Advertisement

President Halimah Yacob ranked world’s 37th most influential Muslim

Singapore's President Halimah Yacob at the Nanyang Technological University on 23 July 2019. (PHOTO: Dhany Osman / Yahoo News Singapore)
Singapore's President Halimah Yacob at the Nanyang Technological University on 23 July 2019. (PHOTO: Dhany Osman / Yahoo News Singapore)

SINGAPORE — Singapore’s President Halimah Yacob has been ranked 37th out of 500 most influential Muslims in the world, according to a publication by a Jordan-based Islamic research centre.

Halimah rose to her current rank in the 2021 publication by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre (RSSC) from 38th in the 2020 edition. In the category of Rulers and Politicians among influential Muslims, Halimah was ranked 15th.

RSSC noted the humble beginnings of Halimah, who was raised by her Malay mother after her Indian father died when she was eight years old. “As President, she has promoted initiatives for supporting a cohesive society, strengthening interfaith and recognising all workers who contributed to Singapore’s growth,” RSSC said.

The list, which looks at influential Muslims in 13 categories ranging from politics to the arts and culture, is dominated by political leaders and Islamic scholars. President Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey was ranked the world’s most influential Muslim, followed by King Salman of Saudi Arabia, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of Iran, King Abdullah II of Jordan and Islamic scholar Justice Sheik Muhammad Taqi Usmani in the Top 5.

Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore

More Singapore stories:

Four Orchard Rd malls among additions to COVID list of venues

Quilt created by Lee Suet Fern auctioned for $33,000 by social enterprise's food court

Donald Trump in Asia: a lookback at key events in region from 2017-2019