Today is Saturday, 7th of the Iranian month of Farvardin 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 16th of the Islamic month of Jamadi as-Sani 1437 lunar hijri; and March 26, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1094 solar years ago, on this day in 922 AD, the Iranian Muslim mystic, Hussein ibn Mansour al-Hallaj, was executed in Baghdad by the Abbasid caliph, Muqtadar-Billah, on charges of heresy for uttering blasphemous remarks such as “there is nothing in my turban and cloak except God" and the phrase “an’al-Haq” (I am the Absolute Truth). He was a student of the two famous Iranian Sufi masters, Sahl Ibn Abdullah at-Tustari and Junayd Baghdadi, and was expelled by both of them for his weird views. Born in Fars province to a cotton-carder, as indicated by his family name “Hallaj”, he memorized the holy Qur’an at a young age and would often join other mystics in study. Initially a follower of the Hanbali school, it is said he became an Ismaili Shi’ite Muslim. He performed at least three Hajj pilgrimages to Mecca, where he once stayed for a year, fasting and in total silence. He traveled widely as far as India and Central Asia, and wrote and taught along the way, gaining followers, many of whom accompanied him on his second and third trips to Mecca. He settled in the Abbasid capital Baghdad, where his weird utterances invited trouble. On refusing to renounce his beliefs, he was flogged, amputated, and hanged. His remains were burnt and thrown into the River Tigris.

1033 solar years ago, on this day in 983 AD, the greatest ruler of the Iranian Buwaiyhid dynasty of Iran-Iraq-Bahrain-Oman, Adhud od-Dowla Daylami, passed away in Baghdad and was laid to rest in the mausoleum of the Command of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS) in Najaf. Born in Shiraz and named Fana Khosrow, he was the son of Amir Rukn od-Dowla, and became ruler of Fars after the death of his childless uncle, Amir Emad od-Dowla. He was sent by his father to crush a rebellion by his cousin Ezz od-Dowla, on whose defeat he claimed the emirate of Iraq for himself. On his father’s death, as senior Amir of the Buwaiyhid family, Adhud od-Dowla chose as his capital, Baghdad, which was suffering from violence and instability due to sectarian sedition by the Hanbalis. In order to bring peace and stability, he banned public demonstrations and polemics. He patronized a number of scholars such as the celebrated Shaikh Mufid, and renovated the holy shrines in Najaf and Karbala. He also undertook several scientific projects, such as the observatory in Isfahan, and the dam known till this day as “Band-e Amir” between Shiraz and Istakhr to irrigate some 300 villages. He also ordered digging of the Haffar Canal joining the Karun River to the Arvand Roud at the confluence of the Rivers Tigris and Euphrates. He embellished Baghdad with several buildings including the famous public hospital known as “Bimaristan-e Adhudi”, where the great Iranian physician Zakariyya ar-Razi used to practice.

1016 lunar years ago, on this day in 421 AH, the famous Spanish Muslim poet, Ahmad ibn Mohammad Ibn Darraj al-Qastalli, passed away at the age of 74 in his native Spain. He was from Castile as is clear from his surname 'Qastalli', and played a vital role in promotion of Arabic poetry in the Iberian Peninsula with his new style. His poems, in addition to their high literary and artistic value, are a reliable source of developments in Islamic Spain. These have been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, English and other languages as the Arabic heritage of Europe.

847 solar years ago, on this day in 1169 AD, the Kurdish adventurer, Salah od-Din, proclaimed himself Emir of Egypt after usurping power in Cairo from the Fatemid Shi’ite Ismaili Muslim Dynasty. Known in the western world as Saladin, he rose from obscure origins to serve as assistant to his uncle, Asad od-Din Shirkuh (Persian for Mountain Lion), who was in the service of the Turkic Zengid Dynasty of Syria. Sent to Fatemid Egypt in 1163 with his uncle by Noor od-Din Zengi, he climbed the ranks of the Ismaili Shi’ite government as a result of his military successes against Crusader assaults. When Shirkuh died in 1169, the caliph al-Adeed made the mistake of appointing Salah od-Din vizier. He now began to undermine Fatemid rule and treacherously abolished the two-and-a-half century rule of the Fatemid caliphate. Salah od-Din savagely persecuted the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt, burned libraries, and imposed the Sunni creed on the Egyptians.

804 solar years ago, on this day in 1212 AD, Sancho I, the second king of Portugal or the breakaway northwestern strip of Islamic Spain, died. He was the son of Afonso I, who had rebelled against over five-and-a-half centuries of Muslim rule to seize the emirates of Lisbon and Badajoz. Sancho was nicknamed "the Populator" for seizing the territories of Spanish Muslims, carrying out ethnic cleansing, and resettling them with Christians from France and other parts of Europe. During the later years of his reign he lost territory to the al-Muwahhid Muslim dynasty.

672 solar years ago, on this day in 1344 AD, the Siege of the Spanish Muslim region of Algeciras ended and the Christian mercenary armies assembled from other parts of Europe by kingdoms of Castile and Aragon occupied this port city, despite the use of gunpowder by the defenders – the first time in Europe.

