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Birth:1923Writer Already a celebrated Urdu writer in Pakistan Intizar Hussain was propelled to international attention in his 80s after the translation of one of his novels into English. Written in the 1970s, Basti explored the bloodshed and dislocation of the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947. Basti was short-listed for ...
Birth:1924An author and teacher of the Sufi tradition Idries Shah, also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el-Hashimi and by the pen name Arkon Daraul, was an author and teacher in the Sufi tradition who wrote over three dozen books on topics ranging from psychology and spirituality to travelogues ...
Birth:1973Women's rights activist The activist, Ikram Ben Said helped Tunisian women to find their voices when she stood firm among a crowd of thousands of protestors, on 14 January 2011, the day President Zine el-Abedin Ben Ali fled into exile and the Arab Spring had begun. The collapse of the plutocratic regime ...
Birth:1868Poet Poet, prose writer, prosodist, lexicographer and philologist Ishrat lakhnavi's domain was also literary historiography and criticism. Some of his works, such as Usool-i-Urdu, Zaban Dani and Islah-i-Zaban-i-Urdu, deal with the grammar and correct usage of language. In four slim parts he wrote a series on Urdu prosody. His Aab-i-Baqa ...
Birth:1963Head of the Gaza Strip. The Prime Minister of Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniyeh, recognised by the Palestinian Legislative Council though Europe and the US refuse to recognise his government. Gaza is left without an official voice with which to address the outside world. The country is considered as a prison ...
Birth:1952Turkish singer Famous at home and across the Middle East, Turkish singer Ibrahim Tatlises, known as Emperor is one of Turkey's biggest stars. Ibrahim Tatlises, who is of Kurdish origin and from the South-Eastern city of Sanliurfa, has recorded more than 30 albums and has acted in numerous films. He also ...
Birth:1165One of the most controversial Sufi, Philosopher and intellectual of his time In 1194, he embarked on a long journey to the East including Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Anatolia etc. He visited Mecca for pilgrimage and stayed there for a long time. The stay in Mecca seems to have been decisive in ...
Birth:1927Noted Pakistani Urdu poet Noted poet, eminent satirist, columnist and writer of travelogues of exceptional literary merit Ibn-e-Insha had distinctive diction. Urdu has produced great humorists, both in prose and poetry. But none wrote with facility like Insha. In the grab of humour he highlighted numerous national problems and the ...
Birth:1941An inspirational figure A former and prominent African National Congress MP, since 1994, Imam Gassan Solomon who served three administrations was a highly principled and inspirational personality of South Africa. Imam of Cape Town's Claremont Main Road Masjid, since 1979, the cleric was active during the formation of the Interfaith Movement in ...
Birth:1925Doyen of Nigerian journalism Being the editor of The Daily Times, Ismail Babatunde Jose, from the late 1950s, dominated journalism in Nigeria for three decades. He craved professional excellence. The one-year attachment at London's Fleet Street in 1951 had enormous influence on Jose. Under Jose, The Daily Times sold daily 200,000 copies ...
