THE 500 MOST INFLUENTIAL MUSLIMS - CESD

PoliticalFRANCEbechari, dr mohammadBechari, born in Morocco, is a leader and prolific and dynamic public figure in the landscapeof European Islam. He is the president of the French National Federation of Muslims, one ofthe leading entities organizing Islam in France. He is also the secretary general of the IslamicEuropean Conference, a Europe-wide umbrella organization that seeks to be a single organizationrepresenting European Muslims at a European level. Bechari is the founder of the AvicennaInstitute in Lille and is the vice president of the French Council of the Muslim Faith.KOSOVOthaçi, his excellency prime minister hashimThaçi was formerly a political leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). The KLA was theguerrilla group that fought against Serb forces in the late 1990s. Thaçi is the prime minister of thenewly formed Kosovan national government. Kosovo itself is significant as an important cause forinternational Muslim solidarity, and is the most recently recognized Muslim-majority country inthe world.RUSSIAkadyrov, his excellency president ramzanPresident of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov is the son of former president, rebel leader and preacherAkhmad 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 RussianFederation. Tatarstan is an affluent region in the center of Russia, and its religious culture has beenlauded as a model of the combination of Islam and European culture. President Minnikhanov isthe former Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan, and was nominated for the presidency byRussian President Dmitry Medvedev.yevloyev, akhmedYevloyev is an important rebel leader based in Ingushetia, a region bordering Chechnya. He is partof the broader Caucasian Front movement, which is trying to set up an Islamic free-state on thesouthern border of Russia.SPAINbakkach el aamrani, mostafa [new]El Aamrani is a notable writer, poet and journalist of Moroccan descent. In early March 2010 hecreated the Partido Renacimeinto y Unión España or PRUNE party as its founding president. ThePRUNE party is the first national Islamic political party in Spain and is based on a platform of‘justice, equality, and solidarity’.TURKEYdavutoglu, his excellency ahmetDavutoglu is the current minister of foreign affairs of Turkey. He is considered the most importantfigure 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 PMsGül and Erdogan. He is influential both as a politician and a well-respected, and successful scholarof international relations and the Muslim world.erbakan, his excellency prof. necmettinErbakan is a former prime minister of Turkey (1996-1997), and the founder of the National Viewmovement from which the current prime minister and president hail. Erbakan’s election to primeminister was the first time an Islamic party, the Welfare Party, had been elected to govern in modernTurkish history. He has advocated a stronger relationship between Turkey and the Muslim world,113