THE 500 MOST INFLUENTIAL MUSLIMS - CESD

ISSUES OF THE DAYAl AqsaJORDANbin al hussein, his majesty king abdullah ii (p. 34)HM King Abdullah II of Jordan is the custodian of the Muslim holy sites in the city of Jerusalem.He maintains a unique prestige in the region. He has gone on record in March 2010 to condemnIsrael’s inclusion of West Bank religious sites in its national heritage list. The Awqaf and IslamicAffairs ministry announced in 2010 a donation of over 2 million Jordanian Dinar from HM KingAbdullah II for projects around the Al Aqsa compound.Green Revolution (Iran)IRANmoussavi, his excellency mir-hossein (p. 88) [new]“Where is my Vote?” became the slogan of the ‘Green Movement’ that gained speed in the aftermathof Mousavvi’s loss in the 2009 presidential campaign. The movement garnered internationalattention after millions of protesters went out to the streets to call for a recount and ignited aviolent confrontation with the basij forces—under the Revolutionary Guard. The cause reapedglobal support, specifically in various social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook. Mousavvihas since headed an NGO called the Green Path that comprises six main members and variousother reformist movements to demand the implementation of the constitution and politicalreform in Iran.U.S. Foreign Policy in the Muslim worldUNITED STATEShussain, rashad (p. 121) and pandith, farahSince President Barack Obama’s appointment of Rashad Hussein and Farah Pandith as liaisons tothe Muslim world, they have come to global attention. Although Muslim communities in the USand abroad receive the outreach with skepticism, positive feedback from Hussein and Pandith’sinitial tasks could potentially lay the ground for improved relations between the US and theMuslim world. Hussein is Deputy Associate Counsel and US envoy to the Organization of theIslamic Conference. Pandith continues to serve as Special Representative to Muslim Communitiesfor the US Department of State, since her appointment in 2009.GazaPALESTINEomer, mohammed [new]An award-winning journalist, Mohammed Omar has been credited with reporting on the crises inGaza for major media outlets. He was raised in Rafah refugee camp and despite calamities faced byhis family--his father was imprisoned, his teenage brother was killed, his mother was injured in ademolition--he dedicates himself to journalism and reporting on the crisis. He is the recipient ofthe 2008 Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism.171