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This article describes the various cultural representations associated to cats in Islamic civilisation and shows examples of the respect, love and understanding with which cats were treated and regarded in Islamic history. This original attitude has developed throughout the history of Islam and crystallised in strong cultural and mystical dimensions, of which we find evident and numerous traces in Islamic art, science, medicine, and zoology.
by Cem Nizamoglu
"Cats have been worshipped as gods or persecuted as evil"[1] throughout the history of mankind without any measure of understating. Especially in medieval Europe, cats and women were believed to be in league with Satan; as a result, they were burned, tortured and killed in many unimaginable ways, because people believed that in doing so, they could stop the evil and the diseases. For example during the "Black Death" plague, many cats were killed in large numbers, but in fact, this only made things worse[2].
|Figure 1. Photos in Lorraine Chittock, Cats of Cairo: Egypt's Enduring Legacy. Introduction by Annemarie Schimmel. New York: Abbeville Press, 2001.
On the other hand, there was another picture from a forgotten time in which cats were respected, loved and treated with understanding. From a nick name "Abu Huraira" (father of cats) to a small "Cat figure on an Ottoman Ring Holder", there are numerous references to cats throughout Muslim civilisation, but these are mostly lost or hidden. In this article we cite some examples of how cats were treated and regarded by Islam and reveal the source of this treatment.
At the beginning of her introduction to Lorraine Chittock's book Cats of Cairo, Annemarie Schimmel wrote: "When the British orientalist E. W. Lane lived in Cairo in the 1830's, he was quite amazed to see, every afternoon, a great number of cats gathering in the garden of the High Court, where people would bring baskets full of food for them. He was told that in this way, the qadi (judge) fulfilled obligations dating back to the 13th-century rule of the Mamluk sultan al-Zahir Baybars. That cat-loving monarch had endowed a "cats' garden" where the cats of Cairo would find everything they needed and liked. In the course of time, the place had been sold and resold, changed and rebuilt; yet the law required that the sultan's endowment should be honoured, and who better than the qadi to carry out the king's will and take care of the cats?
The tradition continues. To this very day, every visitor to the Islamic world is aware of the innumerable cats in the streets of Cairo —and of Istanbul, Kairouan, Damascus and many other cities. (…) We often find cats in the mosque, and they are gladly welcomed there not only because they keep the mice at bay [4]."
Cats were very common among the Muslims: "It seems that from early days the Arabs kept cats as pets. Otherwise we could not understand why (according to one early historian) the Prophet's young widow, A'isha, when complaining that everyone had deserted her, added: 'Even the cat has left me alone' [3] ." In contrast to other civilisations, "they were companions of most of the Muslims… from a housewife to a great scholar, they were loved, not only for their beauty or elegance but also for their practical purposes. For example, Muslim scholars wrote odes for their cats because they protected their precious books from attack by animals such as mice [4]."
They were respected as members of the family and protectors of the houses against deadly insects and harmful animals such as scorpions. More importantly, they were not just companions or pets, they were also examples to Muslims, people who submit themselves to One God, such as in the story of Ibn Babshad:
"The grammarian Ibn Babshad was sitting with his friends on the roof of a mosque in Cairo, eating some food. When a cat passed by they gave her some morsels; she took them and ran away, only to come back time and time again. The scholars followed her and saw her running to an adjacent house on whose roof a blind cat was sitting. The cat carefully placed the morsels in front of her. Bashbad was so moved by God's caring for the blind creature that he gave up all his belongings and lived in poverty, completely trusting in God until he died in 1067 (oral tradition recorded in the late 14th century by the Egyptian theologian and zoologist Damiri (d. 1405)" (Lorraine Chittock, Cats of Cairo, p. 40).
And thousands of Sufi (mystical) stories include cats; lovely stories such as sheikh (mentor) Ashraf's Madrasa (school) cat, which helped the teachers to bring order to the school, even sacrificed itself for the sake of the dervishes (the disciples or students of that time), or the tale of the Iraqi Sufi Shibli from the 10th century about his dream in which his sins were being forgiven for saving a kitten's life.
These tales contain important lessons and messages. Sufis were not just clerics; they were also teachers, mathematicians, doctors, consultants, scientists and more, who studied most of the sciences available to them at their time. They talked about astronomy or molecules in their stories, to the point which, for example "purring is often compared to the dhikr, the rhythmic chanting of the Sufis [4]", which is used in many early Islamic hospitals as a healing process. Modern science recently discovered the healing powers of the cats' purr: "…optimal frequency for bone stimulation is 50 hertz. The dominant and fundamental frequency for three species of cats' purr is exactly 25 to 50 hertz: the best frequencies for bone growth and fracture healing. The cat's purr falls well within the 20-50 hertz anabolic range, and extends up to 140 hertz [5]."
