Mu'awiya I (c. 600 – 680) was the founder and first caliph of the
Umayyad Caliphate, serving from 661 until his death. He acceded less
than thirty years after the Islamic prophet Muhammad's death and shortly
after the four Rashidun caliphs. He embraced Islam after Muhammad's
conquest of Mecca in 630. Afterward, Mu'awiya became one of his scribes
and, by the 640s, the governor of Syria. After Caliph Uthman was
assassinated in 656, Mu'awiya opposed his successor, Ali. They fought to
a stalemate during the First Muslim Civil War. When Ali was assassinated
in 661, Mu'awiya compelled Ali's son Hasan to abdicate. As caliph,
Mu'awiya relied on his Syrian supporters and conferred autonomy to the
provinces. He fought the Byzantines throughout his reign, and renewed
the Muslim conquests. His controversial appointment of his son Yazid I
as successor introduced dynastic rule to Islamic politics. Mu'awiya is
honored by Sunni Muslims as a companion of Muhammad, but reviled by Shia
Muslims for opposing Ali.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mu%27awiya_I>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1777:
Mission Santa Clara de Asís, a Spanish mission in California
that formed the basis of both the city of Santa Clara and Santa Clara
University, was established by the Franciscans.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_Santa_Clara_de_As%C3%ADs>
1918:
An underground explosion at a coal mine in Staffordshire,
England, killed 155 men and boys.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnie_Pit_Disaster>
1964:
Rebels led by John Okello overthrew Sultan Jamshid bin
Abdullah, ending 200 years of Arab dominance in Zanzibar.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zanzibar_Revolution>
2010:
Iranian physicist Massoud Ali-Mohammadi was assassinated while
leaving home for the University of Tehran, where he was a professor.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massoud_Ali-Mohammadi>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
charlotte russe:
A dessert of custard or whipped cream enclosed in sponge cake, often in
the form of ladyfingers.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/charlotte_russe>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Where can we go to find God if we cannot see Him in our own
hearts and in every living being?
--Swami Vivekananda
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Swami_Vivekananda>