20th Century (1900-2000)

• 1901: Abd al-Aziz Ibn Saud captures Riyadh. French forces occupy Morocco.

• 1904: Morocco becomes a French protectorate under the Conference of Algeciras . The Presian constitution is promoted.

• 1905: The beginning of the Salafiyyah movement in Paris with its main sphere of influence in Egypt.

• 1907: The beginning of the Young Turks movement in Turkey.

• 1912: The beginning of the Muhammadiyyah reform movement in Indonesia.

• 1914: Under Ottoman rule, secret Arab nationalist societies are formed. World War I.

• 1916: Arab revolt against Ottoman (Turkish) rule. Lawrence of Arabia leads attacks on the Hejaz Railway.

• 1918: Armistice signed with Ottomans on October 30. World War I ends on November 11. Syria and Damascus become a French protectorate.

• 1921: Abdullah I of Jordan in made King of Transjordan. His father was the Sharif of Mecca. Faisal I of Iraq is made King of Iraq. His father was the Sharif of Mecca. Abd al-Karim leads a revolt against colonial rule in Moroccan Rif, and declares the "Republic of the Rif".

• 1922: Mustafa Kemal abolishes the Turkish Sultanate.

• 1924: The Turkish Caliphate is abolished. King Abd al-Aziz Ibn Saud conquers Mecca and Medina, which leads to the unification of the Kingdoms of Najd and Hejaz.

• 1925: Reza Khan seizes the government in Persia and establishes the Pahlavi dynasty.

• 1926: Abd al-Aziz Ibn Saud assumes title of King of Najd and Hejaz.

• 1927: Death of Zaghlul , an Egyptian nationalist leader.

• 1928: Turkey is declared a secular state. Hasan al-Banna founds the Muslim Brotherhood.

• 1932: Iraq granted independence by League of Nations.

• 1934: War between King Abd al-Aziz Ibn Saud and Imam Yahya of the Yemen. Peace treaty of Taif . Asir becomes part of Saudi Arabia.

• 1935: Iran becomes the official name of Persia.

• 1936: Increased Jewish immigration leads to widespread Arab-Jewish fighting in Palestine.

• 1939: World War II.

• 1941: British and Russian forces invade Iran and Reza Shah is forced to abdicate in favor of his son Mohammad Reza Shah in Iran.

• 1945: End of World War II.

• 1946: Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria are granted independence from Britain and France.

• 1947: Creation of Pakistan from Muslim Majority area in India.

• 1948: Creation of state of Israel. Arab armies suffer defeat in war with Israel.

• 1949: Hasan al-Banna, leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, is assassinated.

• 1951: Libya becomes independent.

• 1952: King Faruq of Egypt forced to abdicate.

• 1953: General Zahedi leads coup against Mohammed Mossadegh, Shah returns to power. Death of King Abd al-Aziz Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia. The foundation stone is laid to enlarge the Prophet's mosque in Medina.

• 1956: Morocco becomes independent. Tunisia becomes independent.

• 1957: The Bey of Tunisia is deposed, and Bourguiba becomes becomes president. Enlargement of the Haram in Mecca begins.

• 1962: Algeria becomes independent. Death of Zaydi Imam of Yemen (Ahmad). Crown Prince Bahr succeeds him and takes the title Imam Mansur Bi-Llah Muhammad.

• 1965: Malcolm X is assassinated.

• 1968: The enlargement of the Haram in Mecca is completed.

• 1969: King Idris of Libya is ousted by a coup led by Colonel Qadhdhafi.

• 1973: King Zahir Shah of Afghanistan is overthrown.

• 1975: Death of Elijah Muhammad, leader of Nation of Islam among African Americans in North America. Warith Deen Muhammad assumes leadership of Nation of Islam and shifts movement toward Islamic Orthodoxy renaming it American Muslim Mission.

• 1978: Imam Musa Sadr is apparently assassinated after he disappears on a trip to Libya. He was the religious leader of the Lebanese Twelve-Imam Shi'ites. He promoted the resurgence of Shi'ites in Lebanon and set the foundation of Amal.

• 1979: The Shah leaves Iran on January 15, thus bringing the Pahlavi dynasty to an end. On 1 Muharram AH 1400/21 November, the first day of the 15th Islamic century, a group led by students of the Theological University of Medina led by Juhayman al-Otaibi attempt to promote one of their group as Mahdi and thus fulfill a certain prophetic Hadith: "A man of the people of Medina will go forth, fleeing to Mecca, and certain of the people of Mecca will come to him and will lead him forth against his will and swear fealty to him between the rukn (Black Stone corner of the Kaaba) and the Maqam Ibrahim." They hold the Haram of Mecca against the army for two weeks. Sixty-three of the 300 men are captured alive, the mosque is recovered, and the conspirators are all put to death.

• 1980: Beginning of the Iran-Iraq war.

• 1989: The Iran-Iraq war comes to an end following much loss of life.

• 1990: Military annexation of Kuwait by Iraq, under Ba'athist leader Saddam Hussein, is reversed in 1991 by a coalition of United States-led forces in the Gulf War

See Also

Timeline of Islamic history