Cats were famous in Islamic art. Muslim painters, especially calligraphers, used brushes which were "preferably made from the fur of long-haired cats that were bred for this purpose which applied as opaque, jewel-like colours in a remarkable array of hues" [6]. Some examples of Islamic art depicting cats follow:
Figure 2. An Ottoman Miniature.[Source]
Figure 3. Bronze incense burner from Seljuk period: representing a cat dating from 577 H (1181-1182), by Seljuq Ja'far ibn Muhammad ibn 'Ali, Khorasan (eastern Iran). The head comes off so that the incense can be placed inside, and the arabesque interlace on the body and neck has been pierced to allow the aroma to escape. The back, neck and chest are all perforated to allow incense to escape. On the cat's chest is an inscription in the Kufic script which says: "Valour, power, and glory."[Source]
Figure 4. Incense Burner, Afghanistan, Late 10th cent.[Source]
Figure 5. Humour of "Salman of Sawa" or the cartoons from 'Ubayd Zakani's time. Illustration from a contemporary Mush va Gorbeh (Mouse and Cat) by 'Ubayd Zakani (died ca. 1372 CE), "one of the most remarkable poets, satirists and social critics of Iran".[Source]
The love and respect for cats was not only reflected in art, but also in legends. Some call these legends "superstitions" but scientifically myths give a glimpse of the daily life of ancient people. Some examples can be seen below:
"The qariina (which means good sprit) is believed often to assume the shape of a cat or dog or other household animals. So common is the belief that the qarina dwells in the body of a cat at night-time, that neither Copts nor Moslems would dare to beat or injure a cat after dark. (Many stories are related of the terrible consequences that follow beating a cat. These stories are credited even by the educated).
"Many precautions are taken to defend the unborn child against its mate, or perhaps it is rather against the mate of the mother, who is jealous of the future child…" (Influence of Animism on Islam: An Account of Popular Superstitions, by Samuel M. Zwemer, London : Central Board of Missions and Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1920, chap. 6). [Source]
In the myth of Shah Ismail Safavi, the vehicle of the divine inspiration of Ismail is a miraculous cat:
"[W]ith him always he has a cat, and woe to him who gives it any offense. [Ismail] has a tent, with 365 or 366 entrances, round like the world, and, in the morning, no portal is opened save the place through which the cat every day passes… It is said that [Ismail] has as his guide a spirit in that cat, who counsels him and works many miracles…" (Medieval Christian Perceptions of Islam -A Book of Essays, edited by John Victor Tolan, London/New York: Routledge, 2000)
Yes, the cat figures in many ways in Islamic history from art and literature, garment to coins, accessories to carpets and in the daily life of mystics. There are also examples from the forgotten Islamic history of science. For example the contribution to medical knowledge of the "10th century doctor al-Zahrawi's with the invention of the "cat gut" cannot be overlooked"[7].
Another example is from the 9th century, cats were included in medieval Islamic science books called Kitab Al-Hayawan (Book of Animals) of which Mehemet Bayrakdar said:
"The Kitab Al-Hayawan was the object of many studies, and had great influence upon later Muslim scientists, and via them upon European thinkers (especially upon Lamarck and Darwin). And it became the source for later books on zoology. Al-Jahiz's many sentences are quoted by Ikhwan al-Safa and Ibn Miskawayh, and many passages are quoted by Zakariyya' al-Qazwini (1203-1282) in his 'Aja'ib al-Makhluqat, and by Mustawfi al-Qazwini (1281- ?) in his Nuzkat al-Qulub; and al-Damiri in his Hayat al-Hayawan' [8], and still continues to inspire the scientists today. For instance, Professor. Dr. R. Kruk whose inaugural lecture on "A Map of a cat" was also inspired by Islamic manuscripts and scientific references including Kitab Al-Hayawan. These books also had the role of a cultural drive for the progress of research in modern science in zoology, biology, evolutionary theories, medicine, veterinary, anatomy, etc.
|Figure 6. A lion eating the entrails of the carcass of a cow. The drawing fits the text: "The lion is the king of the beasts of prey, and it eats carcasses, and it begins by drinking the blood, then it opens the stomach and eats what is in it of food and saliva and the intestines together with the evacuation" (Al-Jahiz, Kitab al-hayawan (The Book of Animals ), Cairo, 7 vols., 1323-1324 H)[9]. [Source]
These books not only covered a specific subject as scientific textbooks, but also acted as enlightening guides just like most other early Muslim scientific books. An example is a line from Al-Jahiz's Kitab Al-Hayawan: "and the cat profits so much from its resemblance to the king of beasts that one way of dealing with approaching war elephants is to release a quantity of cats from a bag[10]."
There are also records of institutions, dispensaries and trusts built to protect animals; among which were cat houses. One can say that not only did the West bring science, art and goods from the East, they also brought cats from all over the early Islamic lands where cats were thriving. For example, in the UK the true wild cat species existed only in Scotland and Ireland but there are now millions of cats living in UK.
It seems impossible to squeeze this subject in a short essay; therefore it is better to look into the source: Where did this love and understanding towards cats come from?
In the Islamic world, the cat was respected and protected because cats were loved by the Prophet Mohammed. From a very simple piece of advice to his actions, there are numerous reports concerning the Prophet Mohammed and cats, resulting in their subsequent acceptance among Muslims.
Prophet Mohammed advised the people to treat their cats (pets) as a member of their family, and by this he meant to take a good care of them. Not only by words, but also with his actions he was a very good role model. These exemplary behaviors became so popular that they turned to stories in time. One of the most famous story about them is Muezza, the Prophet Muhammad's favorite cat, recounts the call to prayer was given, and as the story goes Prophet Mohammed went to put on one of his robes, he found his cat sleeping on one of the sleeves. Rather than disturbing the cat, he cut off the sleeve and let him sleep. When he returned, Muezza awoke and bowed down to Prophet Muhammad and in return he stroked him three times.[11] It is also believed that when Prophet Muhammad gave sermons within his household he would often hold Muezza in his lap.
