkaban, 861* 956AD.
Zaydi Imamate
State in Sa'da, 892*1962AD.

It co-existed with all other states for

more than one thousand years. Its
influence stretched from Sana'a to
Najran, diminishing to include only the
north-eastern regions. The Zaydi
Imamate ruled most parts of greater
Yemen at one period in history.
Sylihya State
in Jibla, 1047 - 1138AD.
Ayoubid State
in Taiz, 1174 - 1229AD.
Rasulide State
in Taiz, 1229 - 1454AD.
Tahirid State
in Mikrana Rada'a', 1446 - 1517AD.
Despite the fact that these states
were independent from the central

states, they were in touch with what

was going on in the main cities.
Several Yemeni cities flourished during
the lslamic era on the roads of trade
and pilgrimage across the plateau and
coastal plains. They were influenced
by the Islamic civilization which also
prevailed at other Arab and Islamic
cities. Students and scholars came to
the centers from both inside and
outside Yemen. The most famous
cities of the period were Zabid,
Sana'a, Sa'da, Tarim, Jibla and
Dhamar. Yemen also fell under the
influence of Islamic states such as the
Mamelukes and the Ottomans in the
wake of the Portuguese invasion of
the coasts in the early 16th century
AD.
The Turkish Ottomans ruled Yemen
during two periods. The first began in
1535 and continued until 1638, while

the second was from 1872 until the

end of the 1st World War in l918. The
British occupied the southern part of
Yemen in 1839.
During the period of conflict over the
borders between the Ottomans in the
northern part of Yemen and the British
in the south, border posts were
installed between the South and North
of Yemen for the first time in its
history. After that, Yemen suffered
from terrible isolation imposed by a
clerical utilitarian rule in the North and
a humiliating colonial hegemony in
the South.
During this period, poverty, ignorance,
injustice and a series of deadly
diseases prevailed in the country. The
circle of isolation was not broken until
the Eternal Revolution of the 26th
September against the Imamate rule

and the Revolution of the 14th

October 1962, and the South achieved
independence from Britain in 1967.
From 1962 North Yemen became
known as the Yemen Arab Republic,
with its capital in 'Sana'a, while the
South of Yemen became known as the
People's Democratic Republic of
Yemen with its capital in Aden. Twenty
years after the British evacuation on
30th November l967, the constitution
of the existing Republic of Yemen was
signed on 30th November, 1987. This
event crowned pro- longed efforts to
unify the country. On 22nd May 1990,
there was great news, Yemen became
united and was named the Republic of
Yemen. The historic city of Sana'a was
named the capital of the unified
Yemen, and a new era in Yemen's
history began.

Yemen: Happy Arabia About To Make

Saudi Arabia Very Unhappy
Ziad Fadel / March 27th, 2015
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image:
http://syrianperspective.com/wpcontent/uploads/2015/03/Yemenkhat4.jpg
No, this is not Nellie Fox, the
legendary American baseball player.
He is a typical Yemeni who is about to
be turned into a savage fighting
machine thanks to the blundering of
the Saudi apes.
There are 2 things which enliven a
Yemeni male: the first is Qaat, the
narcotic plant that provides much of
Yemens happiness and, sadly, its
relegation to the lowest domains of
the Third World. The second is
invasion. The Yemenis dont like to be
invaded and predictably make the
lives of invaders most unpleasant.
Whether its the Romans, Egyptians,

Abyssinians, Ottomans, English or

whoever, the Yemenis rise up like a
geothermal geyser, with its
exasperating regularity, to beat away
the offending culture into submission
and withdrawal. Think of Afghanistan
as a sister state with the element of
opium as a substitute for
Cathinone(Qaat) and the mountain
folk as a reasonable facsimile for the
Zaidis of Yemen. The graveyards of
conquerors.
Its no wonder the Romans called
Yemen Arabia Felix, Happy Arabia,
since the people have been chewing
the amphetamine-like plant for
millennia to keep their moods always
at their most elevated even though
the side-effects often involve chronic
laziness, both physical and mental.
But, once the invasion starts, the
Qaatbecomes the Captagon of warfare
enabling Houthis to leap tall buildings

in a single bound and to run faster

than a speeding bullet. Never feeling
pain or exhaustion, the mountain
people of Yemen persist in fighting the
invader until he screams: Uncle!.
The government of Jamaal AbdulNaasser, former president of Egypt
and pan-Arab icon, jabbed its thumb
into Saudi Arabias eye back in 1962
after the collapse of the monumental
unification of Syria and Egypt in the
United Arab Republic, an event that
reportedly broke Nassers heart. But,
it didnt break his determination to
punish Saudi Arabia for its support of
the royalists in Yemen. Egypt
embarked on its own Vietnam when it
sent 50,000+ troops to Yemen to fight
on the side of the republican forces
who were arrayed against the Saudibacked royalists, most of whom,
interestingly, were Zaydis (Houthis).
Please note too that the Ottomans

conquered Yemen in 1538 during the

reign of Sultan Sulaymaan the
Magnificent. Once Sulaymaan died in
1567, it was the Houthis led by Imaam
Mutahhar Ibn Sharafeddeen who
mounted a rebellion against the
Ottomans. One hundred years later in
1635, they were expelled in a
humiliating fashion by the
Houthis/Zaydis during the reign of
Sultan Muraad IV. It appears the
present Sultan in Ankara is anxious to
avenge that degrading withdrawal
from Yemen. Erdoghan has declared
total support for the Saudi campaign
in Yemen.
Egypt lost and left Yemen in 1967, just
in time to get whacked in the June War
of that same notorious year. Such is
the luck of Egypt. But, Arabian luck
may be even worse as you shall soon
see.
The Saudis have never fought a war

with a modern army. That is because

they have no army of their own.
Almost all their pilots, except for a
handful of royal family members who
thought it would be really cool to learn
how to fly high-performance jets in
order to leave the country more
quickly once the rebellion against
their pre-Iron Age rule began, are
foreigners, mostly Pakistanis. There
are some Jordanians who retired from
service in their own miserable
kingdom and graciously accepted the
$250,000.00 per year salary that
flying for the Wahhabists brought into
their otherwise barren accounts. The
Saudis cant tell you this, but, they
cant trust their own people. They are
genuinely terrified of engaging the
services of fellow Saudis because
most of their people despise
Wahhabism and the profligate way the
royal family has squandered the

wealth of the nation. There are

millions of Saudis who are homeless.
You wouldnt want to train them to fly
an F-16..would you? A Saudi
student once told me that if a Saudi
Arabian citizen ever sat in an
American fighter jet, his instincts
would be to immediately strafe the
royal palace.
And, in all their encounters with the
Houthis of Yemen, they have lost each
and every battle often withdrawing
pell-mell into their own backyards as
the Houthis advanced in hot pursuit.
Saudi officers, the few who exist,
know that they cannot count on the
people to fight any patriotic war for a
royal family so steeped in deception,
brigandage and outright vampirism,
that doing so would be, in the eyes of
God, a mockery of their own true
religion.
Saudi Arabia has agreed to extend its

war with Shii Iran to the Yemen. It

was not enough for them to foment
barbaric wars in Iraq, Syria and
Lebanon. Now, feeling surrounded by
Iran, it has decided to take up
Obamas doctrine as its own by acting
as a proxy for the United States at the
coccyx of Aseer, at the southern
opening of the Red Sea.
The Saudi Army is a paper army. Its
equipment is poorly maintained. Most
deals for the purchase of weapons
were red herrings to conceal huge
transfers of moneys out of the
kingdom into bank accounts in New
York or the Isle of Man for the corrupt
royal family. This is embezzlement
at its most gaudy. When the Saudis
decided they had to create another
war for themselves, a war that would
now force them to withdraw currency
reserves due to a shortage in their
coffers, they suckered Egypt and

Jordan into their Coalition of Resolute

Storm by convincing them to send
boots. These are dirt-poor countries
reeling from decades of incompetent
management and endemic shrinkage
heck, Jordan never even had a
chance having been created out of
Syrias haunches by the British in an
effort to assuage the hurt feelings of
the flea-bitten Hashemites of the
Hijaaz. Even after the publication of
the canard about Saudia deploying
150,000 of its own troops to the 900mile border with Yemen, their glanslike ambassador in Washington D.C.
told everyone there will be no ground
invasion as though any such
invasion could take place in the real
world or even worse that Saudia
really had more than 150 soldiers.
image:

http://syrianperspective.com/wpcontent/uploads/2015/03/85512.jpg
Photo of Saudi ape reconnaissance
aircraft crashing after being shot down
by Yemeni air defenses a few miles
west of Sanaaa`. Prepare for many
more of these scenes. The airplane
might have been a pilotless drone.
You would think President Sisi would
pause for a moment to scrutinize what
he was doing and where he was going
to send his troops. The disastrous
Egyptian intervention in Yemen is still
within the parameters of his memory.
And, King Abdullah II, whose own
family lost Mecca and all Arabia to the
self-same codpieces, jackdaws and
child molesters who presently rule in
Riyaadh, should sit down at his PlayStation to ruminate over the mess he
already has on his border with Syria

and Iraq. If the Saudis have depleted

their cash supporting the cannibals in
the Fertile Crescent, how much can
they draw from their reserves to pay
off the Egyptian and Jordanian
Armies? Is this the end of the Saudi
dynasty? Tee hee hee.
Lets tell the truth. Obama doesnt like
Mileikowski (a/k/a Netanyahu). And
Obama doesnt like Netanyahus allies
in Arabia, either. It may be that
someone has told this diffident leader
of the Free World that Saudi Arabia is
a military abyss with no credible
warring capability. With the Saudis
having botched every effort to
coordinate a policy on Syria openly
tsk-tsking Obamas every move;
Kerrys insinuation that Washington
would have to talk to Dr. Assad; or the
potential resolution of the Iranian
nuclear program; maybe, Obama is
figuring Saudia needs this kind of bog-

wash to finally get it out of his graying

hair. The Saudis are, of course, a
standing embarrassment to everyone
who thinks of himself as a 21st
Century Man or Woman. The bizarre
infatuation with active retrogressive
devolution of society; the
psychopathic antipathy to women a
hostility so mired in simian ideation it
creates its own precedents when there
are none women cant drive cars;
women cant travel without a male
relative; beheading sorcerers;
beheading blasphemers; beheading
marijuana smugglers; beheading
homosexuals; prohibiting alcohol;
prohibiting cinemas. I mean, its
almost a world designed by Ted Cruz
for his imaginary Texas. No. I think
Obama wants to break the link to
Arabia and is deliberately snookering
the deliriously desperate nabobs of
nihilism into a self-immolating act that

will free the United States from the

stifling stigma of mere association
with Wahhabism.
Out of this roiling cauldron of
misbegotten recipes concocted
certainly by a British felon emanates
the aroma of imminent disaster. The
Egyptians are sending 2 battleships to
the Red Sea to protect the waters at
theBaab Al-Mandib Straits. Ooooh.
And, they have suggested the
amphibious landing of their troops to
further that aim. I wonder how the
first officer who lands is going to feel
when he sees ten thousand angry
Houthischarge his salient resembling
the angry mobs of Boxers made
famous in the movie The Sand
Pebbles? As they swarm over his
position, their saliva infused with the
restorative powers of Qaat, will he
curse PresidentSisi? Will he curse the
Saudis? Wouldnt it be nice if the

