Crowned with King Salman, Jokowi and Gus Yahya Enter the Top 20 Most Influential Muslim Figures in the World 2023

Dream - The list of the 500 most influential Muslim figures in the world in 2023 has been released on the website themuslim500.com. Two Indonesian figures, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and Chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) Yahya Cholil Staquf, are included in the top 20.

Jokowi is ranked 13th while Yahya is ranked 19th. The first position is held by King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia.

This ranking is the result of a study by The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre (MABDA), an independent research entity affiliated with The Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought.

The Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought is an international non-governmental and independent Islamic institution based in Amman, the capital of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

The study published in a book explains Jokowi's career journey and his distinctive characteristic of directly meeting with the people. Jokowi is described as a figure who is free from corruption and nepotism.

"He (Jokowi) is known for his 'clean' political reputation, free from corruption and nepotism allegations that infect most politicians," according to The Muslim 500.

As for Yahya Cholil Staquf, he is narrated as the leader of the Islamic institution, PBNU, which has 90 million members and 21,000 madrasas.

The book states that PBNU is an expansive Islamic organization with offices in 30 regions, 339 branches, 12 special branches, 2,630 representative councils, and 37,125 branch representative councils throughout Indonesia.

"This network practices the doctrine of Ahl Al-Sunnah wa Al-Jama'a, which means 'Followers of the Sunnah (practice of Prophet Muhammad) and the community'. They base their practices on traditional sources of Islamic jurisprudence, especially the Quran, Hadith, and major schools of law," the book states.

"The selection of individuals for this publication does not mean that we support their views, but rather we are only trying to measure their influence," the publication writes.

Here are the top 20 most influential Muslim figures in the world in 2023 according to The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre:

1. King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia
2. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran
3. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamid Al-Thani, Emir of Qatar
4. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leader of Turkey
5. King Abdullah II Ibn Al-Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
6. Sheikh Muhammad Taqi Usmani, prominent scholar for Deobandi and Islamic finance
7. King Mohammed VI of the Kingdom of Morocco
8. President Mohmmed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leader of the United Arab Emirates
9. Ayatollah Ali Hussein Al Sistani, Usuli figure in Iraq
10. Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
11. Sheikh Al-Habib Umar bin Hafiz, Director of Dar Al-Mustafa
12. Sheikh Salman Al-Ouda, prominent scholar from Saudi Arabia
13. President Joko Widodo, leader of Indonesia
14. Sheikh Ahmad Muhammad Al-Tayyeb, Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar University, Egypt
15. Maulana Mahmood Madani, Secretary General of Jamiat Ulamae-Hind University
16. Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah, President of the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies
17. President Muhammadu Buhari, leader of Nigeria
18. Sheikh As-Sultan Muhammadu Sa'adu Abubakar III, Sultan of Sokoto
19. Kiai Haji Yahya Cholil Staquf, Chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU)
20. Sheikh Ali Gomaa, Former Grand Mufti of the Arab Republic of Egypt