Today is Monday; 30th of the Iranian month of Farvardin 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 10th of the Islamic month of Rajab 1437 lunar hijri; and April 18, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1377 lunar years ago, on this day in 60 AH, the infant Martyr of Karbala, Hazrat Ali Asghar (AS), was born in Medina to the Prophet's grandson, Imam Husain (AS). He was the youngest son of the Imam. He was only six months old when he was brutally martyred by an arrow shot by the heartless Harmala bin Kahel that pierced his tender throat, when his father took him in his arms and asked the cruel forces of Yazid to at least provide some water for the thirsty infant. Every year millions of Muslims around the world commemorate the martyrdom of the infant Ali Asghar in the month of Moharram by taking out processions of empty bloodstained cradles, followed by wailing mothers carrying children in their arms – a pathetic sight that brings tears to the eyes of even the hardest hearts. It is also customary to distribute milk to the children and others in the month of Moharram in memory of the Infant Martyr of Karbala. 

1242 lunar years ago, on this day in 195 AH, Imam Mohammad Taqi (AS), the 9th Infallible Successor to Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), was born in the city of Medina. The mantle of Imamate rested on his shoulders at the tender age of 8 years following the martyrdom of his infallible father, Imam Reza (AS). Due to his proverbial generosity, not just in material matters but also in the realm of diffusion of knowledge and wisdom, he earned the epithet of al-Jawad or the Exceptionally Generous. His period of imamate or divinely-decreed leadership of mankind was 17 years, during which he groomed a great many scholars in various fields. His lively debates with scholars of various creeds and schools of thought are recorded in books of hadith and history. He reposes in eternal peace besides his grandfather, Imam Musa Kazem (AS) in the holy double-domed shrine of Kazemain, north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. We hereby congratulate all Muslims across the world on the auspicious occasion of birth anniversary of Imam Jawad (AS), and later in our programme will present you a special feature on his life and times.

426 solar years ago, on this day in 1590 AD, Ahmed I, the 14th Ottoman Sultan and the 6th self-styled caliph of the Turkish Dynasty, was born. During his 14-year rule (1603-17), the Ottomans lost the war with the Safavids, who were led by the energetic Shah Abbas the Great and his valiant general, Allahverdi Khan. As a result Georgia, Armenia and the occupied parts of Azerbaijan were returned to Iranian control in 1612. Damad Nasuh Pasha, the Ottoman Grand Vizier and Brother-in-Law of the Sultan, signed the treaty recognizing Iran’s rights and settling the border between the two empires. Ahmad also suffered setbacks in Europe. He broke with the Ottoman tradition of fratricide by sparing the life of his brothers and cousins. Ahmad I is remembered mainly for the construction of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque) – one of the masterpieces of Islamic architecture in Istanbul.

130 solar years ago, on this day in 1886 AD, the Persian newssheet “Qanoun” (Law), was published in London during his exile from Iran by Mirza Malkam Khan, an Iranian Armenian who claimed to have converted to Islam. It was banned in Iran since it attacked both the Qajarid Shah and his government and called for reforms and modernization on West European patters. Malkam Khan, who set up societies similar to the Freemasons in Iran 1859, was a controversial person, who was exiled several times, until he was reinstated as ambassador to Italy by Mozaffar ad-Din Shah in 1898 with the title of Nezam od-Dowlah.

78 solar years ago, on this day in 1938 AD, the Jurist, Ayatollah Seyyed Najm ul-Hassan the founder of Jame’ Nazemiyya of Lucknow, the oldest Shi’ite Muslim religious institution of India, passed away at the age of 75. Known as Najm ul-Millat or Najm ul-Ulema, he trained several scholars, such as Sibt-e Hasan Naqavi, Farman Ali the translator and interpreter of the holy Qur’an, and Mufti Ja’far Hussain, who later became the leading scholar of Pakistan. He is remembered for his services to the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) in Tibet, Burma, Singapore, Shanghai, East Africa and other lands. He wrote several books.

62 solar years ago, on this day in 1954 AD, Colonel Jamal Abdun-Nasser seized power in Egypt by ousting revolutionary colleague President General Mohammad Najeeb and declaring himself as president. Nasser, who advocated pan Arabism and supported leftist anti-monarchic movements in Arab state, brutally suppressed Islamic parties, especially the “Ikhwan al-Muslimeen” (Muslim Brotherhood). He nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956, a move that led to war with the British, French and Israel. His greatest shock was the defeat Egypt and three other Arab states suffered in the 6-day June 1967 war against the illegal Zionist entity, which with US and western help occupied the Sinai Peninsula including Egyptian-controlled Gaza. He died in 1970.

