A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z

Bayazid Khan

Birth:1525

Death:1581

The founder of the Rosheniah sect. Roshnai movement was a source of trouble for Akbar and other Mughul monarchs. His book Haal nama described about this religious movement.

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Baba Taher

Birth:c1000

Death:1055

An Iranian poet, born in Hamdan, was a mystic. He was known for his Do-Bayti. Revered by the Iranians, who have erected a mausoleum for him in Hamdan. E. Heron Allan has translated his poems into English. E.J. Arberry's "poems of an Iranian Sufi" ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Babar

Birth:1483

Death:1530

The founder of the Mughal Empire in India. Babar succeeded his father, as the ruler of Farghana, in 1494, but had to leave his country and seek refuge in Kabul, the place he conquered together with Qandhar and Badakhshan in 1504. Born far to the north of ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Baccha Saqqa

Birth:

Death:1929

He overthrew Amannullah Khan, the Amir of Afghanistan and ruled for about eight months. When Nadir Khan invaded Kabul, he was arrested and hanged.

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Bade Ghulam Ali Khan

Birth:1902

Death:1968

A great exponent of Hindustani vocal music. Under him the Patiala Gharana of music underwent an incredible change. He innovated his own individual style. He received India's Sangeet Natak Academy award (1962) and Padma Bhushan.

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Badr Khani Jaladat

Birth:1893

Death:1951

A Syrian Kurdish nationalist leader. Like his brother Surayya, he devoted his life for establishing a unified Khurdish state. In 1927 he was appointed the first president of the Khurdish National Leagues. He was the first editor of the bilingual Khurdish French review Hawar and also ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Bahadur Shah I

Birth:1643

Death:1712

The second son of the Emperor Auraganzeb. As ruler Muazzam, he was sent to Deccan in 1663 and led a battle against the Marathas in Goa in 1683-84. He was the Governor of Kabul in 1699. During his short reign after his father's death in 1707, he eliminated ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Bahadur Shah Zafar II

Birth:1775

Death:1862

The last Mughal emperor of Delhi who presided over a small but extraordinary kingdom. Zafar, who succeeded after the death of his father in 1837, was one of the most talented, tolerant and likable of the remarkable Mughal dynasty. In his lifetime he was witness to ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Bahar Muhammad Taqi Malik-us-shura

Birth:1885

Death:1951

One of the greatest Iranian poets of early 20th. century. Born at Mashad, he succeeded his father Saburi as the court poet of Muzaffaruddin Shah of Iran in 1896-1907. Later he broke away from the court and became the editor of Nau Bahar and the ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Bahauddin Walad

Birth:

Death:1231

The father of the greatest mystic poet in the Persian language, Jalaluddin Rumi. He himself was a noted mystic, author and teacher. His family left Nishapur in Iran in about 1218 and after pilgrimage to Makkah, settled in Anatolia (Rum). He moved to Qonya in 1228 and ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Bahauddin Zuhayr Abul Fazal Ibn Muhammad Al Muhallabi

Birth:1186

Death:1258

Born in Makkah, he was a poet at the court of the Ayyabids of Cairo. He became Wazir of al Salih Ayyub in 1240. E H Palmer in two volumes translated his Arabi Diwan into English in 1876-77.

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Bahisti Ayatollah

Birth:

Death:1981

A powerful Iranian politician who was assassinated.

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Bahlol Lodi Sultan

Birth:

Death:1489

The founder of the Lodi dynasty in India. He came to the throne in 1452 though he already had taken possession of Delhi in 1450.

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Bahu Sultan

Birth:1629

Death:1690

A Sufi poet of Punjab. Author of about forty-four books in Persian, Arabic and Punjabi, but Abyiat e Bahu made him famous.

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Bairam Khan Khanan

Birth:

Death:1561

The prime minister of Akbar and the real founder of the Moghul Empire for him. He was the one who conquered many provinces for Akbar when he was a minor. When Akbar came of age he dismissed Bairam Khan from his post and Bairam Khan ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Baizawi Qazi Nasiruddin Abul Khair Abdullah Ibn Umar

Birth:

Death:1286

A native of Baiza, a village of Shiraz. He was the judge, Qazi, of the city of Shiraz and was the author of the famous commentary on the Qur'an called Tafsir Baizwi that was also known as Anwar-ul-Tanzil Wa israr ul tawil.

