Archive for the ‘People’ Category

(CNN) — Former South African President Nelson Mandela toiled for 27 years in South African prisons before gaining his freedom and leading his nation from white minority rule to full democracy. In the process, he became an international symbol of strength and hope.

This month he celebrates his 90th birthday with a lavish, star-studded concert in London that confirms his enduring status as a revered global icon. But his journey from young protester to political prisoner to leader of his nation has not been without heartache and personal loss.

Mandela was born in 1918 in the South African village Qunu.

He was the son of the chief councilor to a Thembu chief, and he soon became passionate about political reformation, founding the African National Congress Youth League in 1944 with lifelong friend Oliver Tambo. Read the rest of this entry »

Born into a family of 13 children in 1918, Anwar al-Sadat grew up among average Egyptian villagers in the town of Mit Abul Kom 40 miles to the north of Cairo. Having completed a grade school education, Sadat’s father worked as a clerk in the local military hospital. By the time of his birth, Anwar’s Egypt had become a British colony. Crippling debt had forced the Egyptian government to sell the British government its interests in the French engineered Suez Canal linking the Mediteranian Sea with the Indian Ocean. The British and French had used these resources to establish enough political control over Egyptian affairs to refer to Egypt as a British colony.

Four figures affected Sadat’s early life. The first, a man named Zahran, came from a small village like Sadat’s. In a famous incident of colonial rule, the British hanged Zahran for participating in a riot which had resulted in the death of a British officer. Sadat admired the courage Zahran exhibit on the way to the gallows. The second, Kemel Ataturk, created the modern state of Turkey by forcing the downfall of the Ottoman Empire. Not only had Ataturk thrown off the shackles of colonialism, but he established a number of civil service reforms, which Sadat admired. The third man was Mohandas Gandhi. Touring Egypt in 1932, Gandhi had preached the power of nonviolence in combating injustice. And finally, the young Sadat admired Adolf Hitler whom the anticolonialist Sadat viewed as a potential rival to British control. Read the rest of this entry »

He was willing to be governed by clerics, although at that time he was a respected head of state.

There is no denying the courage Harun ar-Rashid. Her attitude is so bold as to Nakfur until now adorn the history of Muslims. But, behind his famous very brave, she was melted in the presence of clergy. In fact, she came with her two children to Medina, purposely to listen to Imam Malik teaches his book, al-Muwattha ‘.

When he reached Medina, al-Barmaki, one helper (wazir) her, facing Imam Malik and said to him, “Get the book that you rock me, until I could read it from you to the king.”

Imam Malik replied, “Convey my regards and tell him, ‘Science should be visited not visited. Science must go, not go ‘. ”

Al-Barmaki was returned to the Caliph, saying, “O Amir al-Believers, have come to the Iraqi people, that His Majesty has been facing to the Imam Malik, and he left the king. Bulatkanlah Majesty’s determination against him, until he came to the king. ” Read the rest of this entry »