NU chairman among world's most influential muslim figures

Jakarta, NU Online
The General Chairman of the Indonesia's largest Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), KH Said Aqil Siroj, popularly known as Kang Said, is among the worlds most influential Muslims, according to The Muslim 500.

The inclusion of the NU chief in the list as one of the worlds most influential Muslims proves that the world needs friendly, inclusive and peaceful Islam that the NU has practiced so far, chief of the NU executive board, Robikin Embas, said here recently.

"That is what Prof KH Said Aqil Siroj MA calls "Islam Nusantara" (Islam of the Archipelago)," Robikin stated.

Kang Said is ranked 20th, ahead of Egyptian President Abdul Fatah Al-Sisi who is in 21st place, Sultan Muhammadu Saadu Abubakar III of Nigeria in 22nd place, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 30th place.

The rankings were issued by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre in cooperation with the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, Jordan.

It is the eighth time for the center to grant the awards. The recipients of the awards include state leaders, religious figures, politicians, social figures, cultural figures, businessmen, academics, scientists, artists, and athletes. Even extremist Muslim figures are also included in the list of recipients.

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), who leads Indonesia that has the largest Muslim population in the world, is ranked 13th.

The other Indonesian figures who are also crowned as the worlds most influential figures are Din Syamsuddin in 41st place and Habib Luthfi bin Yahya in 45th place.

In the first place in this list of the worlds most influential Muslims is Grand Sheikh Al Azhar Professor Dr Sheikh Ahmad Muhammad Al-Tayyeb, followed by King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of Jordan in second place and King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia in third place. (Masdar)