of Pakistan after a military coup against the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. 2000: Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip begin the Al-Aqsa Intifada, prompted by Ariel Sharon's visit to a disputed religious site holy to both Jews and Muslims. 2000: President Hafez al-Assad of Syria dies of a heart attack. His son Bashar al-Assad is elected President by Syria's Majlis Al Shaa'b (Parliament). 2000: Russia occupies Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, in Second Chechen War. 2000: General Parvez Musharraf overthrows the democratically elected government of Nawaz Sharif in Pakistan. 2000: Suicide attack on USS Cole kills 17 US sailors. By the end of this century, global Muslim population had grown to almost one-fifth (20%) of the total driven by improved healthcare infrastructure. See also Timeline of Muslim history List of 20th-century religious leaders References ⒛ Hundred CE