Muslim persons of 2019: Palestinian icon, Malaysian PM

By Munira Abdelmenan Awel

ANKARA

A teenage Palestinian resistance icon and Malaysian prime minister have been named the Muslim persons of the year in the 2019 edition of the Muslim 500, a list of world's most influential Muslims.

Ahed Tamimi, a 17-year-old Palestinian, was released in August after an eight-month stint in Israeli custody.

Tamimi has some very bad memories of the Israeli forces who killed, arrested and injured several of her family members in recent years.

This years' edition of The World's 500 Most Influential Muslims pronounced Tamimi "a hero on the field", praising her efforts to defend Palestinian cause.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, 93, is the world’s oldest sitting head of the government, the report said.

"This quite extraordinary man has had a dynamic political career spanning 70 years and yet at the same time been the author of 17 published books," the report said.

Despite being named Muslim persons of the Year, Tamimi ranked 49, while Mohamad ranked 44 among 500 Muslim influential persons around the globe.

In October, the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre had announced that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan topped the list of the most influential Muslims.

The King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud was ranked second in being the most influential Muslim, while Jordanian King Abdullah II Ibn Al-Hussein was ranked third.

The book prepared annually by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2019.