Today is Monday; 8th of the Iranian month of Azar 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 28th of the Islamic month of Safar 1438 lunar hijri; and November 28, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1427 lunar years ago, on this day in 11 AH, the Almighty's Last and Greatest Messenger to mankind, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) passed away at the age of 63, after preaching for 23 years the message of Islam, which means peace, harmony, healthy way of life, and submission to none but God the Almighty Creator. It is said the cause of his death was a dose of poison administered by a spiteful Israelite woman. The mission of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) was prophesied by all divine messengers throughout the globe, as the Man with the universal message of Islam. Today, Islam is the world's fastest growing religion, with at least 1.7 billion Muslims worldwide.

1388 lunar years ago, on this day in 50 AH, Imam Hassan Mojtaba (AS), the elder grandson and 2nd Infallible Heir of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), was martyred at the age of 47 through a fatal dose of poison, given on the orders of the usurper Mu'awiyyah Ibn Abu Sufyan. He was over seven years at the passing away of the Prophet, who hailed him along with his younger brother, Imam Husain (AS), as Leaders of the Youth of Paradise. At the age of 37, the mantle of Imamate came to rest on his shoulders, following the martyrdom of his father, Imam Ali Ibn Abi Taleb (AS). Some seven months later, because of the treachery of those who claimed to be his followers, but had succumbed to threats and bribes of the enemies of humanity by refusing to decisively confront them, he relinquished the caliphate and retired to his hometown Medina, after stipulating certain conditions for the next ruler. The Omayyad rebel Mu'awiyyah ibn Abu Sufyan seized the caliphate, broke all accords, violated the laws of Islam, and finally administered poison to Imam Hasan (AS).

1080 solar years ago, on this day in 936 AD, Shi Jingtang was enthroned as the first emperor of the Later Jin Dynasty of China by Emperor Taizong of Liao, following a revolt against Emperor Fei of Later Tang.

898 solar years ago, on this day in 1118 AD, Manuel I, the 3rd emperor of the House of Komnenos of Byzantine was born. At the age of 25 he succeeded his father, John II, and during his long fluctuating reign of 37 years, his ambitious foreign policy resulted in defeats at the hands of Muslims in Anatolia, Syria, and Egypt. In the process he made alliances with the Latin Pope in Rome, invaded unsuccessfully the Norman Kingdom of Sicily which had a strong Muslim-Arab culture, and provided passage to Palestine for the Crusader invaders from Europe. Facing Muslim advances, however, he ganged up with the Crusaders to invade Egypt, but suffered defeats at the hands of the ruling Fatemid Shi’ite Muslim Dynasty. Although he reshaped the political maps of the Balkans, placing Hungary under Byzantine hegemony, in the east he suffered defeats. His most decisive defeat was at the Battle of Myriokephalon in 1176 in Sivas in Anatolia (modern Turkey), against the Seljuq Sultanate of Roum led by Sultan Qilij Arslan II. It was to be the final unsuccessful attempt by the Byzantine Greeks to recover the interior of Anatolia from the Muslims. This was followed by more defeats that had a serious effect upon Manuel's vitality; he declined in health and in 1180 succumbed to a slow fever at the age of 62. Like Manzikert, a century and five years earlier when Emperor Romanos IV had suffered a shattering defeat and captured by Sultan Alp Arsalan of the Isfahan-based Greater Seljuq Empire, the Muslims had gained the upper hand. Manuel never again attacked the Turks, and after his death they began to move further west, deeper into Byzantine until the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and its renaming to Islambol (Istanbul).

259 solar years ago, on this day in 1757 AD, William Blake, English poet, artist, and printer, was born in Soho, London. He wrote “Songs of Innocence”, “All Religions are One”, and “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.” Blake has become famous for his relief etching, a form of art in which the artist incised an image into the copper plate – a complex and laborious process, with plates taking months or years to complete. Blake employed intaglio engraving in his own work, most notably for the illustrations of the “Book of Job”, completed just before his death in 1827.

221 solar years ago, on this day in 1795 AD, the newly founded United States of America had to pay $800,000 and a frigate as tribute to the powerful rulers of Algiers and Tunis in order to carry out trade in the Mediterranean Sea.

196 solar years ago, on this day in 1820 AD, German philosopher, Friedrich Engels, was born. A close friend of his compatriot, Karl Marx, who coined the theory of Marxism, he was persecuted for his political views and fled to Britain in 1850. The book “Communism Manifesto”, published in 1848 is the joint work of Engels and Marx. Engels died in 1895.

157 solar years ago, on this day in 1859 AD, American essayist, author, historian, attorney, and diplomat, Washington Irving, died at the age of 76. Born in New York City he was prolific writer and served as the US representative to London and as US Minister of Spain, where he had access to medieval era archives and was fascinated by Islamic art, architecture and culture. From writing fables such as "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", he now wrote on history such as “Conquest of Granada” and “Alhambra”. In 1850, nine years before his death, he wrote the biography of the Prophet of Islam titled: “Lives of Mahomet and His Successors”, in which he has paid glowing tributes to the Martyr of Karbala, Imam Husain (AS). He writes:

“It was possible for Husain to save his life by submitting himself to the will of Yazid. But his responsibility as a reformer did not allow him to accept Yazid's caliphate. He therefore prepared to embrace all sorts of discomfort and inconvenience in order to deliver Islam from the hands of the Omayyads. Under the blazing sun, on the parched land and against the stifling heat of Arabia (Iraq) stood the immortal Husain.”

