THE 500 MOST INFLUENTIAL MUSLIMS - CESD

Politicalreligious parties in Pakistan’s parliament. He is also the president of the Deobandi religio-politicalorganization, Jamiat Ulema-Islam, or Assembly of Islamic Scholars. Rahman leads one of twomain branches of the expansive organization which is a member of the National Assembly ofPakistan. He is widely-respected as a dedicated scholar of Islam and is a seasoned politician.PHILIPPINESmisuari, nurNur Misuari is a revolutionary leader of the Bangsamoro and began his campaign for bettertreatment of the people of Mindanao by the Manila government through the MindanaoIndependence Movement (MIM) in the 1970s, which later became the Moro National LiberationFront (MNLF). Under Misuari’s leadership the MNLF challenged the government until the TripoliAgreement was negotiated in 1976.SINGAPORErasheed, his excellency zainul abidinRasheed is the senior minister of state for foreign affairs for Singapore and the mayor of the NorthEastern district of Singapore. Rasheed’s activities have a focus on Singapore’s diplomatic relationswith the Muslim world, and also on sharing knowledge about Singapore’s experience of interculturaland inter-religious relations with nations with substantial Muslim populations. Rasheedis widely known domestically, having held numerous positions of leadership throughout his careerin journalism, organized labor and representing Singapore’s large percentage of Muslims.TAJIKISTANrahmon, his excellency emomalii [new]Rasheed has been the President of Tajikistan since 1994. He has done much to establish a distinctTajik identity, and has called for closer ties with other Muslim nations in the region.THAILANDpitsuwan, his excellency dr surinPitsuwan is the secretary general of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and aformer foreign minister of Thailand. He is an advocate for better relations with Muslims in SouthEast Asia, speaking out against the marginalization of Muslim communities. ASEAN is one of themost important international organizations in the world, coordinating the economies and politicsof some of the fastest-growing middle-income economies in the world.TURKMENISTANberdimuhamedow, his excellency president gurbanguly mälikgulyýewiçBerdimuhamedow has been the president of Turkmenistan since 21 December, 2006. In April2007, Berdimuhamedow visited Islamic holy sites in Medina furthering the relationship he seeksto build with the broader Muslim world. He is a moderate Muslim traditionalist who has soughtto normalize life in Turkmenistan after the more unorthodox religious beliefs of his predecessorNiyazov.EuropeDENMARKkhader, nasserKhader is Denmark’s leading Muslim politician. As a member of parliament, he has representedboth the Social Liberal Party and the Liberal Alliance, the latter until 5 January, 2009 as foundingleader. A leading proponent of the peaceful co-existence of democracy and Islam, he establisheda new movement, Moderate Muslims (later renamed Democratic Muslims), when the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy started.112