Both his followers and the "Prophet enjoyed the presence of cats"[12]. For example in the early 7th century lived Abu Hurayrah, famous as a companion of the Prophet and a major narrator of his sayings. He was given his nickname Abu Hruyrah (literally father of cats) by the Prophet because he used to care for a small male cat. ("Cat" word comes from the Arabic word qit but a tiny male cat is called hurayrah). There is also a legend about this in which a cat saved the Prophet's life from a deadly snake. The story is narrated by Annemarie Schimmel as follows:
"There are variants of the story of how Abu Huraryra's cat, which he always carried in his bag, saved the Prophet from an obnoxious snake, whereupon the Prophet petted her so that the mark of his fingers is still visible in the four dark lines on most cats' foreheads, and, because the Prophet's hand had stroked her back, cats never fall on their backs" (A. Schimmel, Deciphering the Signs of God, Albany, NY, 1994).
"The cat is such a clean animal that according to authentic narrations one may make ablution for Prayer with the same water that a cat drank from. Yet, it is known that some people nowadays have opposed the traditions of the Prophet by taking up the evil practices of torturing and poisoning cats. In Islam, the punishment for such actions is severe. Islam holds a special place for cats as lovable and cherished creatures, and mistreating a cat is seen as a serious sin. Al-Bukhari reported a hadith regarding a woman who locked up a cat, refusing to feed it and not releasing it so that it could feed itself. The Prophet Muhammad said that her punishment on the Day of Judgment will be torture and Hell[13]."
There are many records of the Prophet's love for cats and his relationship with them. "The prophet's fondness for cats is often referred to, and whether or not the hadith that 'Love of cats is part of the faith' is genuine, it reflects the general feeling for the little feline [4]." There are also many testimonials regarding many other animals in Islam such as horses, camels, bees, ants and even flies.
Fundamentally the life of the Prophet Mohammed is the understanding of the Quran itself. There are some verses associated with animals and references regarding the responsibility of the human domain in the world and its contents which include balance, justice, mercy and much more moral content. To show mercy to animals is the part of the faith of Islam. Prophet Mohammed taught mercy to all of God's creation. The Quran was the way of his life. We should consider the message and the sprit of Quran which reflects on all messengers of Allah to mankind. The mercy and fear of Allah is reflected in their characters therefore above all the reader should consider what is mentioned in Quran wholly because Islam does not only mean - as described in a dictionary - a religion "based on the words and religious system founded by the prophet Muhammad and taught by the Koran, the basic principle of which is absolute submission to a unique and personal god, Allah[14]." It also means "straight/right/true path (to God)" which covers the history of the world and beyond.
Thus, this essay can only give some references regarding cats at a certain time line in living Islamic History. This period starts from the life of the "messenger" of Allah, the prophet Mohammed, to people who followed him thereafter.
Further Reading:
- Cats in Islamic Cultures Web Album
- Cemnizamoglu.blogspot.com
- Animal Rights: An Islamic Perspective
- Animals in Islam
Bibliography (alphabetical):
- Chittock, Lorraine: Cats of Cairo: Egypt's Enduring Legacy. Introduction by Annemarie Schimmel. New Yor: Abbeville Press, 2001.
- Powe Allred, Alexandra: Cats' Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Mysterious Mousers, Talented Tabbies, and Feline Oddities. Potomac Books, 2005.
- Schimmel, Annemarie: Deciphering the Signs of God. A Phenomenological Approach to Islam. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994.
- Schimmel, Annemarie: Mystical Dimensions of Islam. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 1975.
- Schimmel, Annemarie: And Muhammad Is His Messenger: The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1985.
