THE 500 MOST INFLUENTIAL MUSLIMS - CESD

4HIS MAJESTY KING ABDULLAH II BIN AL HUSSEINKing of the Hashemite Kingdom of JordanKing Abdullah II of Jordan has influence in Jordan andaround the world due to his lineage in the Hashemitefamily, his custodianship of Jerusalem and activismon various fronts—from freedom of the press andreformed domestic policy to international diplomacy.In his reign as King, he is noted for having developedJordan’s free market economy, arts and culture scene, aswell as addressing issues of homelessness and poverty.Prophetic LineageKing Abdullah II is a member of the Hashemite familyand a 41st generation direct descendant of the ProphetMuhammad through the lineage of the Prophet’sCountry: JordanDate of Birth: 30 January 1962Source of Influence: Political,LineageInfluence: King with authorityover approximately 6.4 millionJordanians and outreach toTraditional IslamSchool of Thought: TraditionalSunniRank: 2010:4 · 2009:4grandson al Hasan. The Hashemites, or Bani Hashem, link back to the tribe of Quraish.Hashem was the name of the Prophet’s great-grandfather. King Abdullah II is thus a memberof the Ahl al Bayt (the family of the Prophet Muhammad).Ruling DynastyThe Hashemite family ruled Mecca from 1201 CE to 1925 CE and other branches of the familyruled Mecca from 500 CE, when Qusayy, the grandfather of Hashem, became Mecca’sfirst king. The Hashemite dynasty is the oldest ruling dynasty in the Islamic world, and thesecond-oldest in the world, after that of Japan.Custodian of Holy Sites in JerusalemAs custodian of the Muslim holy sites in the city of Jerusalem, King Abdullah II maintains aunique prestige in the region. He has gone on record in March 2010 to condemn Israel’s inclusionof West Bank religious sites in its national heritage list.Islamic OutreachKing Abdullah II has proven influence at the forefront of a global intra-faith movement,through the creation of the Amman Message; a call for greater intra-religious tolerance andunity in Islam that was endorsed by representatives from all major Muslim groups in 2004.King Abdullah II is also credited with the Royal Aal al Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought’smost authoritative website on the Qur’an and tafsir or Qur’anic exegesis (AlTafsir.com). Anextensive resource for Islamic scholarship, AlTafsir.com includes Arabic texts from over 90commentaries of the Qur’an, Hadith texts, among other tools for research in the Qur’anicsciences, with daily hits in the thousands. King Abdullah II is also noted for founding the newWorld Islamic Sciences and Education University in Jordan (www.wise.edu.jo).King Abdullah II is also lauded as an interfaith leader for the 2007 initiative, A CommonWord—a groundbreaking initiative in Christian-Muslim engagement (www.acommonword.com).Peace ActivistKing Abdullah II is the leading player in the dialogue for peace between the Palestinians andIsraelis. He has openly called for discussion in the negotiations toward a two-state solution.34