PM Shehbaz, Field Marshal Munir share top spot in list of world's 500 most influential Muslims
- Religious scholars Mufti Taqi Usmani, Tariq Jamil also make the cut
Pakistan's PM and Army Chief, alongside Saudi and Turkish leaders, top the 500 Most Influential Muslims list, marking the first shared No. 1 spot in the ranking's history.
- The unprecedented shared top spot among Pakistani, Saudi, and Turkish leaders.
- The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement's impact on the top ranking.
- Other influential figures, from religious scholars to athletes, on the list.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir have been jointly named at the top of this year’s list of the world’s 500 most influential Muslims, alongside the leaderships of Saudi Arabia and Turkiye.
The annual ranking is compiled by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre (RISSC), an Amman-based research institute that has published it since 2009. This is the first time in the list’s history that more than one entry has shared the No. 1 position.
The shared spot covers five people across three entries: the Pakistani premier and army chief, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The centre tied the joint ranking to the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye. It described the pact as a “one for all, all for one” approach to collective security.
In its assessment of Pakistan, the report said Islamabad keeps up its strategic partnership with Riyadh while keeping channels open with Tehran. It added that Pakistan continues to balance its relations among the major global powers.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei was ranked fourth. Jordan’s King Abdullah II came fifth and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani sixth.
Pakistani religious scholar Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani was placed seventh.
Further down the list:
- UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan was 12th.
- Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi was 22nd.
- Pakistani preacher Maulana Tariq Jamil was 32nd.
- Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah was 39th.
- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was 45th and Syrian interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa 46th.
- New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was 49th.
Former prime minister Imran Khan was among the honourable mentions in the politics category.
The others there were Hamas leader Khalil Al-Hayya, London Mayor Sadiq Khan and US Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed.
The publication named Palestinian paediatrician Dr Hussam Abu Safiya its Man of the Year.
He is the doctor who refused to leave his patients and has been held in Israeli custody for more than 600 days without charge or trial.
Woman of the Year went to Fatemeh Zahra Sheikhabadi, who survived the US strikes on her school in Minab.
She later spoke at the UN Human Rights Council on behalf of the children of Minab.