THE 500 MOST INFLUENTIAL MUSLIMS - CESD

30His Eminence SheikhAbdullah Bin BayyahDeputy-Head of theInternational Union of MuslimScholarsCountry: MauritaniaDate of Birth: 1935Source of Influence: ScholarlyInfluence: Significant influence as aleading contemporary scholar of IslamicJurisprudenceSchool of Thought: Traditional Sunni,MalikiRank: 2010:30 · 2009:30Sheikh Abdullah Bin Bayyah’s influence isderived from his scholarship and preaching.Whilst he is not a Salafi, the Saudigovernment promulgates his fatwas asauthoritative. He is an instructor at KingAbdul Aziz University in Jeddah and isthe deputy head of the Union of MuslimScholars, under Yusuf al Qaradawi.DiplomatAs a member of the International IslamicFiqh Academy or Al Majma’ al Fiqhi of theOrganization of the Islamic Conference,Sheikh Bin Bayyah is at the forefront of thelegal arm of a dynamic organization witha permanent delegation to the United Nations.In March 2010, he led efforts to convenea high-profile conference of scholars inTurkey which issued the 'Mardin Fatwa'against the misuse of a 14th century fatwato condone violence and terrorism. Laterthat month, he joined scholars in a call forpeace and reconciliation in Somalia.AuthorSheikh Bin Bayyah’s scholarly explorationshave gone global through speakingengagements that draw crowds of tens ofthousands. He has spoken at length aboutthe endurance of the Islamic legal traditionand also written extensively on rulings forMuslims living as minorities in foreignlands, or fiqh al aqaliyaat.31His Eminence JusticeSheikh MuhammadTaqi UsmaniLeading Scholar of IslamicJurisprudenceCountry: PakistanDate of Birth: 1943Source of Influence: Scholarly, LineageInfluence: One of the most seniorfigures in Islamic finance, and a leadingscholar of the Deobandi movementSchool of Thought: Traditional Sunni/DeobandiRank: 2010:31 · 2009:27 Justice Sheikh Muhammad Taqi Usmaniis a leading scholar of Islamic jurisprudence.He is considered the intellectualleader of the Deobandi movement.Leading Islamic Finance ScholarUsmani’s chief influence comes from hisposition as a global authority on the issueof Islamic finance. He has served on theboards, and as chairman, of over a dozenIslamic banks and financial institutions,and currently leads the International ShariahCouncil for the Accounting and AuditingOrganization for Islamic FinancialInstitutions (AAOIFI) in Bahrain. He isalso deputy chairman of the InternationalIslamic Fiqh Academy of the Organizationof the Islamic Conference, one of the highestlegal bodies in the Muslim world.Deobandi FigureheadUsmani is very important as a figureheadin the Deobandi movement—one of themost successful of the Islamic revivalistinitiatives of the past century. Usmaniwas born in Deoband, India, to Mufti MuhammadShafi (the former Grand Mufti ofPakistan) who founded the Darul UloomKarachi, a leading center of Islamic educationin Pakistan.80