Russians delivered Yakhont ground-tosea missiles along with a complement

of Syrian technicians? Wouldnt that
be a hoot?
And what about the Jordanian army
being sent to help with the coalition?
The coalition! The Jordanian
government insists its not going to
encroach on Yemeni soil. So, what are
the Jordanians doing so far from their
mythical kingdom of Lilliput? Are the
Saudis so afraid of the Houthis they
need all this support? You betcha.
The Saudis are rightfully terrified that
the Houthis will reclaim the entire
area of Aseer and Tihaama. And why
shouldnt they? Most Saudis will greet
them more hospitably than they would
the leprous Wahhabis of the Najd. The
Houthis will be viewed as liberators in
the form of populists. Iran will further
expand its influence as the Saudi
royals soil their dishdaashas at the

very thought the apostates of Persia

have completed the encirclement of
the heresy the Saudi clan has imposed
on its own people and the Arab World.
Theocracy v. Theocracy. And may the
best man win.
In the meantime, the U.S. is
surreptitiously retooling its foreign
policy to both inaugurate a dtente
with Iran and to usher in a civilized
but cautious relationship with Syria.
In order to get their quantum of
wantum in Iraq (i.e. some bases)
Americans need the quietude of Iran
and Syria. They also need to keep the
Saudi dog far hence which is why
Obama is so determined to trip up the
Saudis in the quagmire of Yemen.
Some might argue that my hypothesis
makes no sense. Why would Iran look
aside at new U.S. bases in Iraq which
would threaten the countrys internal
system? Good question. What I am

saying is that the United States

prefers a powerful Iran which is
capable of maintaining order in the
Gulf as opposed to a rogue state,
like Saudi Arabia, fueling nihilistic
militants who are determined to wreak
havoc in the Western World and in the
Gulf. Efforts to curb Saudias
penchant for bankrolling terrorist
groups like ISIS have met with failure.
When the U.S. presses down on a
nerve, the Saudis recoil accusing the
U.S. of backpedaling. Its been very
frustrating for Obama to have to deal
with a Zionist State incapable of
bringing the tragedy of Palestine to a
close. It has been even more
frustrating trying to get the Saudis to
shut the faucet that nourishes
barbarians like ISIS.
The Saudis are embarking on an aerial
war similar to the one waged by Bill
Clinton against Serbia. Saudia thinks

it can break the will of the Houthis by

destroying infrastructure. That might
work if the Houthis just sit back and
do nothing but mope. History says
they dont just recline on their rugs
and chew Qaat. It is our prediction
here at SyrPer that the Houthis will
take the battle aggressively to the
Saudis in the north. They will attack
the very poorly trained and woefully
demoralized Saudi army or whatever
they claim is massing on the Yemeni
border. Expect widespread desertions
and (as new systems arrive), Saudi
bombers crashing into the mountains
of the Yemen. The Saudis have bitten
off more than they can chew. It is one
thing to funnel money to terrorists in
Syria. It is something wholly different
when you are the terrorist yourself.
ZAF

Read more at
http://syrianperspective.com/2015/03/
yemen-happy-arabia-about-to-makesaudi-arabia-veryunhappy.html#LlO0wbScD2VFReVx.99
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SKIP TO CONTENT
ABOUTCONTACTFAQ
AFRICA HOUSE, ARTICLES, PROPHET,
RASTAS
WHO ARE THESE MODERN DAY
EGYPTIANS? BY MOUSTAFA GADALLA
JUNE 27, 2010 DON JAIDE 60
COMMENTS
Moustafa Gadalla is an EgyptianAmerican independent Egyptologist,
who was born in Cairo, Egypt in 1944.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree
in civil engineering from Cairo
University.
Gadalla is the author of eleven

internationally acclaimed books about

the various aspects of the Ancient
Egyptian history and civilization and
its influences worldwide. He is the
chairman of the Tehuti Research
Foundationan international, U.S.based, non-profit organization,
dedicated to Ancient Egyptian studies.
From his early childhood, Gadalla
pursued his Ancient Egyptian roots
with passion, through continuous
study and research. Since 1990, he
has dedicated and concentrated all his
time to researching and writing.
Who are these Modern-day Egyptians?
The Islamic Siege of Egypt
Many people wonder about the
contrast between the highly civilized
society of ancient Egypt, and the
hapless, chaotic state of modern-day
Egypt. Modern-day Egyptians are also
loath towards their ancient history, as
if they dont belong to their ancient

Egyptian roots.
Because of such a contrast, many
people invent answers that have
absolutely no scientific and/or
historical basis whatsoever. Here are
some of the baseless statements:
The Moslem population of Egypt
(about 90%) are Arab settlers from the
Arab Peninsula (Saudi Arabia.) The
Christian population (about 10%) are
the true Egyptians, referred to as
Copts, and the descendants of the
ancient Egyptians.
The Moslem population of Egypt is of a
mixed blood, of ancient Egyptian and
the Arabs who invaded Egypt in 640
CE. The ancient Egyptian blood does
not exist anymore.
Read the article, The Christian Copts
of Egypt to find the true un-Egyptian
origin of the Christian population of
Egypt.
As for the Egyptian population status,

let us examine the worst turning point

in Egyptian history, which was the
invasion of Egypt by the nomadic
Arabs in 640 CE and the subsequent
Islamic siege of Egypt.
Jihad: The Islamic Terrorism
The nomadic invaders walked
unchallenged into a weakened country
(as a result of the Roman/Byzantine
occupation) that did not have an army
to defend its borders. When the
Romans (Byzantines) left, the gates
were wide open.
In the name of Islam, the nomadic
invaders forced both their religion
(Islam) and their language (Arabic) on
the hapless population of Egypt. The
strong grip of Islam has been, and still
is, the invisible dominating power in
Egypt.
Jihad is one of the pillars of Islam, and
it was by jihad that Islam spread
throughout the world. Jihad is stated

very clearly and unequivocally in the

Koran itself. Islamic jihad is an
obligation for every Moslem to
practice. The Koran specifies the
conditions of jihad, summarized as
follows:
Any Moslem must try to convert
others to Islam, and if they dont listen
to him (in other words, dont convert),
then he is allowed to kill their men
and enslave their women and
children, or enslave all of them.
Islamic jihad was the means by which
black Africans were enslaved and sold
worldwide.
Jihad is also allowed as a form of self
defense, or to use a common
expression, pre-emptive strike. In
other words, the Koran allows a
Moslem who feels threatened or that
his belief and way of life is
threatened by others, in any way
shape or form, to kill and destroy his

enemies in a jihad. This is a free-forall clause.

Any Moslem is allowed/authorized to
declare a jihad, against another bornMoslem, if in their view, the other
Moslem is not being a good Moslem
and can be killed or enslaved. This is a
free-for-all clause.
The Islamized Cancerous
Community/Country
The terror of Islamic jihad caused a
quick and massive conversion after
Mohammed gained power in the Arab
Peninsula. Yet the state of terror did
not end there. In Islam, a person
automatically becomes a Moslem
because his father is a Moslem. S/he
never has a choice. The Koran is very
clear, that if a Moslem apostate, s/he
is to be killed. As such, no born
Moslem has the luxury of
arguing/leaving his/her Islamic
birthright.

Lacking opposition, the Moslem

clergymen tell the population that
Islam is rational, logical, scientific, etc.
Contesting such claims is not allowed,
and is considered blasphemy,
punishable by death from any
Moslem. Witness the case of Salman
Rushdi, being a born Moslem, he
therefore does not have the luxury of
writing a book, which directly or
indirectly blemishes Islam. Salman
Rushdi is a wanted man, by any
Moslem, for he dared to write what
was construed as opposition to his
Islamic birthright.
The Rulers (Afrangi) and the Ruled
(Baladi)
The silent majority of Egyptians are
called (and they call themselves)
Baladi, meaning natives. The loud
minority of Egyptians (high
governmental officials, academicians,
journalists, and the self-proclaimed

intellectuals) are described by the

silent majority as Afrangi, meaning
foreigners.
The Afrangi are the Egyptian people
who compromised the Egyptian
heritage to gain high positions and
approval of foreign invaders of Egypt.
As a tool of foreign forces, like Arabs,
the Afrangi rule and dominate the
Baladithe natives. The Afrangi are,
like their foreign masters, arrogant,
cruel, and vain. After foreign forces
left Egypt, the Egyptian Afrangi
continued their role as the righteous
rulers.
It has been written and repeated, that
the Ancient Egyptians accepted the
domination of the Ptolemaic and
Roman rules, that they had willingly
changed their religious beliefs into
Christianity, and a short time later,
they willingly accepted Islam as a
substitute for Christianity. Accordingly,

many conflicting sides, who use

Ancient Egypt to promote eachs own
agenda, insist that the ancient religion
and traditions have died. The truth is
that they never died, and they
continue to survive within the silent
majoritythe Baladi people of Egypt.
Because of the ironclad control of
Islam over history writing since 641
CE, Moslem historians publicize that
Egyptians forgot their identity and
became a part of a big happy family
called Arabs. No one can dare
oppose the line that Islam saved
Egypt from previous Gahe-Liya
(ignorance era). As a result, we
witness an intellectual state of
terrorism that conceals realities into a
cloud of dust by the dominating
Afrangi Egyptians.
The Egyptian Baladi (natives) have
suffered from foreign rule (including
and especially the moslem/Arabs) for

about 2,000 years. They learned to

survive. They kept the old traditions
under a thin exterior of Islam, in order
to survive the foreigners and their
Egyptian Afrangi.
To grow up in Egypt, one is taught to
accept the Koran as the Book from
God. Both the Koran and the Bible
condemned ancient Egyptians beliefs
and the Pharaohs. No historical fact
can contradict the Koran. The whole
worlds knowledge of Ancient Egypt is
largely based on the biblical (koranic
as well) accounts of interaction
between the Hebrews and Egypt. And
as our view is mostly from these
sources, it is largely negative.
A conflict between historical facts and
religious convictions is very dangerous
indeed. Because of such religious fear
and intimidation, most fellow
Egyptians do not appreciate their own
ancient history, and as a result, they

suffer from a self-imposed identity

crisis. It is no wonder that the Ancient
Egyptian history is studied almost
exclusively by non-Egyptians.
The Arab (Islamic) Egyptian Police
State
Contrary to the popular notion that
Egypt is a secular state, its laws and
actions show otherwise. Most
oppressive measures go unnoticed in
the world public opinion. The
authorities of Egypt, at its highest
level, are engaged in a pitiful
campaign against indigenous
traditions. An example can be found in
a news item that was published in AlAhram (the largest newspaper in
Egypt), in their Friday edition of 21 Apr
2000. For Al-Ahram to publish this,
and similar items, on a regular basis,
is indicative of a scare tactic
campaign to terrorize the defenseless
population of Egypt.