Washington Irving, who says the spirit of the uprising (of Imam Husain) will last forever, also wrote:

“The death of Imam Husain (AS) is something about which that I don't like to talk about too much, because of the magnitude of this tragedy. In the history of Islam, nothing more nefarious than this has ever happened. Though the assassination of Imam Ali (AS) was a heavy grief for mankind, but, the fate of Imam Husain (AS) was so horrible that it sends shivers down one's spine. It was a terrible tragedy.”

144 solar years ago, on this day in 1872 AD, the Modoc War of 1872-73 began in Siskiyou County, northern California when fighting broke out between Modoc Chief Captain Jack and a cavalry detail led by Captain James Jackson. At Lava Beds National Monument in northern California Amerindian Modoc warriors held off over 1,000 US Army troops for five months, before these natives were deceived and defeated by the white army.

111 solar years ago, on this day in 1905 AD, Arthur Griffith formed Sinn Fein in Dublin. Sinn Fein is Gaelic for “We Ourselves”, but also for “Ourselves Alone”. This political party became the unofficial political wing of militant Irish groups in their struggle against British rule.

104 solar years ago, on this day in 1912 AD, Albanian delegates at Vlora declared the independence of Albania from centuries of Ottoman Turkish rule and established a provisional government. This marked Albania’s Independence Day. Albania is a predominantly Muslim country in Europe.

73 solar years ago, on this day in 1943 AD, during World War II the Tehran Conference was held in the Iranian capital and attended by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin. The three discussed war strategy against Germany from 28 November to 1 December. The 4-day meeting held in the Soviet Embassy in Tehran was the first of the World War II conferences between the "Big Three" Allied leaders. It closely followed the Cairo Conference which had taken place on 22-26 November 1943, and preceded the 1945 Yalta and Potsdam Conferences. Although all three of the leaders arrived with differing objectives, the main outcome of the Tehran Conference was the commitment to the opening of a second front against Nazi Germany by the Western Allies. The conference also addressed relations between the Allies and Turkey and Iran, operations in Yugoslavia and against Japan as well as the envisaged post-war settlement. A separate protocol signed at the conference pledged the Big Three's recognition of Iran's independence and withdrawal of all foreign forces. The Pahlavi Shah of Iran, being a British client, was treated as no more than a puppet by all the three leaders, who did not even rise to greet him, and made him stand while they were seated.

56 solar years ago, on this day in 1960 AD, Mauritania gained its independence from French occupation. Mauritania is located in northwestern Africa and covers an area of 1030700 sq km. It shares borders with Algeria, Mali, and Senegal. It is an Arabic-speaking country and its capital is Nouakchott, located on the Atlantic coast.

22 solar years ago, on this day in 1994 AD, the Source of Emulation, Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Mohammad Ali Araki, passed away at the age of 103. Born in the central Iranian city of Arak, he learned Islamic sciences under prominent ulema as of the age of 11. Among his teachers were Grand Ayatollah Abdul-Karim Haeri, and Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Taqi Khwansari. For several years he taught at the Qom Seminary, grooming a large number of students. Grand Ayatollah Araki presented the most complicated scientific topics in simple forms. He was a supporter of the Islamic Revolution and greatly respected Imam Khomeini (RA).

18 lunar years ago, on this day in 1420 AH, Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Sotoudeh, passed away at the age of 80 years and was laid to rest in the holy mausoleum of Hazrat Fatema Ma’sumah (SA). Born in Arak, he studied in Qom under prominent ulema, including the famous exegete of the holy Qur’an, Allamah Seyyed Mohammad Hussain Tabatabaie. In turn he groomed a large number of students, including the Ayatollahs Alavi Gorgani, Yousuf Sane’i, Mussavi Lari and Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

10 solar years ago, on this day in 2006 AD, Iran's President Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed a letter to the American people to be released at UN headquarters in New York. He urged them to demand the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and reject the Bush administration's blind support for the illegal Zionist entity and its illegal and immoral actions against Palestinians in the usurped land. The US mainstream media afraid of the impact of this letter on public opinion virtually ignored it.

9 solar years ago, on this day in 2007 AD, Iran built a submarine equipped with sonar-evading technology, and launched it in the Persian Gulf waters as part of its drive to strengthen the defences of the country against any would-be aggressor.

6 solar years ago, on this day in 2010 AD, Iran’s nuclear physicists, Dr. Majid Shahriari, and Dr. Fereydoun Abbasi, were the targets of two separate terrorist attacks in which Dr. Abbasi was wounded, while Dr. Shahriari attained martyrdom. Martyr Shahriari was born in Zanjan in 1966 and completed his PhD in nuclear engineering at Tehran’s Amir Kabir University. Following the opening of the Nuclear Engineering Faculty at Martyr Beheshti University in 2006, he joined its academic board. One of his most important designs was related to development of a new generation of nuclear reactors, which was widely reflected throughout the world’s scientific centers. The US and Zionist agents are the evil brains behind such cowardly acts of terrorism, in a bid to sabotage Iran’s peaceful nuclear plans.

AS/ME