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

82
46
DR ABDUL QADEER KHAN
Pakistani Nuclear Scientist
Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan is the father of the 'Islamic Bomb',
being the scientist who brought nuclear technology, and
nuclear weapons technology to Pakistan. Pakistan was the
first—and remains the only—Muslim country to have
nuclear weapons.
Scientific and Technological Influence
Khan is viewed with adoration by a large proportion of the
Pakistani population for founding the country's nuclear
program and introducing nuclear science and technology
to the Muslim world. His work in helping establish the
Pakistani nuclear program in the 1970s has made him a figure of great international interest.
He has continued to use his financial success and stature to improve the quality of education,
building educational institutions around Pakistan.
Political Influence
Khan's work has had very important political implications internationally, turning a conflict
between old rivals India and Pakistan into a potential war between nuclear powers. Khan also
may have had more far reaching political influence through his alleged attempts to sell nuclear
technology to Libya, Iran, and North Korea.
47
PROF. DR SEYYED HOSSEIN NASR
Islamic Philosopher
Seyyed Hossein Nasr is an Islamic Studies professor at
George Washington University. He remains one of the most
influential Muslim scholars in the world for his work on
the Islamic tradition and philosophy.
Reviver of Tradition
Nasr’s work has covered the most important areas of
contemporary Muslim thought from classical Islamic
philosophy, Islamic science, Sufism, and critique of modernity
Country: Pakistan
Date of Birth: 1 April 1936
Source of Influence: Science
and Technology, Political
Influence: Gave nuclear
technology to 170 million
Pakistanis
School of Thought: Traditional
Sunni
Country: United States
Date of Birth: 7 April 1933
Source of Influence: Scholarly
Influence: Written major books
and given countless lectures
School of Thought: Traditional
Shi'a
to interfaith relations, Islam-West relations, and the environmental crisis. Nasr is the first
Muslim scholar invited to give the prestigious Gifford Lectures, which were later published
as Knowledge and the Sacred.
Islamic Environmentalism
Nasr's work has been ahead of his time in predicting the disastrous consequences of the
environmental crisis. Books such as The Encounter of Man and Nature: The Spiritual Crisis of
Modern Man (1968), and Religion and the Order of Nature (1996), narrate the rise of a secular,
modern conception of nature as inert matter to be conquered by modern technology, and
attempt to revive a sacred notion of nature.