01-Contents Page.indd - The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre

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Maulana Mahmood
Madani
Leader and Executive Member
of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, India
Country: India
Date of Birth: 3 March 1964
Source of Influence: Scholarly, Political,
Administrative
Influence: 10 million Muslims are
members of Madani’s Jamiat Ulema-e-
Hind
School of Thought: Traditional Sunni,
Deobandi
Rank: 2010:40 · 2009:36 �
Maulana Mahmood Madani, a leading Islamic
scholar and politician in India, has
gained influence for his forthright condemnations
of terrorism and unfaltering
support of the Indian Muslim community.
Religio-Political Heavyweight
Madani has served as Secretary General of
the Jamiat Ulema- e-Hind, or Organization
of Indian Scholars—one of the most
prominent Islamic organizations in India.
He has been outspoken in his opposition
to the misuse of the term jihad as a tool of
terrorism in India. Following fatal bomb
blasts in 2008, he and others of the Darul
Uloom Deoband institution hosted events
condemning terrorism as inherently un-
Islamic.
Defender of the Faith
As a respected political leader and Islamic
scholar of India, Madani represented the
Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind and the esteemed
community of scholars from Deoband
when he addressed the Pakistani government,
and Pakistani High Commissioner
Shahid Malik in particular, in an open
letter regarding the commissioner’s remarks
in December 2008 at the UN Security
Council about terrorism stemming
from ‘mullas in Deoband’. Madani is also
a strong opponent of government interference
in the madrassa system.
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Sheikh Habib ‘Ali
Zain al Abideen al
Jifri
Director General of the Tabah
Foundation, UAE
Country: United Arab Emirates
Date of Birth: 16 April 1971
Source of Influence: Scholarly, Lineage,
Philanthropy
Influence: Globally influential through
his teaching endeavors in Yemen and
across the world
School of Thought: Traditional Sunni,
Shafi‘i, Ash’ari, Ba’Alawi Sufi
Rank: 2010:41 · 2009:37 �
Tracing back his lineage to the family of
‘Ali, the fourth Caliph of Islam and cousin
of the Prophet Muhammad, Sheikh Habib
‘Ali Zain al Abideen al Jifri is a leading Islamic
scholar and prominent speaker in
the Muslim world. Al Jifri is Director General
of the Tabah Foundation in the UAE,
member of the board of Dar al Mustafa in
Yemen, member of the Royal Aal al Bayt
Institute for Islamic Thought in Jordan,
and affiliated with various other international
Islamic organizations.
Sufi Guide
As a Ba’Alawi Sufi, al Jifri is part of a tradition
that has been based in Yemen for
approximately 800 years and traces back
to the Prophet Muhammad. He is influential
as a Sufi spiritual guide in the Muslim
world; and Dar al Mustafa is an influential
Islamic educational institution in Yemen.
Educator
Al Jifri founded the privately-funded philanthropic
Tabah Foundation for Islamic
Studies and Research in Abu Dhabi, a
young non-profit institution that aspires
to become a formidable source of reputable
work in Islamic research and thought.
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