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Bakht Khan

Birth:c1797

Death:1859

The Commander-in-chief of the Indian war of independence in 1857. Bakht Khan was related to the Oudh family on his mother side, served as a field battery commander for a number of years, in the army of the British East India company. During the war of ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Barbarosa Hayreddin Pasha

Birth:1456

Death:1546

An Admiral of the Turkish navy. His name was Khazr Khan. Because of his red beard he was known by the name of Babarosa. He annexed Algiers to the Turkish Empire in 1518 and conquered part of Italy, Spain and Greece.

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Barghash Said Ibn Sultan

Birth:1837

Death:1888

The Sultan of Zanzibar from 1870 to 1888. His father died in 1856. His attempts to seize the throne was foiled by his brother Majid, spent two years in exile in Bombay and came to power in 1870. He attempted to modernise his country by British help. The Belgian ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Bari Alig

Birth:1906

Death:1949

An author, historian and critic. Bari was born in Amritsar and was educated at Aligarh Muslim University. His books Company Ki Hukumat, Tarikh e Islam and Ijtamiyat e Aalam were widely known in India.

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Bashir Abdelkarim Barghouti

Birth:1931

Death:2000

Politician. Bashir was a lifelong communist who was both a linchpin of the Palestinian intifada of the late 1980s, and an advocate of an accommodation with the state of Israel. He helped reconcile the schism between Arafat's Fatah and George Habash's PFLP in 1987. He suffered ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan

Bashir Shihab II

Birth:1767

Death:1850

The Lebanese ruler from 1788 to 1840. He married into a rich family and was able to pay the tribute to Ahmad Al Jazar the representative of the Ottoman Sultan in Lebanon. After the death of Al Jazzar he was to consolidate his position. A Druze and ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Batu Khan The Mongol Leader

Birth:1207

Death:1255

He was a grandson of Genghis Khan. He conquered Russia and joining territories of eastern Europe and was the founder of the house of 'Golden Horde'.

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Bayezid II Adli

Birth:c1447

Death:1512

Adli Ottoman Sultan from 1481 to 1512. Son of Sultan Muhammad II, the conqueror of Constantinople. He succeeded in occupying the throne after the death of his father, and after subduing his brother in the contest for the throne. He restored the properties, dedicated to religious institutions ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Bilal Ibn Rabah

Birth:581

Death:641

The first Muezzin of Islam. Bilal Ibn Rabah announced the time of prayers, muezzin of the Prophet (PBUH). He was the first Muezzin of Islam who had a soul-searching and awe-inspiring voice, a position which was aspired to by all the masters and nobles of ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Bello Muhammad

Birth:

Death:1837

The ruler of the Fulani empire, Nigeria, from 1817 to 1837. He was the son of the great leader Usman dan Fodio

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Betty Shabazz

Birth:1934

Death:1997

A civil rights activist. She enrolled in the Nation of Islam, the proud and puritanical black Muslim sect led by Elijah Muhammad, in 1956. She married in 1958 Malcolm X (died in 1965) who was the most controversial symbol of black America. Betty earned a doctorate degree in ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan

Benazir Bhutto

Birth:1953

Death:2007

Daughter of tragedy Benazir Bhutto will be remembered as the politician who took on Pakistan's generals and won, and also as the Muslim world's first woman leader that propelled her to global fame. But she will also be celebrated as a daughter of tragedy whose ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan

Bigi Musa Yarullah

Birth:1874

Death:1949

A Russian Muslim religious leader. Bigi Musa studied in Bukharah and Al-Azhar university in Cairo. He authored Sherhu'L Luzu-Miyat, Rahmat-I-Ilahyia, Tarikhu'L Qur'an Val Masahie, Sunnah and Sharia and others. When Bigi Musa felt that all the doors were closed for the Muslims in Russia, he ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Birghili Muhammad Bin Pir Ali

Birth:1522

Death:1573

The Turkish theologian and a Sufi of the Bairamiya order. Most of his works were in Arabic and particularly known for his work Risala I Birgawi also called the Wasiyat Nama.

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Bulleh Shah

Birth:1692

Death:1758

A Sufi poet of Punjab, India. Bulhe Shah was born at Qasur, and became a disciple of Shah Enayat and after his death, his Khalifa. His Kafis had been published under the title of Qanun e Ishq.