Text References:
[1.] Cat: Myths and Superstitions
[2.] Glossary of Religion and Philosophy: Black Death
[3.] Muttaqun On-Line, "Cats: According to Quran and Sunnah"
[4.] Lorraine Chittock, Cats of Cairo (as PDF)
[5.] The Importance of Sound in Healing
[6.] Islamic Art: Late Islamic
[7.] Cryptic Subterranean: Islamic Inventions
[8.] Salaam Knowledge: al-Jahiz
[9.] Note that lions are referred to as "Big Cats": "Big Cats in Detail"
[10.] Jahiz's Kitab al-Hayawan (book on animals)
[11.] by Georgie Anne Geyer: "When Cats Reigned Like Kings" Page 4 and 28
[12.] "Power of Words: Prophet (s.a.w.) and a cat"
[13.] Islam Web , "Islam Teaches the Love of Animals"
[14.] Islam – Definitions", in Dictionary.com:


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text: Remarks on the Air Traffic Controllers Strike (August 3, 1981) Ronald Reagan Transcript The President. This morning at 7 a.m. the union representing those who man America's air traffic control facilities called a strike. This was the culmination of 7 months of negotiations between the Federal Aviation Administration and the union. At one point in these negotiations agreement was reached and signed by both sides, granting a $40 million increase in salaries and benefits. This is twice what other government employees can expect. It was granted in recognition of the difficulties inherent in the work these people perform. Now, however, the union demands are 17 times what had been agreed to—$681 million. This would impose a tax burden on their fellow citizens which is unacceptable.I would like to thank the supervisors and controllers who are on the job today, helping to get the nation's air system operating safely. In the New York area, for example, four supervisors were scheduled to report for work, and 17 additionally volunteered. At National Airport a traffic controller told a newsperson he had resigned from the union and reported to work because, "How can I ask my kids to obey the law if I don't?" This is a great tribute to America.Let me make one thing plain. I respect the right of workers in the private sector to strike. Indeed, as president of my own union, I led the first strike ever called by that union. I guess I'm maybe the first one to ever hold this office who is a lifetime member of an AFL-CIO union. But we cannot compare labor-management relations in the private sector with government. Government cannot close down the assembly line. It has to provide without interruption the protective services which are government's reason for being.It was in recognition of this that the Congress passed a law forbidding strikes by government employees against the public safety. Let me read the solemn oath taken by each of these employees, a sworn affidavit, when they accepted their jobs: "I am not participating in any strike against the Government of the United States or any agency thereof, and I will not so participate while an employee of the Government of the United States or any agency thereof."It is for this reason that I must tell those who fail to report for duty this morning they are in violation of the law, and if they do not report for work within 48 hours, they have forfeited their jobs and will be terminated.Q. Mr. President, are you going to order any union members who violate the law to go to jail?The President. Well, I have some people around here, and maybe I should refer that question to the Attorney General.Q. Do you think that they should go to jail, Mr. President, anybody who violates this law?The President. I told you what I think should be done. They're terminated.The Attorney General. Well, as the President has said, striking under these circumstances constitutes a violation of the law, and we intend to initiate in appropriate cases criminal proceedings against those who have violated the law.Q. How quickly will you initiate criminal proceedings, Mr. Attorney General?The Attorney General. We will initiate those proceedings as soon as we can.Q. Today?The Attorney General. The process will be underway probably by noon today.Q. Are you going to try and fine the union $1 million per day?The Attorney General. Well, that's the prerogative of the court. In the event that any individuals are found guilty of contempt of a court order, the penalty for that, of course, is imposed by the court.Q. How much more is the government prepared to offer the union?The Secretary of Transportation. We think we had a very satisfactory offer on the table. It's twice what other Government employees are going to get-11.4 percent. Their demands were so unreasonable there was no spot to negotiate, when you're talking to somebody 17 times away from where you presently are. We do not plan to increase our offer to the union.Q. Under no circumstances?The Secretary of Transportation. As far as I'm concerned, under no circumstance.Q. Will you continue to meet with them? The Secretary of Transportation. We will not meet with the union as long as they're on strike. When they're off of strike, and assuming that they are not decertified, we will meet with the union and try to negotiate a satisfactory contract.Q. Do you have any idea how it's going at the airports around the country?The Secretary of Transportation. Relatively, it's going quite well. We're operating somewhat in excess of 50 percent capacity. We could increase that. We have determined, until we feel we're in total control of the system, that we will not increase that. Also, as you probably know, we have some rather severe weather in the Midwest, and our first priority is safety.Q. What can you tell us about possible decertification of the union and impoundment of its strike funds?The Secretary of Transportation. There has been a court action to impound the strike fund of $3.5 million. We are going before the National Labor Relations Authority this morning and ask for decertification of the union.Q. When you say that you're not going to increase your offer, are you referring to the original offer or the last offer which you've made? Is that still valid?The Secretary of Transportation. The last offer we made in present value was exactly the same as the first offer. Mr. Poli asked me about 11 o'clock last evening if he could phase the increase in over a period of time. For that reason, we phased it in over a longer period of time. It would have given him a larger increase in terms of where he would be when the next negotiations started, but in present value it was the $40 million originally on the table.Q. Mr. Attorney General, in seeking criminal action against the union leaders, will you seek to put them in jail if they do not order these people back to work?The Attorney General. Well, we will seek whatever penalty is appropriate under the circumstances in each individual case.Q. Do you think that is an appropriate circumstance?The Attorney General. It is certainly one of the penalties that is provided for in the law, and in appropriate cases, we could very well seek that penalty.Q. What's appropriate?The Attorney General. Well, that depends upon the fact of each case.Q. What makes the difference?Q. Can I go back to my "fine" question? How much would you like to see the union fined every day?The Attorney General. Well, there's no way to answer that question. We would just have to wait until we get into court, see what the circumstances are, and determine what position we would take in the various cases under the facts as they develop.Q. But you won't go to court and ask the court for a specific amount?The Attorney General. Well, I'm sure we will when we reach that point, but there's no way to pick a figure now.Q. Mr. President, will you delay your trip to California or cancel it if the strike is still on later this week?The President. If any situation should arise that would require my presence here, naturally I will do that. So, that will be a decision that awaits what's going to happen. May I just—because I have to be back in there for another appointment—may I just say one thing on top of this? With all this talk of penalties and everything else, I hope that you'll emphasize, again, the possibility of termination, because I believe that there are a great many of those people—and they're fine people—who