The 500 Most Influential Muslims - The Royal Islamic Strategic ...

Political
FRANCE
bechari, dr mohammad
Bechari, born in Morocco, is a leader and prolific and dynamic public figure in the landscape
of European Islam. He is the president of the French National Federation of Muslims, one of
the leading entities organizing Islam in France. He is also the secretary general of the Islamic
European Conference, a Europe-wide umbrella organization that seeks to be a single organization
representing European Muslims at a European level. Bechari is the founder of the Avicenna
Institute in Lille and is the vice president of the French Council of the Muslim Faith.
KOSOVO
thaçi, his excellency prime minister hashim
Thaçi was formerly a political leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). The KLA was the
guerrilla group that fought against Serb forces in the late 1990s. Thaçi is the prime minister of the
newly formed Kosovan national government. Kosovo itself is significant as an important cause for
international Muslim solidarity, and is the most recently recognized Muslim-majority country in
the world.
RUSSIA
kadyrov, his excellency president ramzan
President of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov is the son of former president, rebel leader and preacher
Akhmad Kadyrov. He maintains an iron grip on Chechnya’s government and institutions.
minnikhanov, his excellency president dr rustam [new]
Dr Minnikhanov is the newly-elected president of the Republic of Tatarstan of the Russian
Federation. Tatarstan is an affluent region in the center of Russia, and its religious culture has been
lauded as a model of the combination of Islam and European culture. President Minnikhanov is
the former Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan, and was nominated for the presidency by
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
yevloyev, akhmed
Yevloyev is an important rebel leader based in Ingushetia, a region bordering Chechnya. He is part
of the broader Caucasian Front movement, which is trying to set up an Islamic free-state on the
southern border of Russia.
SPAIN
bakkach el aamrani, mostafa [new]
El Aamrani is a notable writer, poet and journalist of Moroccan descent. In early March 2010 he
created the Partido Renacimeinto y Unión España or PRUNE party as its founding president. The
PRUNE party is the first national Islamic political party in Spain and is based on a platform of
‘justice, equality, and solidarity’.
TURKEY
davutoglu, his excellency ahmet
Davutoglu is the current minister of foreign affairs of Turkey. He is considered the most important
figure for redefining the new framework of Turkish foreign policy under the AK Party’s rule.
Before becoming the foreign minister, Davutoglu served as chief foreign policy advisor to PMs
Gül and Erdogan. He is influential both as a politician and a well-respected, and successful scholar
of international relations and the Muslim world.
erbakan, his excellency prof. necmettin
Erbakan is a former prime minister of Turkey (1996-1997), and the founder of the National View
movement from which the current prime minister and president hail. Erbakan’s election to prime
minister was the first time an Islamic party, the Welfare Party, had been elected to govern in modern
Turkish history. He has advocated a stronger relationship between Turkey and the Muslim world,
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