the 500 most influential muslims - The Royal Islamic Strategic ...

ARTS AND CULTURE
EUROPE
DENMARK
bachiri, isam and qadri, waqas
An award-winning group of diverse hip-hop artists, Bachiri, Qadri and Lenny Martinez (who is
not Muslim), form Outlandish—an increasingly influential voice for the Muslim youth around the
world—particularly in Europe. They have performed internationally with hip-hop, R&B, and soul
musical influence in multiple languages.
FRANCE
deghati, reza
Reza Deghati, more commonly known simply as Reza, is an internationally acclaimed photojournalist
who has reported from all over the world for National Geographic, Vanity Fair, the New
York Times Magazine and other reputable publications. He is also the founder of Aina, a nonprofit
humanitarian organization dedicated to civil society development through Education, Information,
and Communication initiatives.
LATVIA
uldis, berzins
Berzins Uldis is a Latvian poet and translator. Uldis has been teaching Turkish at the Modern Languages
Department of the University of Latvia since 2002 and is known for spending fifteen years
on the first translation of the Qur’an in Latvian, published in 2009.
NETHERLANDS
benali, abdelkader
Abdelkader Benali is a Moroccan-Dutch writer and journalist. For his second novel, De langverwachte
(The long-awaited one), Benalis received the Libris Prize for Literature. Besides writing novels and
theatrical plays, Benali publishes essays and reviews in various media.
el mouhandiz, rajae
Rajae el Mouhandiz is a Dutch-Moroccan-Algerian poet, singer, composer and producer, and
founder of the record label Truthseeker Records. After being the first Moroccan to study at a Dutch
conservatory, el Mouhandiz left classical music to follow her own artistic path, seeking to incorporate
her cultural roots.
TURKEY
yalçin, rabia
Rabia Yalçin is a Turkish fashion designer. Her creations represent a synthesis of local and international
cultures and are inspired by the opulence of her homeland’s Ottoman past. With her line
Rabia Yalçin Haute Couture, Yalçin has a strong presence in the European fashion scene.
UNITED KINGDOM
azzam, khaled
Khaled Azzam is an Egyptian-British architect and the director of the Prince’s School of Traditional
Arts (PSTA) in London.
islam, yusuf
Formerly known as Cat Stevens, Yusuf Islam is a globally influential British musician and singersongwriter.
In 1977, he converted to Islam and left the music industry for educational and philanthropic
causes. His international fame and high-regard has made him probably the single most
influential figure in the field of arts and culture in the Muslim world. In the past five years he has
made a gradual return to music with his latest albums ‘An Other Cup’ and ‘Roadsinger’.
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