The 500 Most Influential Muslims

13/01/2025

Peter Sanders began his career photographing the music icons of the 1960s. He was amongst the first Europeans to photograph the Hajj in 1971 and has continued to travel internationally, giving presentations and undertaking international photographic workshops. In the last five years, he has published, Meetings with Mountains: Encounters with the Saints and Sages of the Islamic World, Exemplars for Our Time, a collaboration with Michael Sugich and finally this year, Heaven, Earth and The Ten Thousand Things: the Lives of the Muslims of China. He has also launched a large retrospective photographic exhibition in Ithra Gallery, Saudi Arabia. Sanders continues to act as a translator of Islam to those interested in acquiring a greater understanding and to encourage broader and deeper interactions between people of different races and faiths.

03/01/2025

Hamza Namira is an Egyptian singer and a songwriter who became known as the “Voice of the Revolution” after the 2011 Arab Spring in Egypt. His songs focus on subjects related to sociopolitical, humanist interest, hope, alienation and resistance against oppression. Namira enjoys a wide following and recently celebrated 1 billion views on his YouTube channel, in addition to having almost 19 million followers on different social media outlets. He lived in exile after being accused of opposing the Egyptian regime but recently returned to Egypt where he settled and hosts concerts. Namira also participates in philanthropy working alongside organizations like Human Appeal International and United Muslim Relief.

27/12/2024

Halima Aden is a trailblazer in the world of fashion and beauty. She was the first ever contestant to wear a hijab and burkini in a USA pageant. She was the first hijab-wearing model to be signed by a major modelling agency and the first to appear on the front cover of Allure, Vogue, Sports Illustrated and Essence magazines wearing a hijab and burkini. Aden quit the industry in November 2020, citing that the profession was not compatible with her beliefs, but she seems to have returned a year later. All this is a far cry from her birth in a Kenyan refugee camp to Somali parents 24 years ago.

23/12/2024

Dr El-Naggar is an Egyptian geologist and scholar who writes and speaks on science and the Qur’an. He is a fellow of the Islamic Academy of Sciences, and is well-respected by the global scientific community for his work in geology. He has published close to 200 academic articles and scientific studies. He also works for the Arab Development Institute.

د. زغلول النجار Dr. Zaghloul Al Najjar

#مصر

15/12/2024

Dr KH Haedar Nashir was elected as Chairman of the Muhammadiyah Movement in 2015. He previously served in a variety of other roles in the organization, which has approximately 30 million members. The Muhammadiyah Movement focuses on promoting moral and spiritual ideals through various social activities. It strongly opposes syncretism, but promotes interfaith relations.

10/12/2024

Hind Khoudary has become one of the most recognized voices reporting from Gaza, using her social media platforms to shed light on the unfolding genocide. A graduate of the American International School in Gaza, Hind worked as a freelance journalist for Amnesty International and has been reporting for Al Jazeera English since 7 October 2023. With a large following on X and Instagram, her reporting is unflinchingly raw and often deeply emotional, fearlessly exposing the atrocities committed by Israeli forces in Gaza. Despite being offered a chance to leave Gaza with her family, Hind chose to stay, continuing her coverage even as over 160 journalists and media workers have been targeted, assassinated, and killed by Israeli forces. Her bravery has earned her a nomination for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, solidifying her status as a heroic figure in journalism.

#هندالخضري

06/12/2024

Now on Amazon!

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01/12/2024

Sadio Mane is a Senegalese footballer globally renowned as one of the best footballers in the world. He had been instrumental in Liverpool’s success (2016-2022), winning the Champions League in 2019 and then ending a 30-year wait to win the Premier League in 2020. He also played for the Senegal team which reached the 2020 African nations cup final. He recently moved to the Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr from Bayern Munich. He is seen making supplication before the start of each match and performs a prostration every time he scores a goal. He is well known for his modest and humble personality, and has donated significant amounts of his personal wealth to develop the infrastructure in his hometown of Sedhiou. He transformed his childhood village of Bambalia—a village in the south of Senegal—with a number of charitable works, including building a new hospital, school, mosque, sports stadium and other infrastructures.