The police department in Cairo

continued its efforts to find the
outlaws and those who practiced
magic, charlatanism, etc, when they
arrested a charlatan (61 years old)
who performs zars (exorcism, etc) at
her apartment in El Waylee, assisted
by another 8 persons. The article goes
on to say that the lady, whose name is
Sadeeka Hasan Mohammed Gad,
convinced her victims, especially
young women, of her ability to solve
their marital and health problems.
There were three of these young
women present at dawn when the
suspects were arrested.
This police operation was in
accordance with directives from the
First Lieutenant to the Interior (Police)
Ministry, who ordered the
intensification of finding people who
practice magic, etc.
The above is a sample of the activities

used to impose Islam on the people of

Egypt, and suppress the indigenous
beliefs of the Egyptians. In a
democracy, other peoples views and
actions dont need to make sense to
the thugs of the Egyptian Interior
(Police) Ministry.
Because of religious fear and
intimidation, the Baladi (silent
majority) Egyptians learned to
camouflage their ancient traditions
under an Islamic exterior. This is
described in their common saying,
playing with an egg (traditions) and a
stone (Islamic authority), so as not to
break the fragile egg with the
[tyranny] of the stone.
The Christian Copts of Egypt
Copt is derived from the Greek
rendering for an Egyptian. The Arabs,
after 640 CE, used that general term
to label the non-Moslems. As a result,
the term Copt took on a different

meaning by the 7th century.

Researchers of Ancient Egypt
assumed WRONGLY that the Christians
in Egypt (so-called Copts) are the
link between Ancient Egypt and our
present time. On the contrary, the
Christians in Egypt are NOT natives of
Egypt, but a foreign minority. This
situation is explained herein.
When Alexander died in 323 BCE, one
of his generals, Ptolemy, son of Lagus,
took charge under the nominal
rulership of Alexanders brother Philip
Arrhidaeus. Upon Philips death,
Ptolemy declared himself the ruler. His
actions initiated a Ptolemaic Dynasty.
Their new settlement, along the
Mediterranean coast, was
predominantly Greek, which was
officially described as being ad
Aegyptum, not in Aegypto, i.e. it was
an intrusion into an alien country.In
Alexandria, Greeks formed the bulk of

the population, followed in number by

the Jews.
Greek became the mother tongue of
the Jews in Egypt. Many Jews had
been imported as soldiers, even
before the arrival of the Ptolemies. For
example, the Persians had established
a Jewish garrison, as far south as the
island of Philae, which had left behind
some records in Aramaic.
When Palestine fell under the control
of Ptolemy I in 301 BCE, he brought
back Jewish mercenaries, who joined
the already-established communities
in Egypt. Unable to speak their native
tongue, Jews, living in Alexandria,
soon felt a need to translate their
sacred books into Greek. They
persuaded King Ptolemy II (285-247
BCE), to order a Greek translation of
the Bible.
The High Priest of Jerusalem sent 72
elders to Alexandria, six

representatives from each of the

twelve tribes of Israel, together with
an official copy of the Pentateuch.
They worked for 72 days to produce
the final copy of the Pentateuch in
Greek. Later, the other books of the
Old Testament were also translated
into Greek by others, and the whole
work became known as the
Septuagint, which means The Seventy.
Since the Greek text is older than the
Hebrew text, it was therefore adopted
as the Bible of the early Church.
Ptolemy compensated his mercenary
troops (Syrians, Greeks, Macedonians,
Persians and Hellenized Asiatics) by
giving them tracts of land among the
Egyptian population in towns near the
capitals of the provinces, into which
Egypt was divided.
These pockets of foreign settlements
are exactly where the Christian
population is concentrated in present-

day Egypt.
Romans & Early Christians in Egypt
When the Romans arrived in
Alexandria, they gave preferred
treatment to the Jews. Augustus
granted self-government to the
Hellenized Jews of Alexandria. This
caused great consternation among the
Greeks, who had lived there for a
longer period of time. The Romans
reinforced foreign settlement, by
bringing in more foreigners. The
Jewish colony in Alexandria is said to
have had a population of 1 million in
the 1st century CE.
Christianity arrived early in
Alexandria, from Judaea and Syria.
After all, Christianity is basically a
Judean offshoot. The Romans
encouraged and facilitated more
immigration from Syria to Egypt.
Christian Rampage
In 312 CE, Christianity was made the

official and only religion of the Roman

Empire. A short time later, the Roman
Empire split. Egypt became part of the
Eastern (or Byzantine) Empire in 323
CE.
The decree that there be only one
religious system (Christianity), and
that anything else is untrue, is
dictatorial. It allowed Christian
fanatics to destroy the native Egyptian
religious rights, properties, and
temples.
When Theophilus was made Patriarch
of Alexandria in 391 CE, he displayed
tremendous zeal in destroying ancient
Egyptian temples. A wave of
destruction swept over the land of
Egypt. Tombs were ravaged, walls of
ancient monuments scraped, and
statues toppled. In Alexandria, the
famous statue of Serapis was burned
and the Serapeum destroyed, along
with its library.

When Theophilus attempted to

convert a temple of Dionysus in
Alexandria into a church, rioting
between non-Christians and Christians
ensued, the former occupying the
great Serapeum. The subsequent
destruction of the temple was
shamelessly advertised by Christians
as symbolic of a great victory. It was a
folly of fanaticism in the name of
orthodoxy.
The same year (391 CE) saw the
beginning of legislation that aimed to
outlaw ancient Egyptian rites and to
close the temples. The laws helped
the fanatic Christians destroy other
temples.
No rational mind can accept that such
destructive behavior led to convince
people to convert to any religion
(Christianity), as advertised by the
fanatics, no matter how rational it
(Christianity) may appear to anyone.

The fanatic early Christians went on

appropriating ancient Egyptian
temples. In the 4th and 5th centuries,
many ancient temples on the west
bank of Ta-Apet(Thebes) were
converted into monastic centers.
Hatshepsuts Commemorative Temple
was converted into Deir (monastery)
el Bahari.
Ptolemy III Temple was converted into
Deir el Medina.
The Commemorative Temple of
Ramses III was given the Christian
name, Medinat Habu.
The Court of Amenhotep III in Luxor
Temple, on the east bank of TaApet(Thebes) was similarly violated.
In 415 CE under Theodosius II,
Patriarch Cyril expelled the Jews of
Alexandria from the city; and Hypatia,
the learned and beautiful
Neoplatonist, was cruelly murdered.
Christian mobs forcefully took a part

of the Temple of Het-Heru(Hathor) at

Dendera in the middle of the 6th
century CE, and built a new church,
which was constructed between the
Birth House and the Coronation
House, using some of the blocks from
the Birth House.
Similarly, in Khmunu(Hermopolis) a
Temple of Amon was occupied by
Christians and had part of its interior
turned into a chapel.
In addition to the violation of Ancient
Egyptian temples, the fanatic
Christians adopted a new script called
the Coptic language basically
demotic Egyptian written in Greek
characters with a few additional
letters from about 300 CE. A nonEgyptian alphabet was intended for
the use of those non-Egyptians who
were schooled in the Greek language.
This move had the effect of reemphasizing the cultural divide

between them and the true native

Egyptians.
The Greek characters are not any
easier than the Egyptian demotic
script, which is yet another indication
that the Church emphasis was on the
Greek-speaking population of
Alexandria, Fayoum, and a few other
colonies of foreigners.
Egyptian Demotic Script
Greek Script
There is no archaeological evidence,
outside Alexandria, to substantiate the
Christians overly exaggerated
popularity claims.
Accepting Christianity is to accept the
Bible, which condemns ancient Egypt
and establishes the Jews as Gods
chosen people. It is totally
incompatible with Egyptian history,
nature, and traditions.
Christian Family Feud
The history of the political and

doctrinal struggles within the Church

during and after the 4th century has
largely been written in terms of the
disputes over the nature of God and
Christ and the relationship between
them. A good deal of the turbulent
history of Egypt in the 4th, 5th, and
6th centuries can be understood in
terms of the struggles of the
successive (or, after 570 CE, coexisting) patriarchs of Alexandria to
maintain their position both within
their patriarchy and outside it, in
relation to Constantinople.
Monophysites had, from the first,
espoused a doctrine of Christ, which
placed the greatest possible emphasis
on his divinity, and came near to
denying that he had a human nature.
In 449 CE, Dioscurus, the patriarch of
Alexandria, refused to accept the
Byzantine Christian doctrine. He
believed that Christ is totally divine,

and that it is blasphemous to consider

Him human. And so, when the
orthodox theologians of Rome and
Constantinople agreed at the Council
of Chalcedon, in 451 CE, that Christ
was to be worshipped in two natures
inseparably united, the Monophysite
opposition contended that though
Christ could be out of two natures,
he could not be in two natures. The
depth of feeling involved is perhaps
best conveyed in the slogan of the
Monophysite bishops at Chalcedon,
which said, Throw out the Nestorians.
Christ is God. As a result, in 451 CE,
during the reign of the patriarch
Dioscorus, the Monophysite Church in
Egypt broke away from the Orthodox
Church, and elected its own patriarch.
Since the Council of Chalcedon in 451
CE, each of the two Churches had its
own separate patriarch and
administration. These parties were

distinguished by the familiar names

Jacobite and Melkite or Royalist.
The Jacobites were by creed
Monophysites, by race mainly, though
not exclusively people born in Egypt,
but of foreign descent (mistakenly
thought of as native Egyptians); while
the Melkites were orthodox followers
of Chalcedon and for the most part of
Greek or European origin.
The term Melkite, as employed in
Egypt, is of a Syriac origin, and there
is no anachronism in using it before
the Arab conquest. This is an
additional piece of evidence that the
early Christians were using Syriac
language and names, indicating their
origin to be Syria/Palestine and not
Egypt.
Syrian migration to Alexandria
constituted the bulk of the early
Christians in Egypt. They the
Christians in Egypt continue to

maintain physical and personal traits

that are very Syrian. It is easy for
native Egyptians, to this date, to
distinguish a Christian (so-called
Copt), just based on his/her body
language and features, which reflects
peculiar Syrian (non-Egyptian) traits.
The Persian Interlude (616-629 CE)
The spread of Persian power
throughout Syria culminated in the
conquest of Jerusalem (615 CE) and
Persian hostility to Christians, which
thrust more Syrian Christian refugees
westward to Alexandria.
The total chaos in Egypt eased the
path of the Persian conquerors to
Egypt in 616 CE. It took the Persians
three years to control Egypt and
Pentapolis.
The period of occupation was
concluded by a peace treaty and
Persian withdrawal in 628 CE, and the
return to Byzantine rule.