have been swept up in this and probably have not really considered the result—the fact that they had taken an oath, the fact that this is now in violation of the law, as that one supervisor referred to with regard to his children. And I am hoping that they will in a sense remove themselves from the lawbreaker situation by returning to their posts.I have no way to know whether this had been conveyed to them by their union leaders, who had been informed that this would be the result of a strike.Q. Your deadline is 7 o'clock Wednesday morning for them to return to work?The President. Forty-eight hours.The Secretary of Transportation. It's 11 o'clock Wednesday morning.Q. Mr. President, why have you taken such strong action as your first action? Why not some lesser action at this point?The President. What lesser action can there be? The law is very explicit. They are violating the law. And as I say, we called this to the attention of their leadership. Whether this was conveyed to the membership before they voted to strike, I don't know. But this is one of the reasons why there can be no further negotiation while this situation continues. You can't sit and negotiate with a union that's in violation of the law.The Secretary of Transportation. And their oath.The President. And their oath.Q. Are you more likely to proceed in the criminal direction toward the leadership than the rank and file, Mr. President?The President. Well, that again is not for me to answer.Q. Mr. Secretary, what can you tell us about the possible use of military air controllers-how many, how quickly can they get on the job?The Secretary of Transportation. In answer to the previous question, we will move both civil and criminal, probably more civil than criminal, and we now have papers in the U.S. attorneys' offices, under the Attorney General, in about 20 locations around the country where would be involved two or three principal people.As far as the military personnel are concerned, they are going to fundamentally be backup to the supervisory personnel. We had 150 on the job, supposedly, about a half-hour ago. We're going to increase that to somewhere between 700 and 850.Q. Mr. Secretary, are you ready to hire other people should these other people not return?The Secretary of Transportation. Yes, we will, and we hope we do not reach that point. Again as the President said, we're hoping these people come back to work. They do a fine job. If that does not take place, we have a training school, as you know. We will be advertising. We have a number of applicants right now. There's a waiting list in terms of people that want to be controllers, and we'll start retraining and reorganize the entire FAA traffic controller group.Q. Just to clarify, is your deadline 7 a.m. Wednesday or 11 o'clock?The Secretary of Transportation. It's 11 a.m. Wednesday. The President said 48 hours, and that would be 48 hours.Q. If you actually fire these people, won't it put your air traffic control system in a hole for years to come, since you can't just cook up a controller in-[inaudible]?The Secretary of Transportation. That obviously depends on how many return to work. Right now we're able to operate the system. In some areas, we've been very gratified by the support we've received. In other areas, we've been disappointed. And until I see the numbers, there's no way I can answer that question.Q. Mr. Lewis, did you tell the union leadership when you were talking to them that their members would be fired if they went out on strike?The Secretary of Transportation. I told Mr. Poll yesterday that the President gave me three instructions in terms of the firmness of the negotiations: one is there would be no amnesty; the second there would be no negotiations during the strike; and third is that if they went on strike, these people would no longer be government employees.Q. Mr. Secretary, you said no negotiations. What about informal meetings of any kind with Mr. Poli?The Secretary of Transportation. We will have no meetings until the strike is terminated with the union.Q. Have you served Poli at this point? Has he been served by the Attorney General?The Attorney General. In the civil action that was filed this morning, the service was made on the attorney for the union, and the court has determined that that was appropriate service on all of the officers of the union.Q. My previous question about whether you're going to take a harder line on the leadership than rank and file in terms of any criminal prosecution, can you give us an answer on that?The Attorney General. No, I can't answer that except to say that each case will be investigated on its own merits, and action will be taken as appropriate in each of those cases.Q. Mr. Lewis, do you know how many applications for controller jobs you have on file now?The Secretary of Transportation. I do not know. I'm going to check when I get back. I am aware there's a waiting list, and I do not have the figure. If you care to have that, you can call our office, and we'll tell you. Also, we'll be advertising and recruiting people for this job if necessary.Q. Mr. Secretary, how long are you prepared to hold out if there's a partial but not complete strike?The Secretary of Transportation. I think the President made it very clear that as of 48 hours from now, if the people are not back on the job, they will not be government employees at any time in the future.Q. How long are you prepared to run the air controller system-[ inaudible]?The Secretary of Transportation. For years, if we have to.Q. How long does it take to train a new controller, from the waiting list?The Secretary of Transportation. It varies; it depends on the type of center they're going to be in. For someone to start in the system and work through the more minor office types of control situations till they get to, let's say, a Chicago or a Washington National, it takes about 3 years. So in this case, what we'll have to do if some of the major metropolitan areas are shut down or a considerable portion is shut down, we'll be bringing people in from other areas that are qualified and then start bringing people through the training schools in the smaller cities and smaller airports.Q. Mr. Secretary, have you definitely made your final offer to the union?The Secretary of Transportation. Yes, we have.Q. Thank you.


text: STS135-S-234 (21 July 2011) --- Ribbons of steam and smoke trail space shuttle Atlantis as it nears touchdown on the Shuttle Landing Facility's Runway 15 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the final time. Securing the space shuttle fleet's place in history, Atlantis marked the 26th nighttime landing of NASA's Space Shuttle Program and the 78th landing at Kennedy. Main gear touchdown was at 5:57:00 a.m. (EDT) on July 21, 2011, followed by nose gear touchdown at 5:57:20 a.m., and wheelstop at 5:57:54 a.m. Onboard are NASA astronauts Chris Ferguson, STS-135 commander; Doug Hurley, pilot; Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim, both mission specialists. On the 37th shuttle mission to the International Space Station, STS-135 delivered more than 9,400 pounds of spare parts, equipment and supplies in the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module that will sustain station operations for the next year. STS-135 was the 33rd and final flight for Atlantis, which has spent 307 days in space, orbited Earth 4,848 times and traveled 125,935,769 miles. Photo credit: NASA


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Dear Chris, thank you for your reply; Gareth is a big boy, and will have to learn to deal with distractions, if indeed he was distracted. he made no sign or indication at at all that he was. re the team event, I think quite a few people, like me, want to make sure they have a good day's fencing, and I do have contacts with most of the active epeeists in Herts should you want to get a message about team events out to them. Thank you again for what you are doing for fencing. Kind regards Pete
Announcements during competitions is par for the course and if Gareth was upset he would have told me as I have known him since he was little. I needed to get the other event done so announcements were needed.
