THE 500 MOST INFLUENTIAL MUSLIMS - CESD

ScholarlyPALESTINEal tamimi, his eminence justice sheikh dr tayseer rajabAl Tamimi is a leading scholar and chief Islamic justice of Palestine. Popular as an outspokenthinker and leader on Palestinian-Israeli relations, al Tamimi is the head of the Palestinian Centerfor Religion and Civilization Dialogue.SAUDI ARABIAal saffar, hasan musaHasan Musa al Saffar is a Saudi Shi’a reformist leader who has made significant progress incommunicating with Salafi leaders and other senior officials in Saudi Arabia. This is importantas sectarian tensions throughout the Muslim world have risen with the increased Sunni-Shi’ahostilities in Iraq.SYRIAhassoun, his eminence sheikh dr ahmad badr al dinHassoun has been the grand mufti of the Republic of Syria since 2004 when he succeeded the lateSheikh Ahmed Kuftaro. He is an advocate of interfaith dialogue, and is very vocal in his opinionthat states should be ruled on a civil rather than religious basis, believing that secularism is notsynonymous with atheism, a sentiment that holds great sway in Syria’s religiously diverse society.itr, sheikh dr nur al din [new]Sheikh Dr Nur al Din Itr is an Al Azhar-trained sheikh based in Syria. A leading scholar of theQur’anic sciences and Hadith, he maintains a key position in the world of Muslim scholarship. Heis credited for participating in an incredibly successful educational movement out of Damascus:The Qubaisiat, a female-only Sufi network which is the leading Islamic movement in Syria—withSheikh Itr as the principal instructor. He is credited for driving a significant achievement in Islamichistory in regards to education—no less than 70 Qubaisiat have memorized the ‘Nine Texts ofthe Sunna’ which include major canonical books of Hadith with extensive chains of narration inaddition to the entire Qur’an.al-zuhayli, dr prof. sheikh wahba mustafa [new]Dr al-Zuhayli is a leading scholar of Islamic law and legal theory and is noted for his extensivescholarship. He is also considered an expert on Islamic international law and is chairman ofIslamic jurisprudence at the College of Sharia at Damascus University. Al-Zuhayli is a popularpreacher and a proponent of traditional orthodox Sunni Islam.TUNISIAennaifer, h’midaEnnaifer is a key player in worldwide efforts towards better Muslim-Christian relations. He isa lecturer in Muslim theology at the Higher Institute of Theology at the Zeituna University inTunisia. He is also the president of the Islamic-Christian Research Group. Ennaifer’s interfaithwork centers on theological similarities between Islam and Christianity.Southern AfricaSOUTH AFRICAdesai, mufti ebrahim [new]A prominent Deobandi sheikh, Mufti Desai runs askimam.org, issuing numerous fatwas onlinethrough the Camperdown-based Islamic institution Darul Iftaa, Madrassah Inaamiyyah where heis the principle mufti and a senior lecturer.hendricks, sheikh serajHendricks is the mufti of Cape Town and imam and teacher at the Zawiya Mosque. He is a leadingscholar on Sufism in South Africa, and a patron of Dome Publications. Hendricks is seen as one99