Cyrus: A Taste of their Own Medicine

(631-642 CE)
After the death of the Melkite Patriarch
George, Cyrus was sent as Imperial
Patriarch to Alexandria in 631 CE. He
was given both religious and civil
authority.
The double succession of pontiffs was
maintained, and it was the early policy
of Heraclius to bring about a
reconcilement between the two
Christian factions.
Cyrus first tried a compromise
between the two factions (Melkites
and Monophysites). The proposed
compromise backfired from both
stubborn groups.
Cyrus had to restore order, on behalf
of his Emperor, for the Monophysites
had terrorized and destroyed those
who merely didnt agree with their
fanatic interpretations. Cyrus
forcefully imposed the 451 Council of

Chalcedon decree.
Did Cyrus prosecute the
Monophysites, or did they ask for his
actions by rejecting him and his
authority? By extension, they had
been prosecuting the land and people
of Egypt (their host) for several
centuries, and ironically, Cyrus, the
Christian, gave them a taste of their
own medicine.
Christians Gift to Mohammed
In 627 CE, when Mohammed, the
Islam founder, consolidated his power
in the Arab Peninsula, and felt himself
strong enough to challenge the
submission of the rulers of the world
to Islam, his new religion, he caused
letters to be written to several
neighboring rulers, including letters to
George, wrongly called the Mukaukas,
governor of Alexandria and the
Melkite Viceroy of Egypt (621-631); to
Chosroes, King of Persia; and to

Heraclius, Emperor of the Romans. All

contained the same claim of
allegiance to Islam and to the Arabian
prophet as Vicegerent of the Most
High.
The Monophysites, who never had any
loyalty to their host country of Egypt,
manifested such disloyalty when the
Christian Viceroy of Egypt promised to
consider the message, and treated
Mohammeds envoy, Hatib, with all
honor. The Christian Viceroy sent back
with his reply some valuable presents,
which included two Christian maidens
(Mary and Shirin), the mule Duldul,
the ass Nafur, and a bag of money.
Mohammed, who already had nine
wives, fell in love with Mary. The
Christian Mary became Mohammeds
sweetheart and bore him a son. The
baby died under suspicious
circumstances. Mary died in 636 CE.
In December 639 CE, Amr ibn el-As set

out to conquer Egypt with a few

thousand men. His task was relatively
simple, because of the active support
of the Christian Monophysites, the socalled Copts.
After less than two years of fights and
political maneuvering between the
Arab invaders and the Byzantines,
Cyrus went to meet the Arab
commander at Babylon near Cairo,
and both signed a treaty on November
8, 641, which called for the total
withdrawal of Roman soldiers,
imposing a tribute of two dinars a
head on all able-bodied males, and a
tax on all landowners. The only parties
to the treaty were the Moslem Arabs
and the Christians, who passed along
a country that was not theirs.
History books end the glorious era of
Ancient Egypt at 640 CE, when the
Christians in Egypt sold it out to the
Moslem Arabs.

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 OLDER COMMENTS
. jzaidanFEBRUARY 27, 2011 AT
1:48 PM@JahdeyI assume you are
Negro (Black colour in Latin), since I
dont know what Sub-Saharan
nationality you are or which tribe you
belong to? Senegalese, Congolese,
Sudanese, Ugandan, Kenyan,
Tanzanian, Namibian, etc. Are from
Rwanda? Or are you a Hutu or Tutsi?
Are you Masai? I have NO IDEA.
However, I have made it clear that I
am Misri or Egyptian. NOT an
AARAAB. I believe already explained
that in an earlier post.REPLY
. JahdeyFEBRUARY 28, 2011 AT
9:02 AMTurkiI told you before that we
do not humour trash talkers. You need
to talk your disgusting self and move
over to some Turkic websites where
you can scratch each others balls and
tell old wife Turkic tales to one
another.You demonstrated a painful

ignorance of Kemit Egypt, given that

you had no idea that Kemitians called
themselves Kememu (the black
people) and went off on a ramble
about silt sand, and black earth.You
blew it when you demonstrated that
you had no clue of the fact that
ancient Greeks called the ancient
Egyptians Melanopodes, black feet
people. I had asked you a simple
question before, do you Turkis have
black fee or pink feet?Then you
claimed you was now Amazigha
without realizing that Amazigh people
were the people of ancient Kemit. The
Amazighs are more related to the
Capsian culture which arose in Kenya,
East Africa. Last time I checked Kenya
was a black African nation. The Turks
originated in Turkemensitan.Then you
made a bigger fool of yourself by
hurriedly copying and pasting
Wikipedia article on Amazigh.

Ignoramus, we asked you for scholarly

peer reviewed article, and it appears
you have no clue what that really
means.Genetically the Amazighs are
PN2 clade Y-DNA. They are squarely
Africans who carry an African-specific
range of Y-DNA from E3A to E3B, to a
dash of R1*, J1, K2 and YAP+. The
ancient Egyptians on the other hand
were mostly E3A Y-DNA. That means
that they were related with the
tropical Africans of today.You did not
realize that the Badarian culture was
established by Black Muurish African
Nilotics. You did not have any clue
that Nubians and ancient Egyptians
were one people. Abu Simel, the land
of the Nubian Kemitians hosted all the
most spectacular and important
temples of Kemit throughout its
history.Here is what scientists say:1)
Genetic continuum of the Nubians
with their kin in southern Egypt is

indicated by comparable frequencies

of E-V12 the predominant M78
subclade among southern Egyptians.
(Hassan et al. (2008). Y-chromosome
variation among Sudanese)2) Overall,
when the Egyptian crania are
evaluated in a Near Eastern (Lachish)
versus African (Kerma, Jebel Moya,
Ashanti) context) the affinity is with
the Africans. The Sudan and Palestine
are the most appropriate comparative
regions which would have donated
people, along with the Sahara and
Maghreb. Archaeology validates
looking to these regions for population
flow (see Hassan 1988) Egyptian
groups showed less overall affinity to
Palestinian and Byzantine remains
than to other African series, especially
Sudanese. S. O. Y. Keita, Studies and
Comments on Ancient Egyptian
Biological Relationships, History in
Africa 20 (1993) 129-543) There is

now a sufficient body of evidence from

modern studies of skeletal remains to
indicate that the ancient Egyptians,
especially southern Egyptians,
exhibited physical characteristics that
are within the range of variation for
ancient and modern indigenous
peoples of the Sahara and tropical
Africa.. In general, the inhabitants of
Upper Egypt and Nubia had the
greatest biological affinity to people of
the Sahara and more southerly areas.
(Nancy C. Lovell, Egyptians, physical
anthropology of, in Encyclopedia of
the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt, ed.
Kathryn A. Bard and Steven Blake
Shubert, ( London and New York:
Routledge, 1999) pp 328-332)You will
be academically murdered on this
website Turki, because you aer picking
on people who have more education,
more cognition, more exposure than
you will ever have in one thousand life

times. And really, no one here wants

to waste time on you because your
level is very very basic. You mis-match
elementary terms, you are confused
by names and concepts, you mess up
timelines, and tell outright lies when
you are stuck.Now, take your raw pink
racist Turkish ass and go to some
library and update you knowledge.
And while you are at it, beg your
grand-dada to tell you the truth of
your real origins. Tell him you heard
the truth from Rasta Livewire and
you are in shock.Welcome to Rasta
Livewire we are electric we shock
and burn ignorance!REPLY
. karibkweenFEBRUARY 28, 2011
AT 10:54 AMWe must be careful not to
fall for European tricks. The T/Damazigh and Taureg may speak the
same language (Tamasheq) but they
are clearly of different ancestry.
Maybe back in the day they were

identifiable as one people but that is

clearly not the case today. Tupak
Shakur was Tuareg/African he looked
nothing like present day so-called
Amazigh. If we accept that the
Amazighs in their current
configuration are the original North
Africans then we fall right into the
European trap of an outside civilizing
force (White) for the inhabitants of
the African continent.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Touare
g-blacksmith.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tuareg
_3.JPG
http://ageddim.jeeran.com/archive/20
07/12/399801.htmlREPLY
. JahdeyFEBRUARY 28, 2011 AT
1:21 PMEmpressMaybe I did not speak
clearly enough for my Turkish friend. I
apologise. The fact that Tamazight
people are black Muurish Africans
cannot be contested by any sane

person. There are more than enough

articles on this site dealing with that
issue. It is settled and done.My Turkic
friend was making allusions to the
Kabyles of Northern Morrocco. DNA
has shown that this tribe of Tamazight
people derive their genes partly from
Gothic Europe. Many Kabyles carry
some Gothic blood line as a result of
Vandal invasion of North Africa in the
5th century AD.The rest of the
Tamazight people are black Muurish
Africans. They derive from the ancient
Saharans and the Capsian culture of
Kenya. Empress, only black Africans
can live in the Sahara desert, inside
Africa for 10,000 years. Who are they
fooling? Skin cancer would have
destroyed any pink flesh hanging
around in the Sahara that long.All to
say, that we entertained our Turkic
friend there out of a need to educate
ones like him whose heads are still

filled with empty blusters and rank

ignorance. He was made an example
to educate other blind and dumb ones
like him. In the normal course of
things, we do not respond to such
base ignorance and disgusting
speech. But sometimes, the I and the I
must have to kill cramp and paralyze
the bad and the weak heart
conception that seek to continue the
shitstem.One love. Peace out!Jahdey
REPLY
. fabbeyondJANUARY 17, 2015 AT
4:23 AMI FEEL like I am in the twilight
zone so much information and I have
so much question so my apologize if I
am asking to many questionsbut is it
not possible that garments were used
to protect them from the sun like the
pale people in north Africa wear
today? any links I can read on pale
people coming to NA by invasion .
. Lara MoutyJANUARY 12, 2016 AT

