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

ISSUES OF THE DAY
YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT
QATAR
younis, ahmed
Younis is the young former national director of Muslim Public Affairs Council in the United States
(MPAC). His current job is to create strategic partnerships at Silatech, an organization that recently
started to push for greater youth employment in the Middle East and North Africa. These regions
in particular have some of the world’s highest youth unemployment rates.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
SOUTH AFRICA
patel, ebrahim
Patel is currently one of South Africa’s most important figures. He is the minister for economic
development, and former spokesperson for COSATU, the umbrella organization for South
African Trade Unions. His experience and position are critical at present because of the huge
unemployment rates in South Africa.
BARACK OBAMA ADMINISTRATION
UNITED STATES
pandith, farah
Pandith was the senior adviser on Muslim engagement in the European and Eurasian region at
the State Department. This position was created for the first time in US history. Prior to the State
Department, she served on the National Security Council at the White House where she worked
on Muslim engagement and combating extremism. She worked at the US Agency for International
Development in the early 1990s and again in 2003. She also served in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2004.
Pandith immigrated to the United States with her parents from Srinagar, India. She has said that
she sees her personal experience as an illustration of how Muslim immigrants to the US can successfully
integrate into American society.
UIGHUR-CHINESE RELATIONS
CHINA
kadeer, rebiya
Kadeer is the de facto leader of the movement for social justice for the 8 million strong Uighur
ethnic-population of China. She was formerly a successful businesswoman but was imprisoned
in 2000 for leaking state secrets and now lives in exile in the United States. She is well known for
her work in Europe and North America publicizing the plight of the Uighur ethnic group, and is
partially responsible for raising the issue’s status both in China and abroad. The Chinese government
sees Kadeer as an agitator.
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