61 solar years ago, on this day in 1955 AD, the first conference of representatives of Asian and African states was held in the Indonesian city of Bandung. Attended by 29 world countries, it paved the way for formation of the Non-Aligned Movement, in order to be free from the both the Capitalist West and the Communist East.

61 solar years ago, on this day in 1955 AD, the famous physicist-mathematician, Albert Einstein, died in the US at the age of 76. Born in Germany, he became a Swiss citizen in 1905. The same year he published three articles, which laid the foundation of three new branches in physics. In 1912 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for physics, given his studies on photons. In 1917, he published the general relativity theory, which led to new viewpoints in sciences. In 1933, he migrated to the US to escape Adolf Hitler’s totalitarian rule. As the forerunner of the age of atom, his theories became highly influential in development of nuclear studies, including the manufacture of atomic bombs. He was very disappointed after he realized that unintentionally he had set the stage for development of weapons of mass destruction by the US. He died in 1955, and it is said that in his closing years he was no longer an atheist but his viewpoints had moved closer to the concept of God and spiritual values in Islam, especially in accordance with the school of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).

36 solar years ago, on this day in the year 1980 AD, Southern Rhodesia in southern Africa became independent by ousting the white apartheid renegade regime of Ian Smith, and changing its name to Zimbabwe. The capital Salisbury was also renamed Harare. The land was occupied by the British in the 19th century and the native black people were oppressed and reduced to poverty as the white minority took possession of millions of acres of agricultural lands. The struggle for independence started in the post Second World War period and intensified in the 1970s. Following elections, shortly after independence in 1980, the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) of Robert Mugabe had a landslide and Mugabe was chosen prime minister. He held this post till 1987, when he was elected as president, a position he has held till this day, following re-elections every four years. The Republic of Zimbabwe, which is the target of the US and Britain for its independent policy, covers an area of more than 390,000 sq km, and shares borders with Zambia, Mozambique, Botswana, and South Africa.

23 solar years ago, on this day in 1993 AD, the statistician and founder of the statistical sampling method in Iran, Dr. Abbas Qoli Khwajah-Nouri, passed away at the age of 78. He graduated in engineering in the year 1937 and thereafter lectured at Iran’s universities. He later on obtained his PhD in statistics from Paris Faculty of Science. He highly participated in research, educational, and consultative jobs in different ministries, and founded the Higher Education Institute of Statistics in 1966. Among his numerous compilations, mention can be made of Research Methodology, and Advanced Statistics.

20 solar years ago, on this day in 1996 AD, Zionist aircraft bombed headquarters of the UN Peacekeeping Forces in Qanaa, southern Lebanon, martyring at least 106 Lebanese women, children and elderly who had sought refuge. Hundreds of others were also injured in this dastardly attack. This slaughter of Lebanese refugees, of which 33 victims were minors, enraged world public opinion and forced the Zionists to stop bombardment. Meanwhile, the US blocked the passing of a resolution at the UN Security Council in condemnation of the mass murder. The UN General Assembly, however, issued its own resolution, condemning the crime and obliging the usurper state of Israel to pay compensation to the victims of the carnage. Although the Zionist entity has not pay any compensation for its heinous crimes in Lebanon, the condemnation of Israel at the UN General Assembly reflected the resentment of the international community toward the crimes of the illegal Zionists.

20 solar years ago, on this day in 1996 AD, British Islamic scholar and political campaigner, Dr. Kalim Siddiqi, passed away at the age of 62 in Pretoria, South Africa, after attending the International Conference on Creating a New Civilization of Islam. Born in the village of Dondi Lohara, in what is now the Chhattisgarh State in Central India, on the creation of Pakistan he moved to Karachi, where he briefly became editor of the newspaper “The Independent Leader” – mouthpiece of the Khilafat Movement. Along with other members of the movement, he moved to London, UK, in the 1950s, and after higher studies and obtaining of PhD, he founded the “Muslim Institute for Research and Planning” in London in 1972. As a staunch believer in Pan-Islamism he publicly declared his support for the Islamic Revolution on its triumph in Iran in 1979. Influenced by the dynamic personality of Imam Khomeini (RA), he advocated Islamic unity, and through his writings, especially in the Canada-based fortnightly “Crescent International”, he strongly opposed the policies of Global Arrogance led by the US and its agents the Arab reactionary regimes. In 1989 he founded the “Muslim Parliament of Britain”. The core of his work was a unique analysis, understanding and exposition of Muslim history and the contemporary situation facing Muslims which he developed and presented in a series of major writings and speeches. He was an outspoken force in the need for an integrated body of Muslims which could lobby for the wider British community.