7:34 AMOh my god the part about

jehad is so wrong jehad was an
obligation only in these old days to
save people from slavery and in the
Islamic state if u didnt convert to
Islam u would pay an amount of
money and practice ur religion freely
and people would treat u the same .So
the part about killing their men and
enslaving their women is so wrong
and the proof is that women have a
really high state in Islam and Muslims
or Arabs who beat up their wives or
kids are violent people and do not
represent Arabs or Muslims
. fabbeyondJANUARY 17, 2015 AT
4:18 AMmaybe you can help me outI
was talking to a professor at my
school and he said quote why are
Nubians depicted darker than
Egyptians when Egyptians depicted
them if they were of the exact same
appearance or race.The other

problem is, youre assuming no

interbreeding between Nubians and
people of a different appearance until
after the start of the Old Kingdom.
Thats a very long time, and is also
improbable that those groups didnt
interact with people like Semitic
peoples.Is there a possibility that the
ancient people of khamit were not
100% black african but were mixed
with black african near easterns and
Mediterranean peopleCould 5,000
15,000 thousands Arabs , Greeks
Turks Romans change the genetic
make up of a population in about the
millions ?What was the group number
figure of foreigners that invaded
khamit ?Do you see the language as a
cousin to ArabicSomilan , Chinese ,
CopticDo you agree these are Afro
Asiatic languages(including the
language the ancient people of khamit
spoke)Do you agree that other groups

were helping to bring input to this

society
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sea
ted_ScribeIm talking about before
invasions is it possible that the pre
dynastic king line would be from
outside groupswhat s the history/truth
about outside influencesthanks in
aheadREPLY
. karibkweenFEBRUARY 28, 2011
AT 12:50 PMThe Amazigh contend that
they were responsible for the
innovation or invention of the Lute like
instrument. Well the people of West
Africa have been playing the Kora for
millennia, we know its their invention
because the calabash is of African
origin, specifically of sub-tropical
Africa, so how is it that the North
African Amazigh brought that
knowledge to the West African
people?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calabash#

Origin_and_dispersalIt is a mystery as
to how a species of African Calabash
became domesticated in the
Americas; its even proposed that it
drifted across the Bering Strait despite
the fact that its a sub-tropical species,
all because Euro-scientist have
determined that America was first
colonized by Asians or Europeans.
Despite the fact that the Olmec
present themselves as negroid.
http://bafsudralam.blogspot.com/2009
/01/west-african-calabashcalendars.htmlREPLY
. hariseldonFEBRUARY 28, 2011
AT 5:03 PM@Jahdey (aka wannabe
supernigger)You made an example out
of no one. Except yourself. That you
dont even have chocolate salty balls.
Our ancient Egyptian forefathers were
wrong about two things: that the Nile
flowed downward and that the Nile
Delta was South, while our neighbours

the Kushite Nubians(Sudanese) were

to our North. The Egyptians never
ever considered that rivers could flow
upstream. The second item was that
they thought Egypt was part of the
Asian continent and bordered North
Africa, which they called MESHEWSH.
It is from the Old Egyptian Hieratic
appellation MESHEWSH, which the
Greeks adapted as MAZYES that the
appellations MAZIGH & TA-MAZGHA
are directly derived. TA-MAZGHA is the
indigenous geographical NAME of
North Africa. From Ta-mazgha comes
the appellation of the Amazigh(Berber) people (plural being Imazighen) and the A-mazigh(Berber)
language called Ta-mazight. It is ALL
rooted in the ancient Egyptian Hieratic
geographic name of North Africa
which is MESHEWSH.Tamazgha is the
indigenous geographic appellation of
North Africa which was derived from

the Hellenic adaptation MAZYES from

our Hieratic MESHEWSH.the Amazigh
Berbers are the first peoples of
Africa between 3 Million to 700,000 BC
Achaulean culture the Amazighs or
Berbers were Cro-magnons or Aterian
Race (Atlantico-Mediterranean Race)
originated from 200,000 years they
left north africa(Ibero-Mauresian
expansion of the upper Paleolithic era)
and returned after they beginning to
conquer Europe again to 80,000
-30.000 years there was a great
migration back to Europe/Eurasia from
North Africa, taking care of large
populations of North Africa called
Amazigh (Atlantico-Mediterranean
Race) or they found other North
African civilizations and new
expansion to the Mesolithic and
Neolithic ages to the Middle East and
the Horn of Africa, their migration to
these new destinations cause small

unknown civilizations before the

Neolithic age in the middle of the
Sahara between Africa and the Middle
East on giving birth to Afro-Asian
languages such as Semitic
languages,ancient Egyptian. influence
by the language of the Capsian
expansion appoint Tamazight
language which is the mother
language of Afro-Asian and Latin
languages and Berber languages.
origin civilization of Berbers
population :inferior Paleolithic :
Achaulean civilization 1.7Million years
First burials Paleolithic-700.000 years
Mesolithic expansion of Capsian north
Africans towards Horn African and the
Middle-EastGenetics Evidence :Berber
Haplotype E1b1b1related to CT and
DE & his parallel mutations of CF..&
specific berber mtDNA type
:haplotype X, L(M,N) (U*U5)U6 of
north african originE1b1b Haplogroup

(Berber Marker,E3b) is common in

Mediterranian people (Iberia, south
europe, Asia minor(Anatolians), North
Africa usualy the population of
Mediterranean sea coastsE1b1b is
found in various forms in the Horn of
Africa, North Africa, the
Mediterranean, Europe, the Middle
East.(E1b1b1 DNA forum)North African
Amazighs/Berbers are of
predominantly Sub-Mediterranean.
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of
North Africa. They are discontinuously
distributed from the Atlantic to the
Siwa oasis in Egypt, and from the
Mediterranean to the Niger River. They
speak various Berber languages,
which together form ancient prehistoric langauges closely to ancient
proto-egyptian, Minoan, Ligurian, and
Elymian languages, of the AtlanticoMediteranean language family.
Between eighteen and fourty-five

million Berber speakers live within this

region, most densely in Morocco and
becoming generally scarcer eastward
through the rest of the Maghreb and
beyond.Many Berbers call themselves
some variant of the word Imazighen
(singular Amazigh), meaning free
men. This is common in Morocco, but
elsewhere within the Berber homeland
a local, more particular
term.Historically Berbers have been
variously known, for instance as
Libyans by the ancient Greeks,as
Numidians and Mauri by the Romans,
and as Moors by medieval and early
modern Europeans.The best known of
them were the Roman author
Apuleius, the Roman emperor
Septimius Severus, and St. Augustine,
During the pre-Roman era, several
successive Independent States
(Massaesyles, Massyles, Moors etc)
existed before the king Massinissa

unified the people of Numidia.

According to Arab historians of the
Middle Ages, the Berbers are divided
into two branches, two are from their
ancestor Mazigh. In sum, the two
branches Botr and Barns are also
divided into tribes. each Maghreb
region is made up of several tribes.
The large Berber tribes or peoples are
Sanhadja, Houaras, Zenata,
Masmouda, Kutama, Awarba,
Berghwata etc. Each tribe is divided
into sub tribes. All these tribes have
independence and territorial
decisions.Several Berber dynasties
have emerged during the Middle Ages
to the Maghreb, Sudan, in Andalusia,
Italy, in Mali, Niger, Senegal, Egypt
etc.. Ibn Khaldun has a table
summarizing the Maghreb dynasties
whose Berber Dynasties: Zirid, Banu
Ifran, Maghrawa, Almoravid,
Hammadid, Almohad, Merinid,

Abdalwadid, Wattasid , Meknassa, ,,

Hafsides dynasties.REPLY
. JahdeyFEBRUARY 28, 2011 AT
6:14 PM^Blah..blah..blah.. cut and
paste from wikipedia. Lol. I will show
you how the original North Africa
Berbers painted themselves 6,000
years ago. Melanopode, black feet
people.Go here:
http://wysinger.homestead.com/fresqu
e2.jpgThere you will find the picture of
a Muurish Berber hunter black and
magnificient, looking like many
modern west Africans, about 5.5 feet
in height, holds an arrow in his right
hand and a heavy bow in the left in
Tassili n Agger, Algeria, 6000 B.C.The
Berbers, and the black Badarians of
Egypt 6000 years ago:
http://nubianart.net/nubian/prehistory-africa-the-badarian-culture/
That was before you Turkis left
Turkmenistan.Case closed.REPLY

. karibkweenMARCH 1, 2011 AT
4:03 PMthe Amazigh Berbers are
the first peoples of Africa between 3
Million to 700,000 BCDoes this mean
the Amazigh are Neandertal?Homo
sapiens Idaltu, the first homo sapien
according to anthropologists is only
known to have existed less than
200kya in South Africa and the Afar
region of modern day Ethiopia; so
from whom did your ancestors
descend?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_sapi
ens_idaltuAre there Tamasheq
speakers in Abyssinia and South
Africa?Also to the ancestors of the
ancient Egyptians the Nile flowed
down from the top of the world which
was identified with the equator, the
point where the days and nights are
virtually the same length everywhere
on the planet twice annually. The
same people who began figuring time

at O degrees latitude, founded their

colony on the banks of the Nile at the
Syene/Elephantine/Aswan, the Tropic
of Cancer the position of the autumnal
equinox at 23.5 degrees.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equinox
REPLY
. DanielDECEMBER 30, 2011 AT
10:11 PMIs it just me or does all of this
Afrocentric viewpoint that ancient
Egyptians were of dark skin seem
similar to dogmatic religions? It just
seems to me that they need
something to hold on to. For example
Muslims will always quote Maurice
bucaille or Keith Moore for the
scientific miracles found in the quran.
As Muslims quote Keith Moore, you
guys quote cheikh anta diop. And
jzaidan had a good point when he
talked about double standards. You
cant quote some one like Herodotus
when you say Greeks altered history.

