THE 500 MOST INFLUENTIAL MUSLIMS - CESD

LINEAGEMiddle East and North AfricaIRAQal sadr, sheikh muqtadaAl Sadr is the son of the late Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Mohammad Sadiq al Sadr, and aninfluential Shi’a political leader. He has gained prominence since the death of Saddam Hussein andcreated the Mahdi Army in 2003, an armed insurgency movement that has formed its own courtsand system of law enforcement. Al Sadr promotes a Shi’a-controlled government and along withGrand Ayatollah Ali Sistani he is one of the two most important Shi’a leaders in Iraq. Although thereare more qualified Shi’a scholars, Sadr’s social and political role make him extremely important.JORDANhis royal highness prince el hassan bin talalHRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal is an eminent thinker on development and Islam, and has beenrecognized around the globe for his work, winning a number of awards for his interfaith activities.In addition to his noble lineage and to his being the brother of HM the late King Hussein of Jordan,Oxford-educated Prince El Hassan has been one of the leading intellectuals of the Arab world fordecades, and one of the pioneers of interfaith dialogue. Among his achievements are: founding theArab Thought Forum (1981); founding the Royal Institute for Interfaith Studies (1994); and beingPresident Emeritus of the World Conference of Religions for Peace (since 2006).SUDANal mahdi, his excellency imam sayyed al sadiqAl Mahdi is the president of the moderate Islamic Umma Party, and the imam of the Sufi order AlAnsar. He was prime minister of Sudan until the government was overthrown and he was forcedinto exile. Al Mahdi has now returned and is working to restore peace and democracy in the Sudan.He derives a significant portion of his authority from the fact that he descends from MuhammadAhmad, who claimed to be the Mahdi, a prophesied figure that many Muslims believe will returnto revive the Islamic faith.SYRIAal yaqoubi, sheikh muhammad [new]Sheikh al Yaqoubi traces his lineage back to the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson al-Hasan. Awidely revered scholar, al Yaqoubi’s influence has spread as far as Europe, where the Islamic Societyof Stockholm elected him as the mufti of Sweden.Southern AfricaSOUTH AFRICAas-sufi, sheikh abd al qadir [new]Sheikh as-Sufi is the founder of the Murabitun World Movement, and leader of the Darqawi-Shadhili-Qadiri Sufi order. He has taught leading contemporary Muslim scholars and is a prolificwriter, with a broad readership of Muslims and non-Muslims from across the globe. He traces hisscholarly lineage (a chain of authorized sheikhs) back to the Prophet Muhammad.125