World's Top 10 Public Intellectuals Muslims

Foreign Policy:

Rankings are an inherently dangerous business. Whether offering a hierarchy of countries, cities, or colleges, any such list—at least any such list worth compiling—is likely to generate a fair amount of debate. In the last issue, when we asked readers to vote for their picks of the world’s top public intellectuals, we imagined many people would want to make their opinions known. But no one expected the avalanche of voters who came forward. During nearly four weeks of voting, more than 500,000 people came to ForeignPolicy.com to cast ballots.

...

No one spread the word as effectively as the man who tops the list. In early May, the Top 100 list was mentioned on the front page of Zaman, a Turkish daily newspaper closely aligned with Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen. Within hours, votes in his favor began to pour in. His supporters—typically educated, upwardly mobile Muslims—were eager to cast ballots not only for their champion but for other Muslims in the Top 100. Thanks to this groundswell, the top 10 public intellectuals in this year’s reader poll are all Muslim. The ideas for which they are known, particularly concerning Islam, differ significantly. It’s clear that, in this case, identity politics carried the day.

Granted, the poll's results are not the most objective, but they are still very interesting. For one thing, I was surprised to see how little I know about Muslim intellectuals - I didn't recognize the names of half the people on the list! If you're like me, take a few minutes to get to know the top 10 intellectuals - whether or not your support their thinking or ideology:

1. Fethullah Gulen
2. Muhammad Yunus
3. Yusuf Al Qaradawi
4. Orhan Pamuk
5. Aitzaz Ahsan
6. Amr Khaled
7. Abdolkarim Sorouch
8. Tariq Ramadan
9. Mahmood Mamdani
10. Shirin Ebadi

Amr Khaled in CA!

Paradise In Our Home is a family event featuring Ustadh Amr Khaled that will be held in San Jose (Nov. 10) and Anaheim (Nov. 18).

To my knowledge, this is the first time Amr Khaled is visiting the US to give a talk. The website indicates that although Amr Khaled's portion of the program will be in Arabic, there will be English translation, and that the rest of the program (there are other talks as well) will be in English.

Even if you are not an Arabic speaker, I would highly recommend attending the event. One of the things which I truly admire Amr Khaled for is his way of giving lectures. Regardless of whether he is addressing fifty, five thousand or five million people he is always very well prepared especially in terms of knowing his audience, speaks with great passion yet without being irrational, and knows how to get his message across straight to one's heart and soul. Maybe it's his sincerity that helps him get to so many people so easily.

On his quest to change the world and bring about spiritual, social, and economical development to the Muslim ummah (particularly in the Arab world) he has presented a diversity of TV programs from hard-core spiritual to down-right practical.

His latest series TV series this Ramadan, Paradise in Our Home, (which I assume the CA talks will revolve around) was a surprise to people since it dealt with a small-scale social issue: family ties. Still, his choice makes sense: in order to bring about the development of the larger community one must start with the family.

Buy your tickets now!

Amr Khaled in "The TIME 100"

Amr Khaled
By Asra Nomani

Amr Khaled is not a household name in the West. But for a segment of the Islamic world, the 39-year-old Egyptian is a rock star. At a time when conservative clerics have become primary arbiters of power, Khaled, a layman, has one of the Arab world's most popular websites; regular shows on Iqra, a Saudi-owned religious satellite channel; and an influence that prompts comparisons with everyone from Dr. Phil to Pat Robertson. But Khaled may be most like Rick Warren, who has built an empire around his "purpose driven life" philosophy. Khaled's model, "life makers," encourages Muslims to implement action plans for transforming their lives and communities through Islam. It also urges them to get along peacefully with the West.

What really put Khaled on the world stage was his decision to host an interfaith conference in Copenhagen in March 2006, after the controversies over the Danish cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad. Muslim clerics criticized him for extending an olive branch to the Danes. But Khaled didn't back down. An accountant by training who favors Hugo Boss shirts and designer suits, he maintains some traditional views—he believes women should wear headscarves, for example—but Khaled is a needed voice for moderation from within the Muslim world. "[Osama] bin Laden is saying he is talking on behalf of Muslims," he says. "Who asked him to talk on behalf of us? Nobody."

(Nomani, a journalist and author, wrote Standing Alone in Mecca)

I'd have to say, I think the most interesting thing about this is that they chose Asra Nomani (of all people) to write his blurb. Maybe there is hope for unity with the "Progressive Muslim" crew?