President Buhari Named Among World’s Most Influential Muslim Leaders

President Muhammadu Buhari, the Sultan of Sokoto, Saád Abubakar, and a Maiduguri-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ibrahim Saleh have been listed among the world’s 50 most influential Muslim leaders.
President Buhari was Number 20 on the list, while the Sultan and Sheikh Saleh are listed as numbers 24 and 38 respectively.

This was contained in ‘The Muslim 500,’ an annual publication of the World’s 500 most influential Muslims.
According to the publication, there are 1.7 billion Muslims in the world today, making up approximately 23% of the world’s population.


The publication measured influence some Muslims have on other Muslims to include: any person who has the power (be it cultural, ideological, financial, political or otherwise) to make a change that will have a significant impact on the Muslim world. The impact could be either positive or negative, depending on one’s point of view.

“… the Top 50, are dominated by religious scholars and heads of state. Their dominant and lasting influence cannot be denied, especially the rulers, who in many cases also appoint religious scholars to their respective positions,” it said.