The notion of tajdid in the Islamic tradition can be traced back to the Prophet Muhammad, who said that "At the start of each century there will arise in this ummah (the Muslim community) those who will call for a religious renewal". Such people (mujaddids, or renewers of Islam), are believed to always come in the time when Muslim community departs from the true path defined by the Qur'an and sunnah (example of the Prophet). The task of the mujaddid, therefore, is to return Muslims to their basic sources (the Qur'an and sunnah), to clean Islam from all un-Godly elements, to present Islam and make it flourish more or less in its original pure form and spirit.
The tradition of a renewal of the faith went back to Islam's first century, with the caliph Umar II ('Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz), who came to power in the Muslim year 99 and was particularly revered for his piety, in contrast to his predecessors. He was viewed as a renewer of the faith in an age of increasingly profane rule, and later mujaddids and their movements in various parts of the Islamic world followed his precedent.
Alexander Hickman
Thomas Alexander Hickman (October 19, 1925 – January 11, 2016) was a Canadian lawyer, politician and judge. He was born in Grand Bank, Newfoundland. From 1966 to 1979, he was a member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly. He held many cabinet positions including Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Minister of Health, Minister Responsible for Intergovernmental Affairs, Minister of Finance, and Minister of Education.
Hickman died on January 11, 2016 at the age of 90.
Oscar Fritschi
Oscar Fritschi (25 February 1939 – 8 January 2016) was a Swiss politician. He was a member of the Free Democratic Party of Switzerland. He was born in Winterthur, Switzerland. From 1986 to 1992 Fritschi was president of the FDP of the Canton of Zurich. From 1991 to 1992 he was a member of the Cantonal Council of the Canton of Zurich. On November 25, 1991, he was elected in the National Assembly. He resigned in 1999 after he no longer had support.
Fritschi died at a hospital in Zurich, Switzerland from a short-illness at the age of 76.
John Harvard (politician)
John Harvard (June 4, 1938 – January 9, 2016) was a Canadian journalist and politician in Manitoba. He served as a federal Member of Parliament from 1988 to 2004, and was appointed the 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba just before Canada's federal election in 2004.
Harvard died in Manitoba at the age of 77.
Abbas Bahri
Abbas Bahri (1 January 1955 – 10 January 2016) was a Tunisian mathematician. He was the winner of the Fermat Prize and the Langevin Prize in mathematics. He was a professor of mathematics at Rutgers University.
He mainly studied the calculus of variations, partial differential equations, and differential geometry. He introduced the method of the critical points at infinity, which is a fundamental step in the calculus of variations.
On 10 January 2016, he died following a long illness at the age of 61.
Ann Z. Caracristi
Ann Zeilinger Caracristi (February 1, 1921 – January 10, 2016) was an American cryptanalyst. She was the former Deputy Director of the National Security Agency, where she served at many positions over a 40-year career. She served as a member of the Secretary of Defense Joint Security Commission and President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. She became the first woman at NSA to be promoted to "GS-18" rank, in 1975. She was born in Bronxville, New York.
In 2002, her name was given to a Naval Intelligence Professionals' award. Caracristi died January 10, 2016, in Washington, D.C. from complications of dementia at the age of 94.
Veijo Meri
Veijo Väinö Valvo Meri (31 December 1928 – 21 June 2015) was a Finnish writer. His work was mainly about World War II and the Cold War. The work is anti-war and has dark humor. He was born in Viipuri, Finland. He wrote novels, short stories, poetry, and essays. He was known for his works; "Manila rope: A novel", "Private Jokinen’s marriage leave" and "Beneath the Polar Star: Glimpses of Finnish History". He won the Nordic Council's Literature Prize in 1973.
Meri died in Helsinki, Finland at the age of 86.
Wim Bleijenberg
Wim Bleijenberg (5 November 1930 – 10 January 2016) was a Dutch footballer. He played as a forward. He played for Wageningen, Rigtersbleek, Ajax, Blauw-Wit Amsterdam, Go Ahead Eagles, Apeldoorn and the national team. He was born in Veenendaal, Utrecht.
Bleijenberg died on 10 January 2016, aged 85.
Reginaldo Araújo
António Reginaldo Matias de Araújo (2 October 1977 – 11 January 2016) was a Brazilian footballer. He played as a defender. He played for Coritiba, São Paulo, Santos, Flamengo, Santa Cruz and Criciúma. He was born in Presidente Prudente, São Paulo.
Araújo died from a heart attack on 11 January 2016 in Cornélio Procópio, Paraná. He was 38.
Gunnel Vallquist
Gunnel Vallquist (19 June 1918 – 11 January 2016) was a Swedish writer and translator. She became a member of the Swedish Academy in 1982. She wrote over twenty books. She also translated "In Search of Lost Time" by Marcel Proust from French into Swedish. She was born in Stockholm.
Vallquist died on 11 January 2016, aged 97.
Brian Johnson (rugby league)
Brian James Johnson (26 June 1956 – 11 January 2016) was an Australian professional rugby league player and coach. He played as a fullback. He played in Sydney for the St George Dragons and Eastern Suburbs. He later played in England for Warrington. He was born in Dapto, New South Wales.
Johnson died from Alzheimer's disease on 11 January 2016 in Wollongong, aged 59.
Darryl Cherney
Darryl Cherney (born 1950s) is an American musician and environmental activist. He is a member of the Earth First! environmental movement. He was born in New York City, New York, but raised in Eureka, California. Cherney ran for congress in the 1988 Democratic primary, but lost.
On May 24, 1990, Cherney and his friend, fellow activist Judi Bari, were injured when a pipe bomb exploded in his car. Both were severely injured by the explosion. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which accused Cherney of bombing themselves. He later sued the FBI and was later awarded $4.4 million dollars. Bari died from her injuries. In 2012, Cherney's documentary movie "Who Bombed Judi Bari?" was released.
Cherney announced in 2015 that he was running for President of the United States for the Green Party nomination in the 2016 United States presidential election. He is running against Jill Stein for the nomination.
Jill Stein 2016 presidential campaign
Jill Stein, a physician from Massachusetts, is seeking the nomination of the Green Party of the United States for President in 2016. In 2012, Stein was the Green Party's nominee and received 469,501 votes for President of the United States in the 2012 general election.
On February 6, 2015, Stein announced the formation of an exploratory committee in preparation for a potential campaign for the Green Party's presidential nomination in the 2016.
She officially declared she was running for president for a second time during an appearance on Democracy Now! on June 22, 2015.
Prohibition Party
The Prohibition Party (PRO) is a political party in the United States. The party is known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages.
It is the oldest existing third party in the United States. The party was an important part of the temperance movement. While never one of the leading parties in the United States, it was once an important force in the Third Party System during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This was also the case in mid century Europe. It declined dramatically after the repeal of Prohibition in 1933.
The party earned only 519 votes in the 2012 presidential election with Jack Fellure as the candidate. James Hedges was the candidate in the 2016 presidential election winning 5,617 votes.
Doping in sport