As for team events, I suspect if they are targeted at the right clubs we will get teams (I have lots of contacts in East & EM, and I think I could get 8 club teams from around here).
I am aiming this at mid range fencers who want lots of team matches (so fighting off places). I almost think the LP Centre is being a bit elitist and forgetting that team events are done my most people in this country for fun.
I suspect the right marketing is the key..
Will see what happens..


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Hugo Chávez, in full Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías, (born July 28, 1954, Sabaneta, Barinas, Venezuela—died March 5, 2013, Caracas), Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela (1999–2013). Chávez styled himself as the leader of the "Bolivarian Revolution," a socialist political program for much of Latin America, named after Simón Bolívar, the South American independence hero. Although the focus of the revolution has been subject to change depending on Chávez's goals, its key elements include nationalism, a centralized economy, and a strong military actively engaged in public projects. His ideology became known to many as simply chavismo.
What was Hugo Chávez's early life like?
What did Hugo Chávez do?
What did Hugo Chávez accomplish?
Early life
Chávez grew up in Sabaneta, a small town in the southwestern plains of Venezuela. He was the second of six surviving children, all boys. His parents, both schoolteachers, did not have enough money to support all their children, so Hugo and his eldest brother, Adán, were raised in the city of Barinas by their grandmother, Rosa Inés Chávez, who instilled in Hugo a love of history and politics.
As a teenager, Chávez was heavily influenced by José Esteban Ruiz Guevara, a local historian, who introduced him to the teachings of Bolívar and Karl Marx, the German philosopher who was one of the fathers of communism, both of which had a profound impact on Chávez's political philosophy. The presence of the National Liberation Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional; FALN), the communist guerrilla insurgency that began fighting the Venezuelan government in the 1960s, also greatly affected Chávez. The FALN was supported by Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who would later become Chávez's political muse.
In 1971 Chávez entered the Venezuelan Military Academy in Caracas, the national capital, not because he wanted to be a soldier but because he dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player, and the academy had good baseball coaches. Chávez planned to enroll there, excel at baseball, and then drop out. But while he was a skilled left-handed pitcher, he was not good enough to play professionally, so he continued his studies. He was a poor and unruly student, however, and ultimately graduated near the bottom of his class in 1975.
Chávez started his military career as a second lieutenant in the army. His first assignment was to capture the remaining leftist guerrillas. But as he pursued the insurgents, Chávez began to empathize with them, seeing them as peasants fighting for a better life. By 1977 Chávez was ready to leave the army in disgust when he discovered that his brother Adán was secretly working with the insurgents. Chávez arranged to meet Douglas Bravo—head of the Venezuelan Revolution Party (Partido de la Revolución Venezolana; PRV), an underground movement, and a former leader of the FALN. "He inspired me and I realized I wouldn't be leaving the army," Chávez later said of Bravo. In 1982 Chávez and some fellow military officers secretly formed the Bolivarian Movement 200 to spread the insurgents' revolutionary ideology within the military. Their goal was to take power in a civilian-military coup d'état.
Attainment of power
On February 4, 1992, Chávez and a group of military officers led an attempt to overthrow the government of Pres. Carlos Andrés Pérez. Unfortunately for Chávez, the rebellion quickly collapsed. While the other rebel leaders successfully captured their targeted military bases, Chávez was unable to complete the key part of the operation—the capture of President Pérez. Trapped in the Military History Museum near the presidential palace, Chávez realized that it was useless to keep fighting, and he agreed to surrender on the condition that he be allowed to address his coconspirators on national television. Chávez stood in front of the cameras and told his fellow "comrades" that regrettably—"for now," he said—their goal of taking power could not be accomplished, and he beseeched them to put down their arms to avoid further bloodshed. Chávez spoke for less than two minutes, but this was essentially the beginning of his life as a politician. Many Venezuelans at that time were frustrated with their elected leaders, and they were inspired by Chávez and praised his bold ideas to reform the country. His address became known as the por ahora ("for now") speech because many people took that specific phrase as a promise that one day Chávez would return.
Chávez was imprisoned without a court ruling for the attempted coup until 1994, when Pres. Rafael Caldera Rodríguez, bowing to Chávez's growing popularity, dropped the charges against him. Chávez then founded the political party Movement of the Fifth Republic (Movimiento de la Quinta República; MVR), enlisting many former socialist activists and military officers. Viewed as an outsider, Chávez was able to capitalize on widespread discontent with Venezuela's established political parties, and in December 1998 he won the presidential election with 56 percent of the vote.
