Tarique Rahman named among world’s most influential Muslims

Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has been named among the world's 500 most influential Muslim personalities in the 2027 edition of an annual publication, marking his first inclusion in the list.

Two other Bangladeshi women have also been featured in the latest edition.

Published by the Jordan-based Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre (RISSC), the 18th annual edition of “The Muslim 500: The World's 500 Most Influential Muslims” has included Tarique Rahman in the 'Political' category.

The publication describes Tarique Rahman as a prominent Bangladeshi politician who currently serves as the country's Prime Minister and Chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

Besides Tarique Rahman, the 2027 edition features two other Bangladeshis – prominent human rights activist Dr Hamida Hossain and lawyer Razia Sultana. Both have been included in the 'Social Issues' category.

Dr Hamida Hossain is a renowned human rights activist and researcher and one of the founders of Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK). She has regularly featured in the publication in recognition of her longstanding contributions to women's rights and democratic values.

Razia Sultana is a lawyer and human rights activist known internationally for her work on the Rohingya crisis and efforts to protect the rights of refugee women and children and promote justice at the international level.

According to the publication, the list is compiled based on individuals' ability to exert political, ideological, cultural and financial influence over the world's estimated 2.2 billion Muslims.

Only the top 50 personalities are ranked from 1 to 50. The remaining 450 are included without a specific ranking in 13 categories, including politics, religious affairs, social issues, business, science and culture.