514 lunar years ago, on this day in 923 AH, Hejaz came under the authority of the Ottomans when Sharif Barakaat II sent the keys of the Holy Ka’ba in Mecca and the Prophet’s Holy Shrine in Medina to Sultan Selim I, following the victory of Turkish troops over the Mamluk dynasty of Egypt, which had hitherto held suzerainty over Hejaz, and Syria as well. Selim, who three years earlier, had managed to turn into a narrow victory a certain defeat of the Ottomans by the Safavids of Iran at the Battle of Chaldiran, prior to which he had carried out a general massacre of Shi'ite Muslims in Anatolia and deported thousands of them to the Balkans for fear of their siding with Shah Ismael Safavi, now decided to attack Syria because of the growing Iranian influence there. He won an easy victory and then marched all the way to Egypt, the news of which, prompted Sharif Barakaat of Hejaz to switch allegiance from the defeated Mamluks to the victorious Ottomans. For four centuries the Turks ruled Hejaz until the Ottoman defeat in Second World War and dismemberment of their empire by the British and their local agents, including Sharif Hussain of Hejaz, two of whose sons were made kings and granted new countries as kingdoms – Abdullah in Jordan, and Faisal in Iraq. The crafty British then allowed the Wahhabi desert brigand from Najd, Abdul-Aziz Aal-e Saud, who was on their payroll, to attack Hejaz in 1924, drive out Sharif Hussain (who since 1917 had styled himself as king), massacre tens of thousands of Muslims, desecrate the holy shrines in Mecca and Medina, and establish the spurious state called Saudi Arabia, on condition of endorsing the plan for creation of the illegal Zionist entity called Israel in Palestine, by settling tens of thousands of European Jews.

487 lunar years ago, on this day in 950 AH, the Ottoman Turks concluded a treaty with France to run the French Mediterranean port of Toulon. The Ottoman flag was hoisted in Toulon as almost all the French left the port. The Ottomans introduced the Azan for the five-times-daily prayers in this port, and turned the cathedral into a mosque during their 8-month stay. In this period under the command of the famous Turkish admiral, Khair od-Din Pasha (known as Barbarossa or Redbeard to the Europeans), the Ottoman navy, equipped with 30,000 troops raided the Spanish and Italian coasts and defeated the combined attacks by Spanish-Italian navies. The Ottomans left after King Francis I of France paid a sum of 800,000 in the currency of those days and released all Turks and Arabs who were forced to work on French galleys. Khair od-Din Pasha died two years later, but Toulon was again used as a safe harbour for several months, some three years later by another Ottoman admiral, Turgut Raees.

189 solar years ago, on this day in 1827 AD, the famous German composer and musician, Ludwig van Beethoven, died at the age of 57. He learned music under prominent musicians of his era, such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Beethoven was hard of hearing and went deaf as of the age of 49. He composed nine symphonies; all of which are the most famous classical music symphonies. His 5th Symphony, because of its epical spirit, holds a special status among his works.

135 solar years ago, on this day in 1881 AD, the large Ottoman vilayet of Thessaly was seized by the breakaway province of “Yunanistan” and absorbed into what is now known as Greece, by the powerful European Christian powers, such as Britain, France, Austria and Russia. All vestiges of almost five centuries of Muslim rule were erased, mosques were destroyed or turned into churches, Turkish language was eradicated and Muslims forcibly expelled.

105 solar years ago, on this day in 1911 AD, the prominent American playwright, Tennessee Williams, was born. He skillfully expressed his ideas through the heroes of his plays, in which he mainly describes the simple Americans who face hardships and have failed to achieve their aims. Among his famous books, mention can be made of “Sweet Bird of Youth”. He died in 1983.

64 solar years ago, on this day in 1952 AD, the uprising of Kenyan people started against British colonial rule, under the leadership of Jomo Kenyatta and his Mau Mau Group, which was comprised of armed combatants. This group demanded the equality of Kenyans with Europeans in social and political rights, and following its struggles, it managed to bring about Kenya’s independence. Kenya covers an area of over 580,000 sq km and is situated in Eastern Africa. It has a population of around 15 percent Muslims, the majority of whom live in the coastal provinces, and were once the rulers there.

45 solar years ago, on this day in 1971 AD, East Pakistan, officially declared itself as Bangladesh, following the military crackdown on the ethnic Bengali-speaking Muslim majority by the Punjabi-Pakhtoun armed forces of West Pakistan. India sided with the Bengalis in their armed struggle, and finally after the end of the 15-day war that erupted between India and Pakistan, Bangladesh became independent under Sheikh Mujib ur-Rahman, who was elected president, but, was later killed in a coup. Bangladesh covers an area of 144,000 sq km. It shares borders with India and Burma, and is the world's 9th most populous country. Over 90 percent of its 162 million people are Muslims.

25 solar years ago, on this day 1991 AD, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay signed the Treaty of Asunción, establishing MERCOSUR, the South Common Market, which aims to counter the economic exploitation of South America by the US.

AS/ME