(btw I agree to some extent). People

need to do their own research and
stop having to quote the people who
come up witha certain theory. I myself
am cauc Asian and I have studied and
looked into this theory that blacks or
moors were the original people of kmt.
REPLY
. DanielDECEMBER 30, 2011 AT
10:20 PMBy the way people please
dont take my previous post in the
wrong way, I was simply exppressing
my opinion as to what I see of all of
this. (summed up) I am not convinced
thats all I have to say.REPLY
. DanaJANUARY 20, 2012 AT 9:22
PMRegardless if modern Northern
Egyptians have certain genetic
components traceable back to the
pharaonic Egyptians we certainly
know where those pharaonic
components were derived and what
they were related to. Scientific studies

(most of which are not afro-centric

show strong genetic ties of modern
northern Egyptians and north Africans
to the Levant. Ancient Egyptians may
have contributed to modern northern
Egyptians to an extent, like peoples of
the Levant and Europe have, but
obviously North Africans are the result
of an genetic amalgamation of people
which doesnt in anyway change the
nature of what the original people
Khemtiu were and where they came
from.Here are some simple
SCIENTIFICALLY-BASED FACTS to
remember about ancient North Africa
before you submit any unqualified,
opinions, based on wishful-thinking
and nationalism. Both early and
modern physical anthropologists
including those basing their findings
on genetic determinants, have already
discovered the following about the
ancient i.e. original occupants of

Egypt:Thus a noted Egyptologist

remarked ..sample populations
available from northern Egypt from
before the 1st Dynasty (Merimda,
Maadi and Wadi Digla) turn out to be
significantly different from sample
populations from early Palestine and
Byblos, suggesting a lack of common
ancestors over a long time. If there
was a south-north cline variation
along the Nile valley it did not, from
this limited evidence, continue
smoothly on into southern Palestine.
The limb-length proportions of males
from the Egyptian sites group them
with Africans rather than with
Europeans. (Barry Kemp, Ancient
Egypt Anatomy of a Civilisation.
(2005) Routledge. p. 54)Modern
people of the Levant are for the most
part Eurasian not African. They have
greatly influenced North African
populations. Some recent studies

show that a large proportion of the

populations of the present day Berberspeakers are of Near Eastern rather
than African descent.Ancient
Egyptians and modern Egyptians may
share certain features. But ancient
Egyptians dont share the same
commonalisties with Eurasians that
northern Egyptians and northern
Berbers do. Period.As well, Intralimb
indices are not significantly different
between Egyptians and American
Blacks Many of those who have
studied ancient Egyptians have
commented on their characteristically
tropical or African body plan
(Warren, 1897; Masali, 1972; Robins,
1983; Robins and Shute, 1983, 1984,
1986; Zakrzewski, 2003). Egyptians
also fall within the range of modern
African populations Raxter & Ruff et
al. Stature estimation in ancient
Egyptians Am J Phys Anthropol.

2008,136(2):147-55Now you can

pretend that modern Eurasians have
tropical body plans if you want to. Feel
free! : )But know this ancient
Egyptians unlike modern North
Africans, WERE NOT closely linked to
modern Levant populations or other
modern Eurasian populations.Know
too that science has already shown
the following:1- that pharaonic era
Egyptians were a rather homogeneous
group displaying an impressive unity
up until the time of the Ptolemaic
Greeks, AFTER WHICH TIME that
homogeneity ceased to exist, and
significant differences in the
population become discernible in the
skeletal and cranial evidence
(especially in the northern Egyptian
population). Studies that have
concluded that fact, are based on nonmetric variants of crania i.e. genetic
determinants. And that fact was never

again to be challenged by any

anthropologist or forensic
anthropologist with common sense.In
studies done over the past several
decades the ancient Egyptians from
North to South (pre-Greco-Roman era)
have shown a clear link to NEOLITHIC
Nubians, and those at Gizeh clustered
closely with the Jebel Moya population
of South-Central SUDAN as well as
Badarians, UNLIKE peoples heavily
influenced by Eurasians such as
TODAYS mostly northerly or Coastal
North Africans i.e. ALEXANDRIANS,
PEOPLE OF CAIRO, TIZI-OUZOU,
TRIPOLI, THE MOROCCAN RIF,
ETCETERA. (See Berry, A.C. and Berry,
Origins and relationships of the
ancient Egyptians. Based on a Study
of non-metrical variations in the skull
American Journal of Physical
Anthropology 1976. Greene, D. L.
Dental (1972). Anthropology of early

Egypt and Nubia. Journal of Human

Evolution, 1. Greene, D.L. (1967).
Dentition of a Mesolithic population of
Wadi Halfa Sudan. Angel, J. L. (1972).
Biological relations of Egyptian and
eastern Mediterranean populations,
during predynastic and dynastic
times. Journal of human Evolution, 1,
pp. 307-313.)2 the forensic skeletal
and cranial evidence shows that the
Egyptians of the Pharaonic era CAN
NOT BE DISTINGUISHED from modern
peoples of the Horn. As the SCIENTIST
Alain Froment not too long ago
asserted Black populations of the
Horn of Africa (Tigr and Somalia) fit
well into Egyptian variations.
(Froment, Alain,Origines du
peuplement de lgypte ancienne:
lapport de lanthropobiologie, ArchoNil 2 (Octobre 1992), 79-98) The
French biological anthropologist and
medical doctor Alain Froment is also a

critic of Afrocentric writers, so if one

wants to pretend that Ethiopians and
Somalis are not black, they can go
right ahead.The findings of Alain
Froment and other scholars are in line
with those of earlier physical
anthropologists and Egyptologists,
including many bigots, who had
discovered that the skeletons of the
pharaonic period consistently were of
a type that could not be distinguished
from modern Beja, Tigrai, Somalians
and Ethiopians.This quote from 1867
by a founding father of Egyptology
Champollion-Figeac The first tribes
that inhabited Egypt that is, the Nile
Valley between the Syene cataracts
and the sea, came from Abyssinia to
Sennar. The ancient Egyptians
belonged to a race quite similar to the
Kennous or Barabras, present
inhabitants of Nubia. In the Copts of
Egypt WE DO NOT FIND ANY OF THE

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF THE

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN POPULATION. The
Copts are the result of crossbreeding
with all the nations that have
successively dominated Egypt . It is
wrong to seek in them the principal
features of the old race. From Letters
published by Champollion-Figeac
(Founding Egyptologist).(In fact
Champollion was probably more
familiar with the mainly Greekdescended Copts, rather than the dark
complexioned southern Egyptian
ones.)Also written by Jean Francois
Champollion Dr. Larrey investigated
this problem in Egypt; he examined A
LARGE NUMBER of mummies, studied
their skulls, recognized the principle
characteristics, tried to identify them
in the various races living in Egypt,
and succeeded in doing so. The
Abyssinian seemed to him to combine
them all, except for the black race.

Now, if you would like to pretend like

Dr. Larrey and European peoples of his
day that the Abyssinians were not a
black population go right ahead. : )
2. SCIENTISTS HAVE ALSO FOUND
THAT The Haratin populations of the
Sahara groupings turned out to be the
living people with the closest ABO
blood group serology to ancient
Egyptians. This information is now
well known and widespread on the
internet. (ABO Typing of Ancient
Egyptians In _Population biology of
ancient Egyptians_, edited by D.R.
Brothwell and B.A. Chiarelli, London,
New York, 1973, p. 464.)But, if you
want to pretend that the Haratin are
not black thats up to you.3. BTW
the hair on the head of the ancient
Egyptians has been found to be
similar to and within the range of
Ethiopians, Beja, Fulani, Tibu etc. as
well as Tasmanians. The

mummification process used by

ancient AFRICANS straightened the
hair of such people as it would any
other sub-Saharan originated African.
Brothwell and Spearman (1963)
analyzed many Egyptian mummy
hairs and found that the keratin
forming the hair follicles had
experienced significant oxidation
(damage), which they attributed to
chemicals used in the mummification
process; oxidation of keratin can
cause both texture changes and
discoloration.Death as well as the
mummification process is also a wellknown major factor cause of dark
pigmented black or dark brown hair
turning red or orangish auburn etc in
color as in certain mummies of not
only ancient Egypt, but ancient Peru
and other places around the world.As
for red hair in certain ancient AFRICAN
PHARAOHS please note that

ACCORDING TO SCIENCE All hair

contains a mixture in varying
concentration of both black-brown
eumelanin and red-yellow
phaeomelanin pigments, which are
susceptible to differential chemical
change under certain extreme burial
conditions (for example wet reducing
conditions, or dry oxidising
conditions). Importantly,
phaeomelanin is much more stable to
environmental conditions than
eumelanin, hence the reactions
occurring in the burial environment
favor the preservation of
phaeomelanin, revealing and
enhancing the red/ yellow color of
hairs containing this pigment. Color
changes occur slowly under dry
oxidising conditions, such as in the
burials in sand at Hierakonpolis.
Whether the conditions within the
wood and plaster coffin contributed to

accelerated color change, or whether

this individual naturally had more
phaeomelanin pigmentation in his hair
is hard to say without further
analysis. From Archaeology
Magazines website by a doctor and
hair specialist from OXFORD
UNIVERSTIY Director of the Dept of
Archaeology undertaking research in
Hierankopolis.Phaeomelanin in the
hair doesnt mean it was outwardly
RED!Also other embalming specialists
claim, Sun-exposure, bacterial
reaction, and embalming methods are
some of the factors that may affect
the original hair colour. As a result,
hair that was originally black or brown
exhibits reddish, orange or even blond
colour due to post mortem alterations.
All human hair, however, does not
turn red over archaeological timescales (Wilson, 2001). from C.
Papageorgopoulou et al. 2008.

Indications of embalming in Roman

Greece by physical, chemical and
histological analysis. Journal of
Archaeological Science
doi:10.1016/j.jas.2008.07.0
Predynastic Badarian hair turned out
to have an average index range that
was from more kinky than that of a
modern San African and that of a Zulu
55 to the average of a Tasmanian
(64.70). The majority of studies have
shown the ancient Egyptians on
average also fell within that range. On
the other hand, Europeans and Asians
have a range that is usually 71 and
higher. The average index for wavy
hair to straight hair among Europeans
however is closer to 75 range and
upwards.Furthermore, Two years was
found to be the maximum duration of
Caucasian hair buried underground.
(p.8) Rogers Spencer Lee, Personal
Identification from Human Remains

1987.Nevertheless, if you want to

pretend the San, Zulu and Tasmanians
type hair is not found on black heads,
go right ahead.4. East Africans who
were the ancestors of the original
Berbers are not Caucasians i.e.
Europeans/Euasians in case you
didnt know it.Although Somali and
Beja c people who were first called
Berbers by the Greeks, absorbed Turks
and other non-African groups mainly
during the Ottoman era, there is
actually little to show for it among
Somalis.Some important scholarship
has recently concluded the latter show
very little connection to modern
Eurasians i.e. Caucasians. The
results of a population survey on
blood group distribution in Somalia,
East Africa, are presented. Over 1,000
subjects were tested for most blood
groups included in the survey. The
sampling covered the whole country

and was well in accordance with the

population density as estimated by
the recorded birth places of the
subjects. Altogether, 46 blood group
antigens were tested, partly common
antigens within 11 of the major blood
group systems, but also infrequent
and very frequent antigens, some not
tested before in Africa, were included.
The results were compared with the
available data for other related
peoples and for populations from the
same geographical area. The standard
genetic distances were also applied in
the comparison. The results suggest
that only a minor component in the
genetic constitution of the Somali
population can be ascribed to
Caucasian admixture. They are
markedly in contrast with some earlier
findings. During the survey we
observed a previously unknown Rh
gene complex occurring with a

polymorphic frequency in Somalis.P.

