Today is Sunday; 11th of the Iranian month of Mehr 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 30th of the Islamic month of Zi’l-Hijjah 1437 lunar hijri; and October 2, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1230 lunar years ago, on this day in 206 AH, the Arabic grammarian and philologist of Basra, Nazr Ibn Shumayl, died in Khorasan in the city of Merv, which is presently in the Republic of Turkmenistan. He is believed to be the first to compile a work on "Ilm Ghara'eb al-Hadith" (Uncommon Aspects of Hadith). He was a student of the famous lexicographer, Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi, and a classmate of the celebrated Iranian grammarian of Arabic, Sibawaih. In Khorasan, he became rich as a result of the favours of the Abbasid caliph, Mamoun and his Iranian vizier, Fazl Ibn Sahl.

1187 solar years ago, on this day in 829 AD, Theophilos succeeded his father, Michael II, as Byzantine Emperor. He was the last emperor to support iconoclasm. In 831 until his death in 842, he was engaged in lifelong war against the Muslims, beginning with the loss of Sicily to the Arabs who took Palermo and established the Muslim Emirate on this island off the coast of Italy. In Anatolia (present day Turkey), he had to face armies of the Abbasid caliphate of Baghdad and was defeated several times, losing many fortresses. In 831, he led a large army into Cilicia and captured Tarsus. In the autumn of the same year, however, he was defeated in Cappadocia by the Muslims, followed by another defeat in the same province in 833 that forced him to sue for peace with Mamoun by offering 100,000 gold dinars for the return of 7,000 prisoners. In 834 he gave asylum to the Persian Nasr, who along with his 14,000 Khorramites (Khorramdinas), converted to Christianity and took the name of Theophobos, thereby bolstering the Byzantine army with the formation of the "Persian Tourma" made up of Iranian and Kurdish apostates. In September 837, when 16,000 more Khorramites crossed into the Byzantine Empire and joined the “Persian Tourma”, swelling the ranks of the army, Theophilos invaded Muslim lands with a 70,000-strong force, capturing Melitene and Arsamosata (in Turkey), and then taking Zapetra (Zibatra), which was brutally sacked by Theophobus and his Khorramites. The next year, however, Theophilos suffered a shattering defeat, along with his Kurdish and Persian Khorramites, in the Battle of Anzen – also known as Dazimon (Dazman in Turkey). The Muslim army was led by the Iranian general, Afshin Khaydaar bin Kavous, who a year earlier as governor of Azarbaijan and Armenia had crushed the rebellion of Babak Khorramdin and captured him. Unable to withstand the assault of Afshin's horse-archers, Theophilos and his European and Asian contingents including the elite “Tagmata” broke ranks and fled. A few weeks later the Muslims captured Amorion – ruins located near the village of Hisarkoy, Turkey. In 841, the Republic of Venice sent a fleet of 60 galleys (each carrying 200 men) to assist the Byzantines in attacking the Muslims in Crotone in Calabria in southern Italy, but failed. The next year while on his deathbed, Theophilos executed Theophobus the Persian Khorramite who had converted to Christianity.

1099 lunar years ago, on this day in 338 AH, the Egyptian grammarian, Ahmad Ibn Mohammad al-Misri, known popularly as Ibn Nahhas, passed away. He travelled to Iraq to study under az-Zajjaj, the famous philologist of Baghdad. Among his books are "E'rab al-Qur'an" on the correct pronunciation of Qur'anic ayahs; "Ishtiqaaq al-Asma al-Husna", on explanation of Divine Attributes, and "Tafsir Abyaat Sibawaih", which is a commentary on the verses of the famous Iranian grammarian of Arabic, Sibawaih.

831 lunar years ago, on this day in 606 AH, the Kurdish Islamic scholar, Majd od-Din Mubarak Ibn Mohammad Ibn al-Athir al-Jazari, passed away in Mosul, where he was attached to the courts of the Zangid Turkic Amirs. He was an expert on hadith and Arabic language, and wrote such books as "Jame' al-Usoul", which is a compendium of the "Sihah as-Sitta" or the Six Authoritative Hadith Books of Sunni Muslims, compiled almost wholly by Iranian converts to Islam – except for the “al-Musnad” of Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, who was an Arab. Majd od-Din was the eldest of the three famous scholarly brothers with the surname of Ibn al-Athir – the second Ali being the historian and author of the comprehensive history "al-Kamel fi't-Tarikh" (The Complete History).

829 solar years ago, on this day in 1187 AD, a memorable event occurred in Islamic history. A united Muslim army of Arab, Turks, Kurds, and Iranians, under command of the Ayyubid sultan of Egypt and Syria, Salah od-Din the Kurd, liberated the Islamic holy city of Bayt ol-Moqaddas after 88 years of occupation by the Christian Crusaders of Europe. He thus ended the illegal existence of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, which the European occupiers had set up in Palestine after massacring as many as 70,000 Muslim men, women, and children in Bayt al-Moqaddas in 1099 while seizing it from the Ismaili Shi'ite Fatemid Dynasty of Egypt-North Africa. The anniversary of this great day is a constant reminder to the Palestinians and world Muslims that God Willing, the day will soon come when Bayt al-Moqaddas will again be liberated and the illegal Zionist entity will cease to exist.

