THE 500 MOST INFLUENTIAL MUSLIMS - CESD

Issues of the DayHouthi RebellionMIDDLE EAST/ YEMENhouthi, abdul-malikHouthi is the leading figure in an insurgency in the Sadah province in northern Yemen which hasbeen continuing from 2004 to the present day. The uprising has been called the Houthi Rebelliondue to Houthi’s leadership. The Zaidi community comprises around half of the population ofYemen, and is concentrated in the north. In traditional Zaidi religious belief if there is no clearleader for the Zaidi community a Caliph can emerge through armed struggle. Yemen was formerlyunder the control of a Zaidi Caliph; the Zaidi Caliphate ended in 1962. Houthi’s brothers YahiaBadreddin and Abdul-Karim are also leaders in the insurgency.PovertyASIA/ PAKISTANzafar, roshaneh (p. 147) [new]An economist by training, Roshaneh Zafar is a social entrepreneur and founder of the KashfFoundation, the third-largest microfinance institution in Pakistan, which specializes in offeringfinancial services to women and their families to facilitate their economic independence and selfreliance.The Kashf Foundation has disbursed over $200 million and has a national network of 152branches.Hijab RightsMIDDLE EAST/ KUWAITdashti, dr rola [new]Dr Rola Dashti was one of four women to be elected to the Kuwaiti parliament in 2009 aftersuccessfully lobbying for the rights of women to vote and run for parliamentary elections in 2005.She is actively engaged in leadership positions with numerous organizations, as chairperson of theKuwait Economic Society, executive member of Young Arab Leaders (Kuwait), and founder of theWomen Participation Organization, among others. Following her election Dashti was noted as oneof two MPs who refuse to wear the hijab to parliamentary meetings, protesting a stipulation thatrequires all MPs to strictly adhere to sharia law—a stipulation which is considered by some to bean unconstitutional oppression of religious freedom. Dashti continues to be vocal as a democraticand gender-equality activist.Youth UnemploymentMIDDLE EAST/QATARyounis, ahmedYounis is the young former national director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in the UnitedStates (MPAC). His current job is to create strategic partnerships at Silatech, an organization thatrecently started to push for greater youth employment in the Middle East and North Africa. Theseregions in particular have some of the world’s highest youth unemployment rates.Economic DevelopmentASIA/ PHILIPPINESguiapal, aleem siddiqu [new]Guiapal is the project director of the Young Moro Professional Network (YMPN). This organizationis made up of 200 Muslim scholars, students and professionals who are all using their unique skillsto alleviate the plight of marginalized Muslim communities.173