Sistonend, J. Koistinena, Aden
Abdulleb. (1987) Distribution of Blood
Groups in the East African Somali
Population.In Human Heredity.
37(5):300-3135. Mesolithic and
Neolithic north Africans show little
resemblance to modern Europeans
and were likely related to Natufians
and East Africans of Capsian type as
well as modern sub-Saharans of West
and East Africa..According to
specialists There are striking
resemblances between the preagricultural Capsians and the
Natufians who are considered to
extend from 10,500-300+200 BC in
the Near East and Camps-Fabrer
(1999) argues that the Natufians gave
rise to Capsian culture, although the
mechanisms of this process are not
spelled out. (p. 177.). From Blench, R.
(2001) Types of Language Spread and

their archaeological correlates: The

example of Berber Estratto da Origini
Preistoria E Protostoria Dell civilta
antiche XXIII 2001Did you figure out
where you you fit in? : )Other
SCIENTISTS SAY Saharan genetic
lineages (affiliated with the Ychromosome PN2 clade; Underhill et
al. 2001) have spread through Egypt
into the Near East, the Mediterranean
area, and, for some lineages, as far
north as Turkey (E3b-M35 Y lineage;
Cinniog?luet al. 2004; Luis et al.
2004), probably during several
dispersal episodes since the Mesolithic
(Cinniog?lu et al. 2004; King et al.
2008; Lucotte and Mercier 2003;Luis
et al. 2004; Quintana-Murci et al.
1999; Semino et al. 2004; Underhill et
al.2001). This finding is in agreement
with morphological data that suggest
that populations with sub-Saharan
morphological elements were present

in northeasternAfrica, from the

Paleolithic to at least the early
Holocene, and diffused northwardto
the Levant and Anatolia beginning in
the Mesolithic. Indeed, the rare and
incompletePaleolithic to early
Neolithic skeletal specimens found in
Egyptsuch asthe 33,000-year-old
Nazlet Khater specimen (Pinhasi and
Semal 2000), the WadiKubbaniya
skeleton from the late Paleolithic site
in the upper Nile valley (Wendorfet al.
1986), the Qarunian (Faiyum) early
Neolithic crania (Henneberg et al.
1989;Midant-Reynes 2000), and the
Nabta specimen from the Neolithic
Nabta Playasite in the western desert
of Egypt (Henneberg et al. 1980)
show, with regard tothe great African
biological diversity, similarities with
some of the sub-Saharanmiddle
Paleolithic and modern sub-Saharan
specimens. This affinity pattern

betweenancient Egyptians and subSaharans has also been noticed by

several otherinvestigators (Angel
1972; Berry and Berry 1967, 1972;
Keita 1995) and has beenrecently
reinforced by the study of Brace et al.
(2005), which clearly shows thatthe
cranial morphology of prehistoric and
recent northeast African populations is
linked to sub-Saharan populations
(Niger-Congo populations). Cranial
Discrete Traits in a Byzantine
Population and Eastern Mediterranean
Population MovementsF.. Ricaut, and
M. WaelkensEl Maqrisi of the 15th
century left to posterity this useful
information:Know that the land of
Egypt when the Mussulmans entered
it, was fullof Christians, but divided
amongst themselves in two sects,
BOTH AS TO RACE AND RELIGION.The
one part was made up of men about
the court and public affairs, all Greek,

from among the soldiers of

Constantinople, the seat of
government of Rum; their views as
well as their religion, were all of them
Melkite; and their number was above
300 000, all Greeks.The other portion
was the whole people of Egypt, who
were Qibt, and were of mixed descent;
among whom one could not
distinguish Qibt from Abysinian,
Nubian or Israelite; and they were all
Jacobites. Some of them were writers
in government offices, others were
merchants and tradesmen, others
were bishops and prsbyters and such
like, others were tillers of the land in
the country, while others were of the
class of servants and domestics. But
between these and the Melkiteruling
population, marriages were not
allowed, from mutual hatred ofeach
other, often carried to murders on
either side. by Al Maqrizi translated

in the book The Sheikh and Imam

Taqi-ed-din El-Maqrizi of Cairo family
FROM BAALBEK, History of the Copts
and of their Church.Thus up until 600
years ago the Greek Copts and the
native Egyptian Copts were
distinguishable and apparently not
getting along too well due to their
different ethnic or racial origins.As
for the opinion about what ancient
Egyptians looked like. Well, some
dont line up exactly with those of
early European specialists in art
history.In 1809 the Italian art society
said The Egyptians, though healthy,
large and robust were clumsy in their
forms and course in their features.
Like other African tribes they were
woolly haired, flat-nosed and thick
lipped, and if not absolutely black
were very near it in color. From the
Publication Specimens of Ancient
Sculpture Society of Dilettanti Vol 1, .

In 1939 the pseudoanthropologist

even Carleton Coon spouted the
type of certain Pharaohs, like Ramses
II, appears related to the Abyssinian
type. Quote found in, The Races of
Europe, Macmillan, 1939 p. 96
University of PennsylvaniaSo, to each
his own.Ancient Khemitiu were related
to sub-Saharan Africans so called
blacks. Thats what they were. Like
them or leave them alone. : )REPLY
. RaJANUARY 26, 2012 AT 4:21 PM
Here is a video link of man from Egypt
who tells the truth about the real
Egyptians are blackevery one should
look at this it will clear up for the ones
who said ancient Egypt is not
black..>>>http://m.youtube.com/inde
x?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US#/watch?
v=t4gVs0OVs2YREPLY
. CopticsistuhAPRIL 10, 2013 AT
6:25 PMwow everyones comments are
very enlightening, i enjoyed reading

them all and laerned alot..i am a

coptic christian, i know we are all
mixed race and i know we are not
arabs. i do believe we have african in
our blood along the lines.i always get
mistaken for an eritrean, i have
cousins that are dark skinned with
curly hair, i have cousins that are light
skinned with sub-saharan hair very
tightly curled thick hair, we all look
different and mixed..i really want to do
a dna test on copts today to see what
races we have in our bloodi dont
agree when people say oh copts they
are all white with brown hair and
brown eyes..im not sure what copts
they are referring to, yes there are
copts that look greek or indian but
that are also copts that have african
features..im just saying tho, anyones
comments would be much appreiated
REPLY
. MaliurjOCTOBER 12, 2013 AT

9:20 AMMoustafa Gadalla you write

with a vengeance to spread your
bigoted ideas of Muslims and Islam.
You need to understand one thing,
whenever you make a statement
about Al Islam and/or our Illustrious
Prophet Muhammad SAAWS, be
certain to accompany it with
evidencefacts. Your personal opinion
is an insult to the topic of Islam and
further adulterates the discussion.
Your opinionated quotes of Quranic
interpretations are intellectually
offensive since you have not
presented any factual proof of your
claims. You need to get a grip and find
your peace before attempting to
discuss anything about Al Islam. Your
first name is quite deceiving since you
have not demonstrated your right to
be called the chosen one.REPLY
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xii
CONTENTS.

PAGE
6.
Mohammed's withdrawal from the
compromise fans afresh the flames of
ridicule and persecution,
92-93

7.
The two important conversions of
Hamza and Omar take place
notwithstanding the prevailing
persecution,
93-97
8.
After these conversions, persecution
bursts out more fiercely, and
Mohammed, with his entire family, is
put under a ban,
97-99
9.
Mohammed, bereft by death of
Khadija and Abu Talib, finds Mecca
increasingly unsympathetic, and at
last fixedly hostile,
99-101
10.

Definitively rejected by Mecca,

Mohammed addresses himself to
other Arab Communities, but meets
with no better reception,
101-104
11.
Mohammed succeeds in gaining a
number of partisans amongst the
people of Medina,
104-107
12.
The spread of Islam amongst the
people of Medina prepares the way for
Mohammed and his whole party to
emigrate thither,
107-115
II.
Mohammed's complete success in
securing recognition as a Prophet, and
in rendering Islam the dominant
power of Arabia, or his Medinan

Period, comprising the last ten years

of his life,
115-241
1.
Mohammed settles in Medina, and
seeks to unite around him the
different sections of the population, as
a first step in the realisation of his
Plan,
115-124
2.
Mohammed, by establishing Islam as
the paramount power of Medina,
displaces the previous Polytheism, and
forces the dissenting Arabs either to
emigrate, or to simulate submission.
In this sense lie shows himself antiPagan,
124-128
3.