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Burhanuddin Al Helmy

Birth:1911

Death:1969

A Malayan political leader. In 1948 he formed the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), which fought against the formation of the Malay union because the union would have made Malaya a British colony. In 1965 he joined the Islamic party of Malaya and became its President. In ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Busiri Sharfuddin Muhammad Ibn Said

Birth:1213

Death:1296

The Arabic poet of Berber extraction who was famous for his poem, Al Bardah. It was said that he wrote this poem in praise of the Prophet Muhammad , peace be upon him, after being cured of paralysis when the Prophet , peace be upon him, appeared ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Buzurg Alavi

Birth:1904

Death:1997

A Persian prose writer. He went to Berlin in 1922 and translated number of German works into Persian. He was arrested in 1937 for his socialistic views and while in prison wrote Panjah Wa Si (the fifty-three) After world war 11 he visited Uzbekistan and wrote an account ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Buland Al Haidari

Birth:1926

Death:1996

An Iraqi poet. One of the best poets in free verse in modern Arab literature. His first collection Beating of Clay was considered revolutionary in both form and contents.

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Burhanuddin Ibrahim Ibn Muhammad Halabi

Birth:c1460

Death:1549

A Jurist, born at Halab. Halabi spent about forty years in Istanbul as a preacher during the reign of Muhammad II. Halabi authored Multaqa al abhur a book of Hanafi Jurisprudence translated into French in 1882 and was a source of Hanafi doctrines in Turkey. - ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Bukhari

Birth:810

Death:870

The author of an authoritative collection of hadith. Bukhari's collection on tradition called Al Jami-Al Sahih is considered only second to Qur'an as a sacred book which stimulated interest in fiqh, and led eventually to the creation of a homogeneous religious life, based on the ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Babrak Kamal

Birth:1929

Death:1996

An Afghan political leader. A counter coup, in 1979, in Afghanistan led by the Soviet Union installed Kamal as president of the country.

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Badr Shakir Al Sayyab

Birth:1926

Death:1964

An Iraqi poet. Sayyab was the most famous of the post-world War II left-wing Arab poets. He introduced new form of Arabic verse, which differed from traditional Arabic meters. The English poet T S Eliot said to have influenced him.

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Bakr Sidqi

Birth:1890

Death:1937

An Iraqi general. He put down a rebellion in 1933, 1935 and in 1936. He was against the Turk domination of the Arabs. He was assassinated in 1937.

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Bud Shah Sultan Zainul Abidin

Birth:1420

Death:1474

King of Kashmir. Zainul Abedin who came to the throne of Kashmir in 1423 was an able ruler and who reigned for fifty-two years. His rule made Kashmir a site for learning and where prosperity was in abundance. He was a great lover of arts and ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin /Murtaza Shibli

Bahmani Allauddin Hasan Gangu

Birth:14th Century

Death:

The founder of the Bahamani dynasty in Deccan. Sultan Muhammad Tughlaq had appointed Zafar Khan as the Governor of South India. He declared himself independent in 1347 and became monarch acquiring the title of Allauddin Hasan Bahmani. The Bahmani dynasty came to an end in 1518 and ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Bayar Mahmud Jalal (Celal)

Birth:1882

Death:1986

Third president of the Turkish Republic from 1950-1960. Bayar, as a leader of the democratic party, he advocated liberation, following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of world War I. He joined Mustafa Kamal Pasha and resisted the allied occupation in 1921. He ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Bayazid I (Yilderm)

Birth:1347

Death:1403

The Turkish Sultan reigned from 1389 to 1402. Nicknamed Yilderm, which meant lightning in Turkish, because he charged like lightning on his enemies. He defeated the combined forces of England, France, Germany, Austria, Hungry and Poland at Nicopolis in 1396. He conquered Bulgaria, Serbia, and large parts of ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Ben Youssef Ben Khedda

Birth:1920

Death:2003

Algerian nationalist leader. Ben Khedda was a nationalist leader who helped to negotiate and proudly ushered in Algerian independence, became his country's prime minister and was soon forced to stand aside to avoid bloodshed. Ben Khedda, president of the provisional government of Algerian Republic, whose ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan

Bahaullah

Birth:1817

Death:1892

An Iranian religious leader and founder of the Bahai sect. His name was Mirza Hussain Ali and he was a follower of Mirza Ali Muhammad, founder of the Babi sect. Due to his beliefs he was persecuted and exiled to Baghdad and thereafter to Constantinople. ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Bassam Salih Abd Al Ghani Kubba

