669-718: Muslim jihad on Christian Byzantium.
710: Tariq Ibn Malik conducts raids into Spain.
732: Charles Martel halts northward expansion of Muslims.
756: Revival of Umayyad Caliphate in al-Andalus (Spain).
820: Muslim conquest of Sicily.
1087: By this date, Arab medicine is being taught in Salerno.
1238: Construction begins on the Alhambra in Granada.
1453: Ottomans conquer Constantinople.
1469: Christian unification of Aragon and Castille.
1480-1481: Ottomans occupy southern Italy.
1486: Latin translation of al-Razi's Arabic Medical Encyclopedia appears in Europe.
1492: Fall of Muslim Granada to the Christians.
1529: First Ottoman siege of Vienna.
1531: Second Ottoman siege of Vienna.
1593-1606: Ottoman wars against the Hapsburgs.
1683: Third (final) Ottoman siege of Vienna.
1800s: European colonialism in the Middle East and Africa.
1821-1829: Greek war of independence from the Ottomans. (See also: Ottomans jettison jihadist ideology.)
1920s-1940s: French and British Mandate rule in the Middle East - 1920-30 ; 1930-1947.
1956: France and Great Britain join Israel in attacking Egypt.
1972: Palestinian commandos attack Israeli Olympic team in Munich.
1978-1979: Exiled Iranian cleric Ayatollah Khomeini lives in Paris.
1985: Abu Nidal attacks Vienna and Rome.
1995, July: Massacre of Muslims in Srebrenica.
1995, October: Wave of terror bombings in Paris (term "Londonistan" coined). (see also)
1995: Ibn Warraq publishes Why I am Not a Muslim.
1997: Enes Karic on Bosnia as part of Europe.
1998, February: French Muslim philosopher Roger Garaudy prosecuted for denying the Holocaust.
1998, September: Fighting breaks out in Kosovo.
2002, May 6: Murder of Pim Fortuyn in the Netherlands highlights growing clash of cultures there.
2003, January: Germany bans Muslim group Hizb al-Tahrir for violating laws against anti-Semitism. (More on Hizb al-Tahrir)
2003, January 23: Raid on London's Finsbury Park Mosque.
2003, June: Controversy in France over Muslim women and the veil.
2004, March 11: Madrid bombings.
2004, November 2: Slaying of Theo Van Gogh in the Netherlands. (See also Ayaan al-Hirsi below)
2005: Term "Eurabia" popularized. (see also)
2005, July 7: Bombings in London. (see also arrests in Canada)
2005, October: Riots in France.
2006, February-March: Cartoon controversy. (see also)
2006, May: Liberal MP Ayaan al-Hirsi in trouble in the Netherlands.
2006, June: Pew survey shows deepening suspicions between Muslims and the West.
2006, August: Bomb plots in the United Kingdom and Germany broken up.
2006, mid September: Pope's remarks spark uproar among Muslims worldwide. (see also)
2006, November 9: Great Britain's leaders warn of formidable terror threats.
2006, November: Dutch weigh ban on face coverings.
2006, December: EUMC report on state of Europe's Muslims.
2007, May: Walter Laqueur's new book attacking liberal European immigration policies.
2007, May: Campaign to ban minarets in Switzerland.
2007: Swiss Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan comes under fire. (see also Ruthven article below).
2007, November: Moderate Muslim leaders in Britain propose steps to fight extremism.
2008, February: Archbishop of Canterbury proposes incorporating some Sharia law into civil law code.
2008, February: New controversy in Netherlands over alleged desecration of Qur'an.
2008, March 23 (Easter Sunday): Pope baptizes Muslim into Roman Catholic Church.
2008, June: Europe's problems assimilating and accepting the Muslims in its midst.
2008, June: France denies citizenship to Muslim woman wearing the veil.
2008, December: Islamic revivalism on the rise in Bosnia.
2009, January 21: Dutch MP Geert Wilders charged with defaming Islam.
2009, June: French President Sarkozy calls for ban on wearing of full body veil.
2009, August: German song lyric controversy.
See BBC "Muslims in Europe" page.
See also Adonis on the veil controversy in France (2003).
See also "Wars of Words and Images."
Other Resources:
Malise Ruthven, "The Islamic Optimist" (profile of Tariq Ramadan), New York Review of Books, vol. 54., no. 13, August 16, 2007