THE 500 MOST INFLUENTIAL MUSLIMS - CESD

28His Majesty SultanHaji HassanalBolkiah Mu’izzaddinWaddaulahSultan and Yang Di-Pertuan ofBrunei DarussalamCountry: Brunei DarussalamDate of Birth: 15 July 1946Source of Influence: Political, AdministrativeInfluence: Leader of approximately392,000 citizens of BruneiSchool of Thought: Traditional Sunni,Shafi’iRank: 2010:28 · 2009:24 His Majesty Haji Hassanal BolkiahMu’izzaddin Waddaulah is one of the richestmen in the world. He is the 29th Sultanof one of the oldest dynasties in existencetoday. Brunei is a country with a populationof approximately 398,000 on the northcoast of the island of Borneo in SoutheastAsia.House of BolkiahHis Majesty Sultan Bolkiah descends fromthe House of Bolkiah, which traces back toSultan Bolkiah, the fifth Sultan of Brunei(who ruled from 1485-1524 CE). The Houseof Bolkiah is the longest reigning SunniMuslim Royal House in Brunei.Administrative InfluenceSultan Bolkiah has been lauded for attemptsat slowly democratizing the country’sgovernance, while at the same timeconsolidating royal authority. In the earlynineties Sultan Bolkiah began trying tostrengthen the role of Islam through thenotion of Melayu Islam Beraja (or MalayIslamic Monarchy). The Sultan is also animportant donor to the Organization ofthe Islamic Conference.29His EminenceMohammad binMohammad alMansourImam of the Zaidi Sect of Shi’aMuslimsCountry: YemenDate of Birth: 1917Source of Influence: Lineage, ScholarlyInfluence: Imam of approximately 10million Zaidi Shi’a in Yemen and SaudiArabiaSchool of Thought: Traditional Zaidi(Fiver) Shi’aRank: 2010:29 · 2009:26 His Eminence Mohammad bin Mohammadal Mansour is the Imam of the Zaidibranch of the Shi’a sect of Muslims, oneof the three main branches of Shi’a Islam.With approximately ten million followers,Zaidis constitute almost half the entirepopulation of Yemen, and around 3 percentin Saudi Arabia.Lineage in the ImamateZaidi Muslims are a Shi’a sect named afterthe followers of Zaid bin Ali, grandson ofal Hussein (grandson of the Prophet Muhammad).The sect was formed by the followersof Zaid bin Ali who led an unsuccessfulrevolt against the Umayyad CaliphHisham ibn Abd al Malik in 740 CE.Current Social InfluenceIn the past decade a Zaidi movementknown as the Shabab al Mumineen ledby Hussein al Houthi has been gainingprominence in the northwest of Yemen.This has stoked some sectarian rivalry inYemen, between the Zaidi and radical anti-Shi’a groups who are fearful of the resurgenceof Zaidi rule in Yemen. Al Mansourhas maintained his quietist approach andenjoys much respect in Yemeni society. AlMansour was influential in stemming theescalation of conflict in 2005.79