Birth:1944

Death:2004

Iraqi politician who served Saddam and the interim government. Bassam Salih Kubba embarked on a diplomatic career and joined the Foreign Ministry in 1967, worked at Iraqi Embassy in Nigeria (1970-72), Paris (1973-75) and then again for five years during 1980s. He headed the Iraqi mission ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan

Bahman Ghobadi

Birth:1969

Death:

Kurdish film director. Bahman Ghobadi's third feature film, 'Turtles Can Fly', started its Europe-wide release in Britain in January 2005, is about the effect of war on Iraqi Kurds, distressing, of course, but also funny - which is surprising given that it is populated by children ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan

Bibikhatoon Astarabadi

Birth:1858

Death:

Iranian activist of feminist movement In her strive to improve standing of women to a higher level Bibikhatoon Astarabadi played a key role in Iranian society. She became one of the most influential figures of the Iran's constitutional revolution of 1906 - backed by many senior ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan

Begum Akhtar

Birth:1914

Death:1974

One of the greatest legends of Indian light classical vocal music. A lady in the cultural backdrop of Lucknow, Begum Akhtar achieved a legendary status in her own lifetime as an unparalleled pioneer in the field of Indian light classical music. Her greatest achievement was ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan

Bahaa Taher

Birth:1935

Death:

One of the most respected living writers in the Arab world. Bahaa Taher has written six novels (three translated in English), four short-story collections, plays and non-fiction. He was awarded International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2008, in Abu Dhabi. Taher's Sunset Oasis, published in Cairo ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan

Bulent Ersoy

Birth:1952

Death:

One of Turkey's most popular singers and actors. The singer, famed for her rendition of classical Ottoman music and as a TV personality, Bulent Ersoy has been a controversial figure, in Turkey, since undergoing sex change operation in 1981. She had previously carved out a successful ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan

Bashir Ahmad

Birth:1940

Death:2009

First Asian member of the Scottish parliament The Scottish parliament's first Asian, Bashir Ahmad, was elected, in 2007, as SNP regional member representing Glasgow. He was one of the foremost campaigners for Scottish independence. Having set up the group Scots Asians for Independence, an essential bridge ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan

Bashir Mirza

Birth:1941

Death:2000

Pakistani artist Known for his dazzling art career and free spirited persona Bashir Mirza popularised art and propelled himself into open daring the public to see it and to think. His work typified strong emotion and symbolism. Bashir opened, first ever in Karachi, an art ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan

Ben Ali

Birth:1927

Death:2009

Restaurant owner of the famous Washington diner Ben's Chili Bowl, in a part of America's Black Broadway, the thriving business and entertainment district along Washington U Street has been a rendezvous of America's famous celebratory in politics and entertainment industry. Mahaboob Ben Ali, whose grandparents ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan

Badi Uzzaman

Birth:1939

Death:2011

Actor A familiar face on British TV and, as a supporting role, in several films Badi Uzzaman was best known for his role in The Singing Detective (1985). He also acted in My Beautiful Laundrette (1985), Brothers in Trouble (1995), My Son The Fantastic (1997), Mad Cows (1999), Kevin and ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan

Burhanuddin Rabbani

Birth:1940

Death:2011

Afghanistan's controversial politician A controversial politician Burhanuddin Rabbani who had a key role to play until his assassination was a remarkable figure. In 1972, he was selected as head of a 15-member council, called Jamiat-I-Islami of Afghanistan. He escaped to Pakistan, in 1974, after nearly being arrested ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan

Bassem Sabry

Birth:1982

Death:2014

Writer and activist One of Egypt's most respected democrat activists Bassem Sabry participated in the movement in bringing down the end of Hosni Mubarak's rule in the 2011 uprising. A blogger and columnist for a number of Egyptian and international outlets, Sabry wrote in English and ...

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Compiled by:M. Nauman Khan / Ghulam Mohiuddin

Bilkisu Yusuf

Birth:1955

Death:2015

Note: Date of Birth subject to verification. Hajiya Bilkisu lost her life in the Jamarat tragedy, September 2015, inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un. An obituary prepared by Bala Muhammad and published in the Daily Trust, Nigeria notes: Hajiya Bilkisu was the most prominent female journalist ...

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Compiled by:Bala Muhammad & The Daily Trust, Nigeria