Timeline of Islam from the 18th Century to the Present

18th Century:

1700s Muhammad Abd al-Wahhab rejects Sufism and all innovation (bid'a). Founds what becomes the Saudi Arabian kingdom. Hindus regain power from Mughals in northern India.  Rise of the Usuli movement in Southern Iraq.

1738 Mughal empire invaded by the Afghans. 

1779 Afghans ousted by Qajar dynasty, which rules Persia until 1925. 

1798 Napoleon's expedition to Egypt. 

19th Century:

1805 Muhammad Ali becomes governor of Egypt, which becomes independent of the Ottomans, gains control of western Arabia and extends into the Sudan. 

1807-76 Tanzimat period. Ottoman Empire undergoes extensive program of modernization in government, law, and medicine. 

1830 Greece regains independence from Ottomans. 

1850s Non-Muslim Ottoman citizens granted equality with Muslims. 

1858 Last Mughal in India is deposed and India comes under British rule. 

1876-1908 Reign of Abd al-Hamid II; autocratic and religiously conservative period in Ottoman rule.

1878 Congress of Berlin recognizes independence of Balkan states previously under Muslim rule. 

1882-1952 Egypt occupied by the British. 

20th Century: 

1908-18 Last decade of Ottoman rule. Rise of nationalistic "Young Turks." More liberal policies develop. 

1912 Founding of Islamic Union (Sareket Islam), a modernizing movement in SE Asia. 

1918 Fall of Ottoman Empire. League of Nations grants Britain mandatory status over Palestine and Iraq, and France over Lebanon and Syria. 

1923 Republic of Turkey established. Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) is first president. 

1927 Tablighi Jamaat reform movement founded in India. 

1928 Ikhwan al-Muslimun (Muslim Brothers) founded in Egypt. 

1945 Indonesia becomes independent republic. 

1945-60s Islam spreads to the West with mass migrations from Asia, Africa, and India. 

1947 Pakistan founded as an Islamic nation. Islam becomes a minority religion in India. 

1957 Independent Malayan state established with Islam as the official religion but guaranteed tolerance. 

1960s Familes from SE Asia and North Africa emigrate to Europe and the Americas. 

1979 Shah of Iran is overthrown by Ayatullah Ruhullah Khumayni, who establishes strict fundamentalist rule of Shi'a principles. 

late 1990s Taliban come to power in Afghanistan. 

1995 Khobar Towers bombed by Al-Qaeda.

1996 US Embassy bombed in Kenya and Tanzania.

21st Century:

2000 The USS Cole bombed by Al-Qaeda.
 

2001 Muslim extremists attack the United States.  The United States overthrows the Taliban in Afghanistan.

2003 Saddam Hussein ousted by Western forces.

2003 Train bombing in Madrid.

2005 Truck bombing in London

2010 Start of Muslim protests in the Middle East.  The beginning of the "Arab Spring"

2011 Governments of Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen overthrown by protesters.  In Libya, violent suppression of protesters by the government led to international intervention and in October, Gaddafi captured and executed.


2012 Continued demonstrations in Syria are violently suppressed by the government.