24/11/2024

A leading North American Muslim lawyer, academic and public intellectual, Faisal Kutty is outspoken on issues of human rights, Islamic thought, religion and law, and national security. He is an associate professor at Southwestern Law School, an affiliate faculty member at Rutgers University Center for Security, Race and Rights, and counsel to a respected Toronto law firm with an international client base. He co-founded the Canadian Muslim Civil Liberties Association and served as its first legal counsel and previously served as the vice chair and legal counsel to the Canadian Council on American Islamic Relations (now renamed the National Council of Canadian Muslims). He is a frequent keynote speaker, widely quoted commentator, and he has written hundreds of op-eds, academic articles, papers, reviews and essays on a wide range of topics.

21/11/2024

Dr Farooq inherited the 14th Mirwaiz (traditional preacher of Muslims in Kashmir) in 1990 at the age of 17 after the assassination of his father. At the young age of 20 he became Chairman and Founder of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a grassroots coalition of pro-freedom parties in Jammu & Kashmir. He has raised the Kashmiri problem at the UN, the EU parliament, and the IOC, advocating dialogue with both India and Pakistan so that the aspirations of the Kashmiri people may be realized. After being placed under house arrest in August 2019, he was eventually granted permission to leave in September 2023 and his attendance at prayers elicited an emotional response.

18/11/2024

Bassem Youssef is a prominent Egyptian-American comedian, television host, and political satirist who has had a significant impact on mainstream media reporting on the Gaza genocide. Often referred to as the “Jon Stewart of the Arab world”, Yousef is recognized for his sharp humour, fearless political satire, and his talent for tackling complex social issues through comedy. Originally trained as a cardiac surgeon, Yousef shifted his focus to comedy during the Arab Spring of 2011. He launched ‘Al-Bernameg’ (‘The Programme’), a satirical news show popular for its commentary on political and social issues in Egypt and beyond. On 2 May 2024, he was honoured with the Gold Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Public Discourse by the College Historical Society at Trinity College, Dublin. With around 16 million followers across various social media platforms, Yousef’s influence is substantial.

11/11/2024

Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah is a British-Palestinian plastic and reconstructive surgeon specializing in craniofacial surgery, trauma-related injuries, and conflict medicine. His career has been marked by extensive work in conflict zones, particularly in Gaza, where he has provided critical medical assistance during numerous conflicts, including the 2023-24 Gaza genocide. His description of the horrors he saw in Gaza include testimony that he treated patients suffering from white phosphorus burns. He shared testimony with Scotland Yard and ,in January 2024, met with International Criminal Court investigators in The Hague. He was elected Rector of the University of Glasgow in March 2024. His activism led to travel bans in Germany and France, later overturned by legal efforts.

06/11/2024

Sheikh Ahmed Al-Nufais is the Imam of the Grand Mosque of Kuwait. His expertise in Qur’anic recitation is particularly noteworthy, having trained under renowned scholars such as Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Akhdar and Sheikh Dr Abdullah Jarullah. He has successfully leveraged modern platforms to reach a wider audience with his YouTube channel garnering over 300 million views. He travels internationally to lecture and has raised awareness about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

#القرآن #تلاوة #الكويت

30/10/2024

30/10/2024

The amazing Shaykha Dr Haifa Younis is the new entry to the Muslim500 Alhamdulillah. We love her for the sake of Allah. MaashaAllah. TabarakAllah. May Allah protect Shaykha

29/10/2024

Dr Haifaa Younis seamlessly blends her expertise in both the worldly and spiritual realms. As an American Board Certified Obstetrician and Gynecologist, she is committed to her medical profession while also passionately sharing the message of Allah (SWT) and nurturing a deep love for Islam and the Qur’an through her teachings. She is the Founder and Chairman of the Jannah Institute and serves as a resident scholar at both the Jannah Institute and the Islamic Center of Irvine (ICOI). Dr Haifaa leads seminars that delve into the thematic commentary of various chapters of the Holy Qur’an, highlighting their practical applications in daily life. She graduated from the Mecca Institute of Islamic Studies in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and completed her memorization of the Qur’an at Al-Huda Qur’an Memorization School, also in Jeddah.