Ibtihaj Muhammad is a saber and United States fencing team member who won a bronze medal in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She became the first Muslim American woman to wear a hijab (headscarf) while competing in the Olympics. Muhammad was … Read MoreIbtihaj Muhammad (1985- )
Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, the President of Djibouti, was born on November 27, 1947, in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia to Omar Guelleh and Moumina Rirache into the Mamassans clan of the Issa. Upon completing a traditional Islamic secondary school in 1968, he worked as a civil servant … Read MoreIsmaïl Omar Guelleh
(1947- )
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the current President of Somalia, Union for Peace and Development Party leader, and member of the Abgaal Hawiye clan, was born on November 29, 1955, in the town of Jalalaqsi, in the south-central Hiran province of Somalia. Mohamud attended primary and secondary … Read MoreHassan Sheikh Mohamud (1955- )
Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, was born Mohamed Ould Cheikh Mohamed Ahmed Ould Ghazouani on December 31, 1956, in Boumdeid in the Assaba Region of Mauritania. The names of his father and mother are not available but his father was … Read MoreMohamed Ould Ghazouani
(1956- )
El-Ouali Mustafa Sayed was the first president of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (formerly known as Spanish Sahara or Western Sahara). Sayed was born in 1948. Bir Lehlou has been cited as his birthplace. Other authorities believe he was born in a nomad encampment on … Read MoreEl-Ouali Mustafa Sayed (1948-1976)
Moktar Ould Daddah was the first president of independent Mauritania. He was born on December 25, 1924, at Boutilimit, Mauritania, French West Africa. His parents were Muhammadun Ould Daddah and Khadijattou Mahmoul Brahim. He was descended from a family of Muslim religious scholars and political … Read MoreMoktar Ould Daddah (1924-2003)
Mohammed ben Youssef, the third son of Sultan Moulay Youssef, was born on August 10, 1909, in Fez, Morocco. He became King Mohammed V of independent Morocco. When Mohammed was born, Morocco was a French protectorate. As a child, he received a traditional Koranic education … Read MoreMohammed V (1909-1961)
Egyptian Sheikh Muhammad Ayyad al-Tantawi, one of the youngest teachers of Arabic studies in Egypt (at that time the Ottoman Empire), traveled to and worked in Russia. During his residence in Russia, he was the first to compile an Arabic grammar manual in the Russian … Read MoreSheikh Muhammad Ayyad al-Tantawi (1810-1861)
Muhammed Idris as-Senussi was born on March 12, 1889, or 1890 in Al Jaghbub in Cyrenaica (a province of the Ottoman Empire in today’s Libya). His parents were Muhammed al-Mahdi as-Senussi and Aisha bint Muqarrib al-Barasa. Idris was the grandson of the founder and chief … Read MoreKing Idris (1889/90-1983)
The Malê Rebellion in Brazil, also known as The Great Revolt, was a Muslim slave rebellion in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, in January 1835. The uprising occurred on a Sunday during Ramadan when enslaved African Muslims and freemen rose against the government. Yoruba and Hausa Muslims … Read MoreThe Malê Rebellion in Brazil (1835)
