1886: René Guénon, the French author and metaphysician, is born in Blois, France. He would be heavily influenced by Islamic studies in Egypt and Algeria, and took an Islamic name, Sheikh 'Abd al-Wahid Yahya.
1981: In Beirut, PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, citing belligerent statements by Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon, orders the mobilization of all Palestinian troops in Lebanon, saying an Israeli attack is imminent. Israel invades Lebanon in June 1982.
1983: Following a unanimous vote by the Turkish Cypriot Assembly, Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash declares the northern, Turkish part of the Mediterranean island an independent republic. Only Turkey, which invaded the island in 1974, recognizes the new entity. The United Nations Security Council condemns the move three days later.
1988: Meeting in Algiers, the Palestinian National Council adopts a Declaration of Independence, also known as the Algiers Declaration. Written by Palestinian Poet Mahmoud Darwish, the Declaration renounces violence and terrorism, implicitly recognizes Israel’s right to exist, and declares that “The State of Palestine is the state of Palestinians wherever they may be.”
- What Is the Palestinian Declaration of Independence? Analysis and Context
- Full Text of the Palestinian Declaration of Independence
- Profile: Mahmoud Darwish, Author of the Declaration
- UN Resolution 242: Text and Context
- UN Resolution 338: Text and Context
- What Is the Palestine National Council?
2003: Two truck bombs at two synagogues in Istanbul explode, killing 23 and wounding 300. An obscure terrorist group that calls itself the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades claims responsibility through an e-mail to Abdel Bari Atwan, editor of Al-Quds al-Arabi, the London-based Arabic newspaper.
