PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has been ranked as the 15th most influential Muslim figure in the world in the 2025 edition of The World’s 500 Most Influential Muslims published by the Jordan-based Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre (RISSC).
According to reports in Free Malaysia Today (FMT), the publication also placed Anwar in the ninth position under the category of rulers and politicians.
RISSC listed Anwar’s history as a political leader and prime minister and described him as a resilient figure who has had a dynamic political journey spanning three decades.
These include his first foray into student politics at Universiti Malaya in the late 1960s, his entry into Umno at the invitation of then-prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, his subsequent dismissal, and how he overcame his tribulations to eventually become prime minister.
"Anwar’s political journey has been a turbulent one, marked by both triumphs and setbacks. As a key figure in Malaysia’s economic boom of the 1990s, he clashed with Dr Mahathir during the 1997 financial crisis, leading to his dismissal in 1998, the publication said.
A rank above Anwar in the same category is Saudi crown prince and prime minister Mohammed bin Salman, whom RISSC described as largely unknown in political and diplomatic circles at the beginning of 2015, but quickly rose to take up prominent political positions.
Other prominent names in the same category include Indonesian president-elect Prabowo Subianto, president Joko Widodo, Bangladesh’s interim prime minister Muhammad Yunus, and mayor of London Sadiq Khan.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II took first place in the overall rankings, followed by Yemeni scholar Sheikh Al-Habib Umar Hafiz and Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. - October 8, 2024
