Today is Tuesday; 1st of the Iranian month of Farvardin 1396 solar hijri; corresponding to 22nd of the Islamic month of Jamadi as-Sani 1438 lunar hijri; and March 21, 2017, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

Today, the 1st of Farvardin, marks the start of the calendar year in Iran, and we take the opportunity to extend heartiest congratulations to our listeners on the day that is celebrated as Nowrouz or New Year Day. The Iranian calendar is based on the Spring Equinox, which, as per astrological calculations actually occurred a little after noon at exactly 13:58:40 hours Tehran time (10:28:40 GMT) yesterday on March 20 or Esfand 30 – a leap year in Iran – as Planet Earth completed its yearly orbit around the Sun. Iranians throughout the country ushered in, with recitation of the holy Qur’an and special supplications to God, the year 1396 solar hijri, which like its lunar counterpart (1438 AH), is dated and calculated in accordance with the auspicious migration from Mecca to Medina on 1st Rabi al-Awwal of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

1425 lunar years ago, on this day in 13 AH, Abu Bakr, who assumed the caliphate or political rule of the Islamic state, following the passing away of the Prophet of Islam, died at the age of 63, after a rule of 2 years, three months and 22 days. Son of Osman ibn Amer of the Tamimi clan of the Qureish, he is said to have given up idolatry and become the 40^th Muslim in order of sequence of acceptance of Islam, in the early days of the public proclamation of the divine mission by Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). He found himself propelled to the caliphate at the dubious gathering of Saqifa Bani Sa'dah, where following a heated dispute and a fistfight for political leadership between the Mohajer or Migrant Muslims of Mecca and the Ansar or the Muslim Helpers of Medina, his friend Omar ibn Khattab suddenly clasped his hand and pledged allegiance to him as caliph. This action created the greatest discord in the Islamic ummah, the scars of which are still evident on the body politic of the Muslim World today. Many of the Prophet's companions questioned Abu Bakr's credentials in the absence of any ayah of the holy Qur'an or a statement from the Prophet in his favour. Most of them vividly remembered that only two months and ten days earlier on 18th Zilhijja, 10 AH, while returning from his Farewell Hajj pilgrimage, the Prophet had halted at Ghadeer-Khom on God's express commandment to proclaim as vicegerent his dear cousin and son-in-law, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), regarding whose prime position in Islam and his God-given merits, God's Messenger had always emphasized upon. It is also an undeniable fact of Islamic history, as found in all reliable texts, the Prophet's daughter, Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA), strongly protested the usurpation of the political right of leadership of her husband in an eloquently moving sermon, but sadly she became the target of the wrath of the new regime. In short, before his death, Abu Bakr made a will in favour of his friend, Omar ibn Khattab, as the next caliph, ignoring the protests of several companions of the Prophet, such as Talha ibn Obaidollah.

1090 solar years ago, on this day in 927 AD, Emperor Taizu, the founder of the Song Dynasty of China, was born as Zhao Kuangyin to a military commander. He became a distinguished military commander and came to power by staging a coup d'état that forced the young Emperor Gong of the Later Zhou Dynasty to abdicate power. He took the temple name of Taizu, and during his 16-year rule, he conquered the states of Southern Tang, Later Shu, Southern Han and Jingnan, thus reunifying most of China and effectively ending the tumultuous Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. He was murdered at the age of 49 by his younger brother, who succeeded him as Emperor.

1047 lunar years ago, on this day in 391 AH, the Iranian scholar, literary figure, and poet, Hussain ibn Hajjaj al-Baghdadi, passed away at the age of 61. He wrote delicate poetry using attractive terms. Most of his poems are in praise of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny) as well as the Infallible Imams of his Ahl al-Bayt. His verses were compiled in book-form by his famous contemporary, the theologian and literary figure, Seyyed Razi, the compiler of the celebrated book “Nahj al-Balagha”, which is a selection of the sermons, letters and maxims of the Prophet's vicegerent, Imam Ali (AS).

668 solar years ago, on this day in 1349 AD, the Christians slaughtered some 3,000 Jews in Efurt, Germany, by blaming the Black Death Plague upon their presence. Throughout history, Jews have been persecuted and killed by Christians for their insulting of Prophet Jesus and his mother the Virgin Mary (peace upon them).