464 solar years ago, on this day in 1552 AD, Kazan, the capital of Tataristan, was occupied after a long siege by Russia's Ivan the Terrible, who massacred as many as 110,000 Tartar Muslims, and forcibly converted to Christianity many others, after destroying mosques or turning them into churches. The fall of Tataristan was the culmination of almost a century of sea-saw struggle for domination of the region by the Muslims and Christians. The Tartar Khan Yadegar Mohammad was captured by the Russians. By 1593, mosques in the area were destroyed and Russia forbade the construction of new mosques, a prohibition that was not lifted until the 18th century. Today Tataristan is an autonomous republic within the Russian Federation and the overwhelming majority of its people are Muslims.

216 solar years ago, on this day in 1800 AD, Nat Turner, the black Afro-American who led the so-called "slave revolution" in the US, was born. In August 1931 after assembling the freedom-seeking black people of Africa who were enslaved in the US, he started an uprising in Southampton County, Virginia, by freeing many African people from slavery. The uprising was brutally crushed after a few days by the White racist government. Turner survived in hiding for over two months afterward, but was seized and executed. The white Americans then massacred over 200 black people in the southern states, where state legislatures passed new laws prohibiting education of the so-called slaves as well as free black-coloured people, as well as restricting rights of assembly and other civil rights for them.

147 solar years ago, on this day in 1869 AD, the leader of India's struggle for independence from British rule, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, was born in Por-Bandar seaport of Gujarat. He went to London and trained as lawyer and also lived for sometimes in British-ruled South Africa where he was discriminated against by the white authorities because of skin color. On returning to India, he joined the Congress party and soon led the civil-disobedience movement for independence, as part of his policy of non-violence. Gandhi used to say and also wrote that the factor which inspired him to struggle against heavy odds was the immortal epic of Imam Husain (AS), the Martyr of Karbala. In 1948, a year after India’s independence he was assassinated by a Hindu terrorist.

112 solar years ago, on this day in 1904 AD, the English author, Graham Greene, was born. His books are always the scene of confrontation between good and evil. In his famous book: "The Power and the Glory", Greene has introduced patience, and hardship, as the path to salvation. He has left behind numerous books, including "The Third Man", and "The Gun for Hire". He died in 1991.

119 solar years ago, on this day in 1897 AD, the famous Persian poetess of the Caucasus, Khurshid-Banu Natavan, passed away in Shusha at the age of 65. Daughter of Mahdi Quli Khan, the last ruler of the Qarabagh khanate, she is considered the best lyrical poet of what is known today as the Republic of Azerbaijan and which throughout history has been part of Iran, until its occupation by the Russians in the first half of the 19th century. Her ancestor Panah Ali Khan was appointed governor by the Safavid Emperor of Iran. She taught Azeri, Persian and Arabic to her children, some of whom became scholars.

75 solar years ago, on this day in 1941 AD, the Nazi German leader, Adolf Hitler, launched a second offensive on the Soviet Union during World War 2. In its first offensive, started on June 22, 1941, Germany occupied parts of the Soviet Union's soil. The goal was to break resistance of Red Army, and seize more regions, especially the capital Moscow, prior to the onset of winter. The Soviet people and the army stoutly defended and foiled Hitler's bid. The Germans were driven out from Soviet soil by late 1944.

58 solar years ago, on this day in 1958 AD, Guinea gained independence from French rule. In late 15th century it was occupied by the Portuguese, followed by the French in early 19th century, becoming a colony in 1849. In 1946, it gained autonomy. Finally, following a referendum, Guinea announced its independence, and Ahmed Sekou Toure was elected the first president of this Muslim majority country. The Republic of Guinea covers an area of 245875 sq km. It is situated in West Africa and shares borders with Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea Bissau.

38 solar years ago, on this day in 1978 AD, the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini (RA), following restrictions placed on his political and religious activities by the Ba’th minority regime of Iraq, travelled by car towards Kuwait on a valid visa. The Kuwaiti regime, however, denied him entry under pressure from the Shah's despotic regime. Imam Khomeini then obtained a visit visa for France and left for Paris.

24 solar years ago, on this day in 1992 AD, a bloody massacre of prisoners took place in Carandiru Penitentiary in Sao Paulo, Brazil, when military police stormed it following a prison revolt because of bad conditions. It left 111 prisoners dead and is considered a major human rights violation in the history of Brazil. The police made little if any effort to negotiate with the prisoners before attacking the unarmed inmates. Survivors said police also fired at inmates who had already surrendered or were trying to hide in their cells. The officer in charge of the operation, Colonel Ubiratan Guimaraes, was initially sentenced to 632 years in prison for his mishandling of the revolt and subsequent massacre, but his surprise acquittal several years later resulted in his assassination in 2006 as an act of vengeance. Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), one of Brazil's feared gangs, was formed in 1993 as a response to the event. This group is believed to be responsible for the death of Jose Ismael Pedrosa, director of the prison at the time. The notorious prison was demolished on December 9, 2002. In April 2013, 23 policemen involved in the massacre were sentenced to 156 years in jail each for the killing of 13 inmates, while a further 25 policemen involved in the massacre were sentenced to 624 years in jail each for the deaths of 52 inmates in August 2013.

4 solar years ago, on this day 2012 AD, Bahraini activist, 24-year old Mohammed Mushaima, attained martyrdom due to torture and medical negligence by jailors of the repressive Aal-e Khalifa minority regime, prompting the international Human Rights Watch to call for an investigation. He was detained illegally in March 2011 for taking part in a peaceful rally and had been hospitalized since August 2011 because of acute torture. His lawyers’ request to the kangaroo courts in Bahrain for his release because of his bad health, were rejected. After his funeral, clashes erupted in Manama as protesters took to the streets demanding an investigation into the circumstances of Mushaima’s death.

AS/ME