The Chávez presidency
Chávez took office in February 1999. During his first year in office, his approval rating reached 80 percent, and his platform—which advocated an end to corruption, increased spending on social programs, and redistribution of the country's oil wealth—was widely applauded. Riding this wave of popularity, Chávez oversaw the drafting of a new constitution that gave him unprecedented control over the three branches of government. The new constitution required new elections for every elected official in the country. In this "mega-election" of 2000, Chávez was reelected to a six-year term. He also increased his power in the National Assembly, but his party fell short of the two-thirds majority needed for absolute control. Nevertheless, the pro-Chávez majority was large enough to pass an enabling law that allowed the president to implement certain laws by decree; the National Assembly also appointed all new (pro-Chávez) justices to the Supreme Court.
While many Venezuelans had supported Chávez as an alternative to the corrupt two-party system that had ruled since 1958, others were alienated by his increasingly radical agenda. He formed intimate ties with Castro and stated his intent to take Venezuela down a path similar to Cuba's. He continued to pass controversial laws by decree and moved to limit the independent press. He also alienated the United States and other countries in the West by forging close ties with Iraq, Iran, and Libya, as well as by openly criticizing the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan following the September 11 attacks of 2001. By early 2002 his approval rating had fallen to 30 percent, and anti-Chávez marches had become regular occurrences. Moreover, many of his allies, including some members of the military, began to turn against him.
On April 11, 2002, a rally estimated at close to a million people marched on the president's palace to demand Chávez's resignation. The rally was met with pro-Chávez gunmen and National Guard troops, and a gun battle erupted, leaving dead and wounded on both sides. The violence sparked a military revolt, and, in a move widely condemned as an illegal coup d'état, the military took Chávez into custody. The following day the military established an interim government, choosing Pedro Carmona, head of a national federation of private businesses and a Chávez opponent, to be the interim president. But Carmona caused an uproar when he immediately dissolved most of Venezuela's democratic institutions and suspended the constitution. The Venezuelan military, fearing a right-wing dictatorship, then withdrew its support for the new government and on April 13 recognized Chávez's vice president, Diosdado Cabello, as the rightful successor. Once sworn in, Cabello restored Chávez to power, and Chávez returned to the presidential palace on the morning of April 14.
The coup was the first of a string of conflicts between the Chávez government and the opposition—clashes that continued to polarize Venezuelan society into two bitterly opposed camps: Chávez supporters (chavistas) and opposition members (escuálidos ["scrawny ones"], a derisive term coined by Chávez but quickly and proudly embraced by the opposition). In December 2002 the opposition began a national strike designed to force Chávez to resign. At the centre of the strike was the state oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), which accounted for 80 percent of Venezuela's export revenue. In response, Chávez fired the striking PDVSA workers—about half the company's 38,000 employees—and brought in nonunion workers and foreign oil crews to maintain oil production. By February 2003 the strike had collapsed, and Chávez had full control of PDVSA.
Throughout 2003 and the first half of 2004, the opposition focused on a recall referendum that would push the president out of office midway through his term, but Chávez—now with PDVSA revenues at his disposal and the global price of oil climbing—began spending lavishly on social programs, including literacy and health care initiatives. His approval rating rebounded and, despite allegations of fraud, Chávez defeated the recall referendum in August 2004. In December 2005, to protest what they felt was corruption in the Chávez-dominated National Election Council (the institution that oversees elections), the opposition candidates boycotted the country's legislative elections. But the elections proceeded without them, and Chávez's coalition gained complete control of the National Assembly. It seemed to some political analysts that the more the opposition attacked Chávez, the stronger he became.
In December 2006 Chávez was elected president for a third time, with 63 percent of the vote. Ensured another six years in power, he pushed ahead with plans for "21st-century socialism" by nationalizing key industries, including electricity and telecommunications, as well as what remained of the private oil sector. He also became more vocal in his anti-American rhetoric, particularly in his attacks against Pres. George W. Bush, whom he called "the Devil" in front of the United Nations General Assembly. In 2007 Chávez sponsored a package of changes to the Venezuelan constitution. While analysts noted that the new provisions included certain "crowd pleasers," like a maximum six-hour workday, most of the changes would have increased the power of the executive branch, including giving it greater control over the Central Bank and allowing it to seize property without a legal ruling. The most controversial provision, however, would have allowed for the president's indefinite reelection. In December 2007 the package of amendments was narrowly defeated in a popular referendum by a margin of 51 to 49 percent—Chávez's first defeat at the polls.
In February 2009 a more moderate package of constitutional changes was approved in a popular referendum, clearing the way for Chávez's perpetual reelection. Bolstered by the victory, the government launched an aggressive program to stifle dissent, arresting key political opponents, closing dozens of opposition radio stations, and moving to close Globovisión—the only television station that remained critical of the government.Brian A. Nelson
In June 2011 Chávez was operated on in Cuba to remove a cancerous tumour. The specific nature of his cancer was not revealed, but, after coming home to Venezuela in early July, he returned to Cuba twice (first in July and then in early August) for follow-up treatment that included chemotherapy. Although speculation grew as to whether he would be physically able to stand for reelection in 2012, Chávez mounted an aggressive campaign against challenger Henrique Capriles Radonski, the popular 40-year-old governor of Miranda state, who headed a united opposition made up of some 30 parties from across the political spectrum. The election in October 2012 was not as close as expected, though Chávez's margin of victory (about 10 percent) was considerably less than that in his triumph in 2006, when he captured almost two-thirds of the vote.