475 solar years ago, on this day in 1542 AD, Naseer od-Din Humayun Shah, with financial and military aid provided by Shah Tahmasb Safavi of Iran, reached Qandahar and after liberating it handed it over to the Iranian army as promised during his refuge in Qazvin following his loss of India to the Pashto adventurer, Sher Shah Suri. After the death of Sher Shah, he wrested control of India with Iranian help to re-establish the Mughal Empire founded by his father, Zaheer od-Din Babar – a protégé of Shah Ismail I, the founder of the Safavid Empire of Iran.

461 solar years ago, on this day in 1556 AD, Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer was burned at the stake in Oxford after two years of imprisonment on charges of treason and heresy on the orders of Queen Mary I, who was a Catholic opposed to the separation of the Anglican Church from Rome. As a pioneer of English Reformation he had helped build the case for annulment of the marriage of Henry VIII to Mary’s mother, Catherine of Aragon, which was one of the causes of the separation of the English Church from Rome. During Cranmer's tenure as Archbishop of Canterbury, he was responsible for establishing the first doctrinal and liturgical structures of the Church of England. He succeeded in publishing the first officially authorised vernacular service, the “Exhortation” and the “Litany”. His legacy lives on within the Church of England through the “Book of Common Prayer” and the “Thirty-Nine Articles”. The Anglican Communion commemorates Cranmer as a Reformation Martyr on 21 March.

249 solar years ago, on this day in 1768 AD, French mathematician and Egyptologist, Joseph Fourier, who exerted strong influence on mathematical physics through writing the book “Théorie Analytique de la Chaleur” (The Analytical Theory of Heat), was born. He introduced an infinite mathematical series to solve conduction equations. This analysis technique allows the function of any variable to be expanded into a series of sines of multiples of the variable, which is now known as the “Fourier Series”. His equations which spawned many new areas of study in mathematics and physics, including the branch of optics named after him, have subsequently been applied other natural phenomena such as tides, weather and sunspots.

216 solar years ago, on this day in 1801 AD, the Battle of Alexandria was fought between British and French forces near the ruins of Nicopolis in Egypt on the narrow spit of land between the Mediterranean Sea and Lake Abuqir. The British marched upon Alexandria and besieged it. The French surrendered in September.

160 solar years ago, on this day in 1857 AD, a devastating earthquake in Tokyo, Japan, killed over 100,000 people.

146 solar years ago, on this day in 1871 AD, Otto von Bismarck was made “Chancellor” of the German Empire, which came into existence as a result of his engineering of a series of wars to unify German states (excluding Austria) under the leadership of Prussia, whose ruler, King Wilhelm I appointed him “Minister President”. On becoming chancellor he skillfully used balance of power diplomacy to preserve German hegemony in a Europe which, despite many disputes and war scares, remained at peace. He provoked three short, decisive wars against Denmark, Austria and France, aligning the smaller German states behind Prussia in defeating archenemy France. His diplomacy of “realpolitik” and powerful rule at home gained him the nickname the “Iron Chancellor”. German unification and its rapid economic growth was the result of his foreign policy.

92 solar years ago, on this day in 1925 AD, Iran officially replaced the lunar hijri calendar with the solar hijri calendar, which though based on the earth’s rotation around the sun, is dated like its lunar counterpart, from the migration from Mecca to Medina of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). It was precisely calculated by the famous Iranian scientist Omar Khayyam almost a millennium ago in 1079, and is more perfect than the Gregorian calendar. The lunar hijri calendar and its Arabic months are also in use in Iran since it is indispensable for keeping track of Islamic dates, eids, rituals, the fasting month of Ramadhan, the Hajj pilgrimage and the mourning month of Moharram.  

82 solar years ago, on this day in 1935 AD, Iran formally asked the international community not to use anymore the Greek-European term “Persia” for the country and to call it by its native name “Iran” in all documents.

80 solar years ago, on this day in 1937 AD, nineteen people in Ponce, Puerto Rico, were gunned down by a police squad acting under orders of US-appointed Governor, Blanton C. Winship.

57 solar years ago, on this day in 1960 AD, the apartheid regime of South Africa massacred in Sharpeville a group of unarmed peaceful black demonstrators, killing over 70 and wounding some 200 others. The uproar among South Africa's black population was immediate, and the following week saw demonstrations, protest marches, strikes, and riots around the country. More than 18,000 people, including prominent anti-apartheid activists known as members of the Congress Alliance were detained. On the 5^th anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre, UNESCO designated March 21 as “International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination”. Since 1994, March 21 has been commemorated as Human Rights Day in South Africa. Sharpeville was the site chosen by President Nelson Mandela for signing into law of the Constitution of South Africa on 10 December 1996.

