The World’s Top 10 Public Intellectuals

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In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

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The World’s Top 10 Public Intellectuals

Foreign Policy, the award-winning magazine of global politics, and Britain ‘s Prospect magazine have conducted a global public poll to pick the world’s top intellectuals and thinkers who are shaping the tenor of our time with their ideas. Over the past four weeks, more than 50,000 people voted for their top choices from the original long list of 100 figures. Muslim scholars, politicians, economists, scientists and scholars from around the world are topping the list of the world’s Top 20 Public Intellectuals unveiled on Monday, June 23. “The top 10 public intellectuals (listed below) in this year’s reader poll are all Muslim,” the American magazine Foreign Policy said announcing the list.

1. FETHULLAH GÃœLEN

Religious leader • Turkey>

An Islamic scholar with a global network of millions of followers, Gülen is both revered and reviled in his native Turkey . To members of the Gülen movement, he is an inspirational leader who encourages a life guided by moderate Islamic principles. To his detractors, he represents a threat to Turkey ’s secular order. He has kept a relatively low profile since settling in the United States in 1999, having fled Turkey after being accused of undermining secularism.

2. MUHAMMAD YUNUS

Microfinancier, activist • Bangladesh

More than 30 years ago, Yunus loaned several dozen poor entrepreneurs in his native Bangladesh a total of $27. It was the beginning of a lifetime devoted to fighting poverty through microfinance, efforts that earned him a Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. Over the years, his Grameen Bank, now operating in more than 100 countries, has loaned nearly $7 billion in small sums to more than 7 million borrowers—97 percent of them women. Ninety-eight percent of thee loans have been repaid.

3. YUSUF AL-QARADAWI

Cleric • Egypt/Qatar

The host of the popular Sharia and Life TV program on Al Jazeera, Qaradawi issues weekly fatwas on everything from whether Islam forbids all consumption of alcohol (no) to whether fighting U.S. troops in Iraq is a legitimate form of resistance (yes). Considered the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Qaradawi condemned the September 11 attacks, but his pronouncements since, like his justification of suicide attacks, ensure his divisive reputation.

4. ORHAN PAMUK

Novelist • Turkey>

Part political pundit, part literary celebrity, Pamuk is the foremost chronicler of Turkey ’s difficult dance between East and West. His skillfully crafted works lay bare his native country’s thorny relationship with religion, democracy, and modernity, earning him a Nobel Prize in literature in 2006. Three years ago, Pamuk was put on trial for “insulting Turkish identity” after mentioning the Armenian genocide and the plight of Turkey ’s Kurds in an interview. The charges were later dropped. Today, Pamuk teaches literature at Columbia University .

5. AITZAZ AHSAN

Lawyer, politician • Pakistan

President of Pakistan ’s Supreme Court Bar Association, Ahsan has been a vocal opponent of President Pervez Musharraf’s rule. When Musharraf dismissed the head of the Supreme Court in March 2007, it was Ahsan who led the legal challenge to reinstate the chief justice and rallied thousands of lawyers who took to the streets in protest. He was arrested several times during the period of emergency rule last year. Today, he is a senior member of the Pakistan Peoples Party, formerly led by Benazir Bhutto, and one of the country’s most recognizable politicians.

6. AMR KHALED

Muslim televangelist • Egypt

A former accountant turned rock-star evangelist, Khaled preaches a folksy interpretation of modern Islam to millions of loyal viewers around the world. With a charismatic oratory and casual style, Khaled blends messages of cultural integration and hard work with lessons on how to live a purpose-driven Islamic life. Although Khaled got his start in Egypt , he recently moved to Britain to counsel young, second-generation European Muslims.

7. ABDOLKARIM SOROUSH

Religious theorist • Iran>

Soroush, a former university professor in Tehran and specialist in chemistry, Sufi poetry, and history, is widely considered one of the world’s premier Islamic philosophers. Having fallen afoul of the mullahs thanks to his work with Iran ’s democratic activists, he has lately decamped to Europe and the United States , where his essays and lectures on religious philosophy and human rights are followed closely by Iran ’s reformist movement.

8. TARIQ RAMADAN

Philosopher, scholar of Islam • Switzerrland

One of the most well-known and controversial Muslim scholars today, Ramadan embodies the cultural and religious clash he claims to be trying to bridge. His supporters consider him a passionate advocate for Muslim integration in Europe . His critics accuse him of anti-Semitism and having links to terrorists. In 2004, Ramadan was denied a U.S. visa to teach at Notre Dame, after the State Department accused him of donating to Islamic charities linked to Hamas.

9. MAHMOOD MAMDANI

Cultural anthropologist • Uganda>

Born in Uganda to South Asian parents, Mamdani was expelled from the country by Idi Amin in 1972, eventually settling in the United States . His work explores the role of citizenship, identity, and the creation of historical narratives in postcolonial Africa . More recently, he has focused his attention on political Islam and U.S. foreign policy, arguing that modern Islamist terrorism is a byproduct of the privatization of violence in the final years of the Cold War. He teaches at Columbia University .

10. SHIRIN EBADI

Lawyer, human rights activist • Iran

Iran’s first female judge under the shah, Ebadi founded a pioneering law practice after she was thrown off the bench by Iran ’s clerical rulers. Having initially supported the Islamic Revolution, she cut her teeth defending political dissidents and campaigning for the rights of women and children. A fierce nationalist who sees no incompatibility between Islam and democracy, Ebadi became the first Iranian to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003.

Source: Based on ‘The World’s Top 20 Public Intellectuals’ (Foreign Policy July-August 2008)

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