In December 2012 Chávez underwent his fourth cancer surgery in Cuba. Before leaving for Cuba, Chávez had designated Vice President Nicolás Maduro as his successor should he not survive the surgery. Chávez remained in Cuba into the new year to recuperate, ostensibly from a lung infection that was a consequence of the surgery. However, the government was criticized by the opposition for not being more forthcoming with details of the president's health. Meanwhile, Maduro acted as the country's de facto leader. When Chávez was not well enough to return to Venezuela for his scheduled inauguration in January 2013, it became a constitutional issue. The National Assembly voted to allow the president's swearing-in to be delayed, and the Supreme Court confirmed the constitutionality of that action. Opposition leaders—who had called for the head of the National Assembly to be named temporary president in Chávez's absence—grudgingly accepted the court's decision. Chávez died on March 5, and Maduro became interim president. Maduro then defeated Capriles in the special election on April 14 to choose a president to serve out the remainder of Chávez's term.The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Although many people criticized Chávez as appearing unprofessional or even buffoonish for his fiery rhetoric and his penchant for slinging insults at world leaders, he was in fact a very astute politician and a remarkable strategist. With his charisma and gift as an orator, he arguably did more than any other Latin American leader in half a century to unite many of the countries in the region, largely by capitalizing on the widespread feelings of neglect and frustration felt by the masses.
Chávez sincerely saw himself as a modern-day Bolívar, continuing the work of the 19th-century statesman who had led the fight for Latin America's independence from Spain and advocated the creation of a league of Latin American states. Combining Bolívar's vision of a unified Latin America, free from the interference of foreign powers, with revolutionary Marxist ideology, Chávez worked to create a Latin American alliance powerful enough not only to expel U.S. influence from the region but also to compete politically and economically with the United States and the European Union. To this end, he actively promoted the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), a regional bloc for social, political, and economic integration created with Castro in 2004, and PetroCaribe, a Venezuelan-led regional energy program created in 2005. These initiatives found considerable support as alternatives to globalization and the economic policies that many Latin Americans felt were pushed on them by the United States and by international lending agencies such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. However, while Chávez found common ground with many Latin American countries, he alienated others. Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, and Peru at some point each accused Chávez of meddling in their domestic affairs. Furthermore, Chávez's critics cited Venezuela's massive arms buildup, its transfer of money and arms to the Colombian guerrilla group FARC, its military alliance with Russia, and its continentwide media coverage as proof of Chávez's intent to destabilize large sections of Latin America in a sort of "superinsurgency."
Within Venezuela the people were deeply divided, and this polarization, combined with a lack of transparency on the part of the government, made it difficult to gauge the success of Chávez's revolution. Government statistics were often contradicted by independent sources, and nonbiased assessments were rare. His opponents pointed to Chávez's increasing authoritarianism, a more than doubling of the country's homicide rate under his rule, shortages of basic foods like sugar, milk, and beans, one of the highest inflation rates in Latin America, and a stubbornly high infant mortality rate, which suggested that government oil profits still were not reaching the poorest citizens. Critics also noted that democracy was dramatically weakened under Chávez's rule. He and his coalition indeed controlled all the institutions of the state—the National Assembly, the Supreme Court, the Justice Department, and the National Election Council. Analysts said that the Chávez government could act with impunity, while those who opposed it had little legal recourse and were often subject to state-sponsored harassment. On the other hand, Chávez proponents pointed to successful education programs, increased access to health care, a rise in employment, and a more than 20 percent drop in the poverty rate under Chávez's rule.Brian A. Nelson The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Learn More in these related Britannica articles:
Venezuela: The Hugo Chávez presidencyBy the 1998 elections more than half the Venezuelan populace was below the poverty line, while annual inflation exceeded 30 percent and oil prices were in steep decline. The voters rejected the traditional political parties of Democratic Action and COPEI and elected…
Venezuela: GovernmentIn 1999 Hugo Chávez Frías, the newly installed president, pushed for radical reforms, and a constituent assembly was soon elected to draft a new constitution; it was adopted by referendum in December of that year. The constitution was modeled on that of the Fifth French Republic. It…
Venezuela: Economic boom and bust…officers, led by Lieutenant Colonel Hugo Chávez Frías, attempted a coup against President Pérez, and later that same year air force officers staged a second coup attempt. Pérez survived these two incidents but subsequently was charged with misappropriating public funds; he was forced to leave office early, in mid-1993.…
socialism: Postwar socialismHugo Chávez's call for a "Bolivarian Revolution." Apart from the appeal to Simón Bolívar's reputation as a liberator, however, Chávez did not establish a connection between socialism and Bolívar's thoughts and deeds.…
Nicolás MaduroHugo Chávez, who had died in March. After serving as vice president (October 2012–March 2013), Maduro became the interim president following Chávez's death. A zealous proponent of
chavismo(the political system and ideology established by Chávez), Maduro was the candidate of the United Socialist Party…
More About Hugo Chávez17 references found in Britannica articles
Assorted References
- major reference
- criticism of HAARP
- In HAARP
- establishment of PetroCaribe
- In PetroCaribe
- expression of socialism
- history of Venezuela
- leadership of Movement for the Fifth Republic
- origins of Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America
association with
- Capriles
- Castro
- In Fidel Castro