Hurriyat Conference (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq figures in the list of 500 ‘Most Influential Muslims’ of the world for the second consecutive year. The list of the ‘influential’ Muslims have been prepared and published by Jordan-based ‘The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre’ (RISSC), an independent research entity affiliated with the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, has prepared the list.This is the 7th year that the RISSC has released such a list. The publication selects Muslim individuals from a range of categories of influence, 13 in total. The categories include Scholars, Politicians, Administration of Religious Affairs, Preachers and Spiritual Guides, Philanthropists/Charity and Development, Social Issues, Business, Science and Technology, Arts and Culture, Media, Celebrities and Sports Stars.
The name of the Mirwaiz Umar Farooq is listed on Page 126 in Political category. The RISSC says he “inherited the 14th Mirwaizship in 1990 at the tender age of 17 after the assassination of his father. At the young age of 20 he became chairman and founder of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a grassroots coalition of pro-freedom parties in Jammu & Kashmir. He has raised the Kashmiri problem at the UN, the EU parliament and the IOC advocating dialogue with both India and Pakistan so that the aspirations of the Kashmiri people may be realized.”Top 10 personalities in the list of 500 influential Muslims included the names of King Abdullah II, Professor Dr Sheikh Ahmad Muhammad Al-Tayyeb Grand Sheikh of the Al-Azhar University, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz, Ayatollah Hajj Sayyid Ali Khamenei, King MUhammed VI, Sultan Qaboos Bin Said, General Al-Sheikh Mohammed, Recep Tayyip, Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Hussein Sistani and Hajji Muhammed Abdul-Wahhab Amir of Tablighi Jamaat, Pakistan. (CNS)