Mohammed at first accommodates

himself to the Jews, in the hope of
gaining them over to Islam; but failing
in this, he deliberately turns against
them; and shows himself decidedly
anti-Jewish,
128-134
4.
Mohammed, unsuccessful to convert
the Christians by way of theological
disputations, seeks to degrade their
religion, and reduces them to a state
of vassalage. He shows himself
positively anti-Christian,
135-140
5.
Mohammed engages in a number of
warlike expeditions against the
Koreish, for the purpose of revenge
and plunder, which culminate in the
victorious battle at Bedr,

140-152
6.
The Meccans, under a sense of their
disgraceful defeat at Bedr, stir up
their confederates against
Mohammed, and avenge themselves
by the decided victory at Ohod,
152-159
7.
In consequence of his defeat at Ohod,
Mohammed has to meet several
hostile demonstrations of Bedouin
tribes, and afterwards a protracted
siege of Medina by a formidable
Meccan army,
159-168
8.
Mohammed's anti-Jewish policy leads
to the heartless over throw of the
Jewish tribes of Medina, and the unjust

conquest of Khaibar, with other Jewish

communities,
168-185
CONTENTS.
xiii

PAGE
9.
Mohammed extends his policy of
conquest, subjugation, and plunder to
a number of Bedouin tribes, and
injures Mecca whenever he can,
185-188
10.
Mohammed shows his veneration for
the Kaaba by arranging a pompous
pilgrimage to it; but the Koreish
prevent his caravan of pilgrims from

approaching nearer than Hodeibia,

where he succeeds in concluding an
armistice with them,
188-191
11.
Mohammed, making good use of his
armistice with the Koreish, seeks to
extend his influence abroad by
sending messengers to neighbouring
potentates, summoning them to
embrace Islam,
192-196
12.
Mohammed, with 2000 followers,
visits the pilgrim-festival, according to
treaty right; and, after despatching
marauding expeditions to various
parts, including one to Muta, finds a
pretext for breaking the armistice, and
easily conquers Mecca, with an army
of 10,000 men,

196-203
13.
After the conquest of Mecca,
Mohammed's power rapidly increases,
and he gains the important battle of
Honein, which yields him an immense
booty, and leads to the capitulation of
the rich town of Taif,
203-206
14.
Mohammed starts with a military
expedition against the Roman empire,
but only reaches as far as Tabuk,
whence he despatches some troops
against Duma, and then returns,
206-210
15.
The Arab power of resistance being
broken by the rapid extension of
Mohammed's triumphs, so many

tribes are induced by fear and selfinterest, to send special deputies to

Medina, offering their submission to
Islam, that the 9th year after the
Flight is styled, ' The Year of the
Reputations,'
211-215
16.
The superficiality of the conversions
and compacts effected by those
deputations, is illustrated by the
instances of two Arab tribes, and of
two rival Prophets,
215-221
17.
Mohammed celebrates the complete
triumph of Islam over Arabia by
attending the reformed pilgrim-festival
of the year 632, with a company of
114,000 Moslem followers,
221-223

18.
Mohammed seeks to tighten his grasp
on Arabia by the despatch of
Collectors or Residents to its different
provinces; and then directs his
earnest attention to a fresh attack
upon the Roman empire, by collecting
an army to invade Syria,
224-228
19.
Mohammed is arrested in his career of
conquests and sensuality by the
unsparing hand of death,
229-233
20.
Mohammed has scarcely closed his
eyes, when discord among his
followers threatens to break up the
whole fabric he had erected; but Abu
Bekr manages to be chosen first Calif,

and, as such, takes up the plans of his

late friend,
233-241
8
THE FACTORS OF HIS PROPHETSHIP.
[BK. I.
kingdom, Yusuf dzu Nowaz, a Jewish
zealot, attacked the Christian province
of Najran, and, having conquered it,
gave its inhabitants the choice
between Judaism and death. On their
preferring death, he caused a long
ditch to be dug for them, where he
had some of them burned, and the
rest slain with the sword, till about
20,000 of their number were killed,
amongst them Abd Allah Ibn Thamir,
their chief and priest. Thus we are
given to understand that whilst Mecca
and Medina were signally preserved
from the cruelty and cupidity of

Himyar, Christian Najran was

delivered up to become an easy prey.
This Jewish atrocity became the cause
of the conquest of Yemen by the
Abyssinians and of their subsequent
rule in Arabia. For one of the doomed
Christians, Dauz dzu Thalaban by
name, escaped into the desert on so
fleet a horse that the Jews could not
overtake him. He went straight to the
Emperor of Constantinople to tell him
what misfortune had befallen the
Christians of Najran and to supplicate
help against Dzu Nowaz. The Emperor
replied 'Your country is far from mine;
but I will give you a letter to the king
of Abyssinia who is also of our Faith
and nearer to your home.' Accordingly
he wrote to the Nejashi or king of
Abyssinia, requesting him to help and
avenge the Christians. When Dauz
had delivered the Emperor's letter, the
king placed 70,000 Abyssinians at his

disposal, under the command of

Aryat. The army was conveyed across
the sea to Yemen in many hundred
vessels, and the opposing Himyarites,
with their allies, were totally defeated.
The king Dzu Nowaz sought his death
in the sea, and the Abyssinians took
possession of his country.
After some years, the command of the
army of occupation passed from the
hands of Aryat into those of Abraha,
whom Ibn Ishak describes as 'a good
Christian.' He built so magnificent a
cathedral in the capital, Sana, that
nothing like it could be seen
anywhere. When he informed the king
of this, he also expressed his
determination not to rest till he had
turned the course of the pilgrimages
of the Arabs from their temple in
Mecca to this cathedral. The Arabs, on
hearing of this resolve, were much
irritated; and one of them, connected

with the national sanctuary, went to

Sana and polluted the grand Christian
church. Abraha was highly
CHAP. I. SEC. I.]
THE POLITCAL FACTOR.
9
offended by this act of contempt and
swore he would in retaliation level the
temple of Mecca to the ground. He at
once ordered an expedition for this
purpose which he commanded in
person, being mounted upon an
elephant.
On the route he encountered a hostile
army of confederate Arab tribes,
under Dzu Nefr, which he defeated,
and further on another under Nufeil,
which he likewise routed, and finally
encamped at Moghammas, whence he
despatched horsemen to plunder the
tribes of Mecca. By Abd ul Mottaleb's
advice the whole population of Mecca
left the threatened city and took

refuge in the mountains, to await what

further steps would be taken by
Abraha. But on the following morning,
when the army was ready to enter the
city, his elephant lay down and would
not move a step in that direction.
Then, according to Ibn Ishak's further
account, God sent against them, from
the sea, birds like swallows, each of
which carried three pebbles as large
as a pea, one in the beak and two
between the claws; and any person on
whom these pebbles were dropped,
died immediately. The warriors fell
down on every side and perished in
every path. Those who were not hit,
precipitately fled by the way they had
come. They carried Abraha along with
them, who had likewise been hit. His
limbs fell from him, one after another,
so that on reaching Sana he looked
like an unfledged bird, and ere he died
his chest and heart had become

dissolved. But immediately after the

close of this dreadful story Ibn Ishak
adds a remark which far better
accounts for the hasty retreat of the
Abyssinian army, saying, 'Yakub Ibn
Otba told me that in the same year
smallpox had for the first time been
seen in Arabia.'
This disastrous expedition against
Mecca which happened A.D. 570, the
very year of Mohammed's birth, and
generally known as 'the year of the
elephant,' on account of the elephants
employed by Abraha, greatly
damaged the Abyssinian power in
Arabia and revived the patriotic hopes
of the native tribes. But it was not till
nearly the end of the century. that the
Abyssinians were finally expelled from
Arabia, by the help obtained from
Persia. Ibn Ishak says 'The dominion of
the Abyssinians in Yemen lasted
seventy-two years, under the four

princes, Aryat, Abraha, Yaksum, and

Masruk.'
Famous historiographer Ibn Khaldun
described Sayf ibn Dhi Yazans
generosity: One may compare the
gifts Ibn Dhi Yazan presented to the
Qurashite ambassadors. He gave each
of them ten pounds (ritl) of gold and
silver, and ten slaves and
maidservants and one flask of
ambergris. To Abd Al-Muttalib he gave
ten times as much. Ibn Dhi Yazans
realm, as it was located in the Yemen,
was under the complete control of the
Persians at that time. His generosity,
however, was caused by highmindedness, which stemmed from the
royal authority that his family, the
Tubbas, has possessed in the Yemen
and from the superiority they had
once exercised over the nations of two
Iraqs, India and the Maghrib. (Ibn
Khaldun, Al-Muqaddimah, I, 360)

Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan () , of the

Himyarite royal line, played an
important role in Arabian history in
the expulsion of the Abyssinians from
South Arabia when they had held
away since the time of Dhu Nuwas. A
member of the former royal family of
the Yemen, Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan, was
obliged to expel foreigners from his
country and reestablish his ancestors
dynasty. He started a freedom
movement, but when local support
proved insufficient for the
achievement of his aims, he went to
the Persian king in search of military
support. Native traditions records that
he first sought assistance against the
foreign yoke of the Abyssinians at the
Byzantine court and later at the court
of Persian Khusraw. Khusraw,
however, would not risk anything in an
enterprise with such hopeless

prospects, so he just gave to Sayf a

number of criminals out of the jails
under a leader whose name was
Wahriz in order to assist him. The
Abyssinians under Masruk were
defeated and driven out of the country
and Sayf was installed by the Persians
as king.
From this tradition and several Arabic
poems, it was concluded that Sayf ibn
Dhi Yazan conquered the Abyssinians
with the help of the Persian king
Khusraw Anushirwan, broke their rule
over Yemen and held away over the
land of his ancestors under a Persian
protectorate. His victory over the
Abyssinians may be dated about 570
AD.
After Yazan was installed as king, he
was killed by Ethiopian slaves and the
Persian army returned bringing
southern Arabia under Persian rule
and it belonged to the Persian Empire

until the time of the prophet

Muhammad.
Story of Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan was
studied and transmitted among the
Muslims from the beginning of the
Islamic era. The hero is portrayed as a
Muslim warrior of the time before the
advent of Islam who fights
successfully against pagans
establishing the dominion of Islam. He
is one of the first genuine Arab
heroes. In the romance Sirat Sayf ibn
Dhi Yazan the war between the Muslim
Arabs and Abyssinians occupies
considerable space. The king of
Abyssinia, whose conflict with Sayf ibn
Dhi Yazan runs throughout the text of
the romance, gives a clue of the date
of origin of thesirat. In the story he is
called Saif Arad and corresponds to
the Ethiopian king Saifa Arad who
reigned in Abyssinia 1344-72. From
this reference it is possible to deduce

that the existing versions of the Sirat

date from 15th century, during the
Mamluk period. However, whole
romance did not arose at the same
time; some parts were composed and
put into circulation earlier. Egypt is the
place of origin of the romance or,
more precisely, Cairo.
Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan lived in the preIslamic period. Like his father Dhu
Yazan, he was convicted of the truth of
Islam before Muhammad and was won
over to the new religion. In place of
Muhammad, who had not been yet
appeared, in the profession of faith,
there is the prophet Ibraheem. In such
a way we see that the purpose of the
war was the gaining of recognition for
the unity of Allah and recognition of
the mission of His prophet Ibraheem.
In the romance there are the records
of the origins of famous towns, places
and buildings, of the bringing of the

river Nile into Egypt, numerous travels

and adventures, splendid buildings,
regions and men that are described in
such a picturesque way. Countless are
the magic treasures mentioned in the
course of the story. The magicians
form the greatest obstacle to the
believers and Al-Khidr, the helper of
Muslims, who regularly overcomes
powers of the magicians. This hero
and Yemeni ruler traveled throughout
ancient Egypt observing the
architectural styles and religious
rituals. Throughout the romance we
find descriptions of ancient Egyptian
motifs such as the pursuit for the Book
of the Nile as well as the words and
names that belong to the pagan
Egyptian era, such as that of the sky
goddess Nut.
Sirat Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan gives the
truthful image of the life in Egypt at
the end of Middle Ages and forms

valuable historical source.