THE 500 MOST INFLUENTIAL MUSLIMS - CESD

MEDIAMiddle East and North AfricaEGYPTabulmagd, his excellency prof. dr kamalAbulmagd is an important intellectual in Egypt and the wider Arab world, who holds significantinfluence over media relations and public diplomacy in the Middle East. Shortly after September 11,2001 Abulmagd was appointed the Commissioner Responsible for Dialogue Between Civilizationsby the Arab League. He is noted as one of the most influential ‘new Islamist’ thinkers. He waspreviously Egypt’s information minister and is currently a professor of International law.howeidy, dr fahmyHoweidy is one of the leading columnists in the Arab world. He writes for the Egyptian daily AlAhram, where he is the deputy editor-in-chief, however his articles are syndicated to seven otherArabic publications. Howeidy is influential both through his popularity and the fact that he hashighlighted issues concerning Muslim communities outside the Arab world in groundbreakingwork on Chinese, Bosnian, and Senegalese Muslims, among others. Muslims appreciate andrespond well to Howeidy’s use of Islam as a frame of reference in his articles.schleifer, prof. dr suleiman abdallahAbdallah Schleifer is a Middle East expert who has covered the region for over 30 years. He hasworked for NBC and many other international media outlets. A professor emeritus at the AmericanUniversity in Cairo, Schleifer is considered a bridge-builder between cultures.KUWAITal mutawa, jassemJassem al Mutawa is the president of Iqra satellite channel, an Islamic TV channel presentingprograms on everyday life problems concerning spiritual, cultural, social and economic issuesfrom a modern Islamic perspective.al mutawa, dr naifNaif al Mutawa is founder and CEO of Teshkeel Media Group and creator of the popular Islamicthemedcomic series ‘The 99’. In addition to having authored multiple children’s books, al Mutawaholds a PhD in clinical psychology and has practiced in the field for many years.sweidan, sheikh dr tariqTariq Sweidan is the CEO and owner of Gulf Innovation Group in Kuwait and the general managerof Al Resalah Satellite TV. An entrepreneur and a TV personality—his shows ranking among thehighest in the Middle East—Sweidan is also prominent as a motivational speaker and author ofbooks on Islam.PALESTINEkhanfar, waddahKhanfar is the director general of the Al Jazeera network, a position he has held since 2006. Hebegan his career as a war correspondent and has been instrumental in carving out Al Jazeera’sposition as the most watched and most respected news network in the Middle East. The networkhas recently expanded into other markets with Al Jazeera English. Al Jazeera’s ethical decisionto interview Israeli officials has been groundbreaking in promoting the idea that all perspectivesshould be broadcast on an Arabic-language news program.163