49 solar years ago, on this day in 1968 AD, the Battle of Karameh in Jordan occurred between Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the illegal Zionist entity, called Israel, which attacked a Palestinian camp. In this battle, at least 1230 Zionist troops were killed and dozens of their tanks and armored vehicles were destroyed or seized by the Palestinian guerrillas.

48 solar years ago, on this day in 1969 AD, Ali Daei, one of the leading Iranian footballers and a coach, was born in Ardebil, northwestern Iran. A graduate of Sharif University of Technology in Materials Engineering (Metallurgical), having played for famous international clubs such as Bayern Munich and Hertha BSC, he became captain of the Iranian national football team. He is the world's all-time leading goal-scorer in men's international matches. After retirement he coached the national team and later became head coach of the Persepolis club. From June 2007 until 2013, Daei was a member of the FIFA Football Committee.

27 solar years ago, on this day in 1990 AD, Namibia gained independence from South Africa. Namibia, in southwestern Africa was occupied in the 19th century by Germany, which plundered the wealth of this country. After World War I, Britain seized Namibia and handed it to the apartheid regime of South Africa. With the formation of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) in 1960, the freedom struggle started in 1976, SWAPO gained the right to vote at the United Nations. Nonetheless, the South African regime, with the support of Western regimes continued its domination over Namibia until the year 1990, in which the struggles of Namibian people bore fruit and the country gained its independence. Namibia covers an area of 824268 sq km and shares borders with Angola, Zambia, Botswana, and South Africa.

19 solar years ago, on this day in 1998 AH, Iran’s Father of Modern Chemistry, Dr. Abu’l-Hassan Sheikh, passed away at the age of 91 years. Born in a religious family, his father Dr. Mohammad Sheikh titled “Ehya ol-Molk” for his scientific efforts, was a direct descendant of the famous religious scholar of the Safavid Era, Sheikh Horr Ameli, who had migrated to Iran from what is now Lebanon. Dr. Abu’l-Hassan Sheikh left for Germany at the age of 20 to study chemistry and pharmaceuticals, and returned to Iran eight years later as a full-fledged scientist. For 32 years he taught at the university, grooming a large number of students in the scientific fields. In 1951, he attended the Islamic Conference in the city of Bayt al-Moqaddas, as a representative of Ayatollah Seyyed Abu’l-Qasim Kashani, who in those days led the Islamic movement in Iran against capitalism, despotism and foreign hegemony. Dr. Sheikh used to attend the classes on ethics, gnosis, theology and jurisprudence, of the prominent Ayatollahs, and always strove to promote Islamic teachings among his friends, family and associates. He wrote several books including the 2-volume “Theory of Chemistry” and another 2-volume work titled “Chemical Experiments”.

18 solar years ago, in 1999 AD, a balloon achieved the first non-stop round-the-world balloon flight. After 20 days of flight, the experimental Breitling Orbiter 3 balloon, flown by Brian Jones and Bertrand Piccard, touched down in the Egyptian desert. Bertrand is the grandson of the balloon flight pioneer, Auguste Piccard.

8 solar years ago, on this day in 2009 AD, Nowruz, the Iranian New Year Day, was formally inscribed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as a cultural tradition observed by numerous peoples, spreading from the Balkans to the Subcontinent and from the shores of the Persian Gulf to Central Asia, including China’s Xinjiang. It called Nowruz an ancestral festivity marking the first day of spring and renewal of nature. UNESCO said Nowruz promotes values of peace and solidarity between generations and within families as well as reconciliation and neighbourliness, thus contributing to cultural diversity and friendship among peoples and different communities.

7 solar years ago, on this day in 2010 AD, International Nowruz Day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution A/RES/64/253 of 2010, at the initiative of several countries that share this holiday – such as Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kirghizstan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, India, Turkey, the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Macedonia, etc. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his address: "Nowruz transcends national borders, religious divides and other differences to unite communities with bonds of goodwill. Such common purpose can help humanity rise to this moment in history."

4 solar years ago, on this day in 2013 AD, Syria’s top Sunni Muslim cleric, Sheikh Mohammad Sa’eed Ramadhan al-Bouthi, was martyred at the age of 84 by Takfiri terrorists while giving a religious lesson to students at the Iman Mosque in the central Mazraa district of Damascus. The bomb attack killed at least 42 people and wounded more than 84. Al-Bouthi, who was elected the Chief Sheikh or religious authority for the whole of Greater Syria (including Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan), was targeted for preaching Islamic unity and warning of the dangers of US-Zionist plot against the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

AS/SS