- Timeline of 21st century Muslim history
21st century (2001-2100) (1421 AH – 1527 AH)
* 2000:
Palestinians in theWest Bank andGaza Strip begin theAl-Aqsa Intifada , prompted byAriel Sharon 's visit to a disputed religious site holy to both Jews and Muslims. PresidentHafez al-Assad of Syria dies of a heart attack. His sonBashar al-Assad is elected President bySyria 'sMajlis Al Shaa'b (Parliament).
* 2001: Members ofAl Qaeda , a Jihadi organization, attack theUnited States . Hijacked commercial airliners are flown into theWorld Trade Center andthe Pentagon building onSeptember 11 ,2001 , killing upwards of three thousand. The United States subsequently declares aWar on terror and invadesAfghanistan , whoseTaliban regime had given refuge to Al Qaeda leaderOsama bin Laden . TheTaliban are ousted from power, though the fate of bin Laden is unknownas of 2008 .
* 2003: TheUnited States leads the invasion of Iraq, searching for "weapons of mass destruction", starting the second Iraq War.Shirin Ebadi becomes the first Muslim woman to win theNobel Peace Prize for her efforts in promoting human rights.
* 2004: A Jihadi group claims responsibility for bombings inMadrid 's commuter railway and several trains. The Jihad attack killed 191, and wounded 1,460 others. See also Madrid Bombings. Nevertheless the Islamists' claim, latest unveilings suggest that perhaps the role of Islamic extremists was less capital than it has been officially presented. The second largest earthquake ever recorded occurs in theIndian Ocean triggering theAsian Tsunami .Indonesia suffers the heaviest damage with 167,736 dead, 37,063 missing and 500,000+ displaced.
* 2005: A radical Muslim group claims responsibility for bombings in theLondon Underground . The attack kills 52, and wounds over 700 others. See alsoJuly 2005 London bombings . Bombings inSharm el-Sheikh ,Egypt kill at least 83 and wound hundreds.Saudi Arabia 's King Fahd dies. Fahd's brotherCrown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz, who had assumedde facto leadership of the country after King Fahd suffered a debilitating stroke in 1994, is declared king. A powerful, 7.6-magnitudeearthquake hits Pakistan-controlledKashmir , killing upwards of 73,000 people. Israel removed Jewish settlers and military personnel from the Gaza Strip in August 2005.
* 2006: Israel invades Lebanon in pursuit of Hezbollah paramilitary forces. Death of former Iraqi DictatorSaddam Hussein by hanging for crimes against humanity.Muhammad Yunus winsNobel Peace Prize for successful application ofmicrocredit schemes to poor entrepreneurs in Bangladesh.
*2007:Ethiopian forces invade Somalia and routed Islamic Courts from Mogadishu.
*2008:Kosovo becomes independent and immediately recognised by the USA and the EU. USA reportedly launches airstrikes inSomalia .
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