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

DEVELOPMENT
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
al abbar, mohammed bin ali
Al Abbar is a member of the Executive Board of the Government of Dubai and the director of the
Department of Economic Development. Under his leadership Dubai has been one of the fastest
growing economies in the world. He has been successful in increasing the financial regulations requiring
transparency and openness making Dubai a more attractive place to invest and do business
in. He is one of the main assistants of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum,
Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, and ruler of Dubai.
al mahmoudi, hussein mohammad
Hussein Mohammad al Mahmoudi is director general of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce &
Industry, which is dedicated to improving the standard of living and advancing humanitarian efforts
in the region—from educational initiatives (such as Tatweer, a leadership development program)
to various social and welfare services and environmental protection projects.
YEMEN
baobaid, mohammad baobaid
Baobaid is a Muslim activist working on domestic violence at the University of Sana’a. He advocates
for men to combat domestic violence and be part of the solution to the mistreatment of women in
Yemen. He is also a project coordinator of the Muslim Family Safety Project, an initiative to help
victims of violence in the Muslim community in Ontario.
MIDDLE AFRICA
ANGOLA
drame, famar
Drame is founder and vice president of Associacao Islamica de Desenvolvimento de Angola. It is
the first and the only Islamic organization in a country of 15 million people and the only Islamic
organization recognized and authorized by the government of the Republic of Angola. It is charged
with the responsibility to build a mosque with a school attached to it to teach Islamic knowledge,
Arabic and Portuguese.
EAST AFRICA
BURUNDI
nkunduwiga, haruna
Nkunduwiga is the secretary general of the Muslim Community of Burundi. He has been working
recently to battle the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Burundi with other faith leaders to raise awareness,
asking people to ‘stay clean’. HIV/AIDS is a very serious problem in Burundi, affecting close to 20%
of the urban population and near to 10% of the rural population.
KENYA
khalifa, sheikh mohammed
Khalifa is the organizing secretary of the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya, he is also the
head of the as yet unregistered Islamic Party of Kenya. Relations between the Muslim population of
Kenya and the broader society, especially the government, have frayed recently with the instances
of the demonizing of Muslims as terrorists. There is widespread displeasure among the coastal
Muslim population with the national government.
MALAWI
chabulika, sheikh dinala
Chabulika is the Islamic Information Bureau’s national coordinator. He is known as an Islamic rights
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