Abdallah Hegazy, Author at

Independent Historian

Abdallah Y. Hegazy is a 2009 graduate of the University of Washington, Seattle where he majored in Finance. While studying at the UW Business School, he worked as a tutor at the department’s Writing Center. His recent work experiences have been in financial budgeting and analysis. He has a long and abiding interest in politics, literature, and history, particularly that centered around the African diaspora.

Casablanca, Morocco (circa 13th Century)

Casablanca (al-Dar al-Bayda in Arabic; “white house” in English) is Morocco’s center of cultural and commercial activity and one of the largest metropolises in contemporary Africa. A port city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, it is the center of the nation’s rail and … Read MoreCasablanca, Morocco (circa 13th Century)

Algiers, Algeria (circa 9th century AD- )

Algiers, the capital city of Algeria, lies along the northwestern edge of a large bay in the Mediterranean Sea. The largest city in Algeria, Algiers has served as a principal seaport as well as a commercial, cultural, and political center for the country. The Phoenicians, … Read MoreAlgiers, Algeria (circa 9th century AD- )

Warith Deen Mohammed (b. Wallace Delaney Muhammad) (1933-2008)

Wallace Delaney Muhammad was born on October 30, 1933 to Clara Evans and Elijah Poole in the impoverished Paradise Valley in Detroit, Michigan. A year later, Poole, later known as the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, took over the Nation of Islam as “Supreme Leader” upon the … Read MoreWarith Deen Mohammed (b. Wallace Delaney Muhammad) (1933-2008)

Muammar Al-Qaddafi (1942-2011)

Muammar al-Qaddafi has been Libyan head of state since 1969 and one of the most controversial and divisive leaders in the Middle East and Africa in the twentieth century. Qaddafi was born in the spring of 1942 to an Arabized Berber family near the Sirt … Read MoreMuammar Al-Qaddafi (1942-2011)

Cairo, Egypt (founded ca. 969 C.E.)

Cairo, the current capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Middle East and Africa, has been a major cultural, religious and political center of the Arab, Islamic and African worlds for centuries. The year 2011 saw unprecedented civil and political upheaval in the … Read MoreCairo, Egypt (founded ca. 969 C.E.)

Celso Pitta (1946-2009)

Celso Roberto Pitta do Nascimento, Sao Paulo’s first black mayor, was born to a middle class couple in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on September 29, 1946. His father was white and his mother was black. After completing his undergraduate degree at the Federal University of … Read MoreCelso Pitta (1946-2009)

Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat (1918-1981)

Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat, third President of post-independence Egypt (governing from 1970 to 1981), was born of peasant background in the Nile Delta village of Mit Abu al-Kum on December 25, 1918. The son an Egyptian army clerk and a Sudanese housewife, Sadat was educated in … Read MoreMuhammad Anwar al-Sadat (1918-1981)

Thomas Mboya (Joseph Odhiambo) (1930-1969)

Tom Mboya, born on August 15, 1930 in Kilimambogo, Kenya on a sisal plantation estate, was a Kenyan nationalist, trade union leader, and government minister. His parents were Luo agricultural workers who, as recently converted Catholics, sent him to mission schools from an early age. … Read MoreThomas Mboya (Joseph Odhiambo) (1930-1969)

Jonas Malheiro Savimbi (1934-2002)

Jonas Malheiro Savimbi, Angolan insurgent fighter and longtime leader of The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), was born in Munhango, Angola on August 3, 1934 to Helena Mbundu Savimbi and Loth Savimbi. Savimbi’s father was a railway stationmaster and part-time Protestant … Read MoreJonas Malheiro Savimbi (1934-2002)