Sri Lankans among 500 Most Influential Muslims

Three prominent Sri Lankans have been named among the topmost influential Muslims of 2010 in a recently released publication The 500 Most Influential Muslims 2010 edited by Dr. Joseph Lumbard and Dr Aref Ali Nayed.

Among them is M.I.M. Rizvi Mufti, the head of All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU), an organization that plays an active role as the Islamic religious higher authority of Sri Lanka with 3000 active members under its 22 districts and 15 divisional branches. ACJU recently established a Halal Certification Authority in Sri Lanka and also publishes a quarterly which lists halal-certified organisations and products. Rizvi Mufti is a pioneering scholar in the field of Islamic banking and finance and is a member of the shari‘a advisory councils for a number of Islamic financial institutions in Sri Lanka

Deshabandu Jezima Ismail has been listed among women who have been trailblazers in their respective fields, often being the first in breaking social boundaries. Ms. Ismail is the founder of the Muslim Women’s Research and Action Forum (MWRAF) and has been an educator for over three decades. She serves on various international committees on women’s rights and is the recipient of various awards in recognition of her work. She is the Chairperson of Paffrel and a Member of the Committee for Reform of the Muslim Matrimonial Law. She is also President Emeritus and Founder, Sri Lanka Muslim Women’s Conference (SLMWC).

Also in the list is Justice Saleem Marsoof, a Judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and former president of the Court of Appeals. He is an award-winning lecturer on law and legal studies and a prolific author with special interest in law reform in Sri Lanka.

The report was released by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre, an independent research entity affiliated with the Royal Aal Al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, an international non-governmental independent institute headquartered in Amman, Jordan. The Report lists a total of 500 leaders in 15 categories of influence—Scholarly, Political, Administrative, Lineage, Preachers, Women’s Issues, Youth, Philanthropy, Development, Science/Technology/Medicine/Law, Arts and Culture, Media, Radicals, International Islamic Networks, and Issues of the Day. The publication reports on the contributions of those leaders and change-agents who have shaped social development and global movements in the past few years. The individuals in the publication are considered influential because their work impacts all fields of work and particularly the religious endeavours of the Muslim world.