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Omar

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Religious Figure

The Resume

    (circa 584-November 3, 644)
    Born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia
    Also known as Umar and Umar ibn al-Khattab
    Converted to Islam at age 39
    Second leader of the Rashidun Caliphate (634-44)
    Fatally stabbed by Piruz Nahavandi, an enslaved Persian soldier
    Revered by Sunnis, viewed negatively by Shi’ites

Why he might be annoying:

    He was initially so opposed to Islam that he planned to assassinate Muhammad.
    When he discovered that his sister had converted, he slapped her so hard that she fell to the ground, bleeding from the mouth.
    According to some accounts, he secured the selection of Abu Bakr as first caliph by leading an armed force to the house where Abu Bakr’s main rival, Ali ibn Abi Talib, was meeting with his followers and giving them the choice of either swearing allegiance to Abu Bakr or having the house set on fire (632).
    Shia tradition claims that he assaulted Ali’s pregnant wife, Fatimah, causing her to suffer a miscarriage and die.
    As caliph, he would patrol the streets of Medina with a whip, personally doling out justice to any lawbreakers he came across.
    After his forces conquered Egypt, he allegedly ordered the destruction of the library of Alexandria, reasoning, ‘If the writings of the Greeks agree with the Koran, they are superfluous and need not be preserved. If they disagree, they are pernicious and must not be preserved.’

Why he might not be annoying:

    He said about his father, ‘If I didn't work he used to beat me, and he used to work me to exhaustion.’
    When Muhammad ordered his followers to leave Mecca for Medina (622), most of them left at night fearing violence from the locals. Omar left in the day, after making the badass boast, ‘Any one who wants to make his wife a widow and his children orphans should come and meet me there behind that cliff.’
    During his reign as caliph, Islamic armies conquered most of the Middle East outside of Turkey.
    After capturing Jerusalem, he allowed Jews to resettle in the city, ending a Byzantine ban on them.
    He established a welfare state that supported the poor, elderly, widows, orphans, and the disabled.
    He was ambidextrous.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 8 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 9 Votes: 66.67% Annoying