Gaza residents, Muslim 500 “Personality of the Year 2026”

For the first time in its history, The Muslim 500 collectively named the men and women of Gaza as “Personality of the Year” in its 2026 edition. This annual publication, published by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center based in Jordan, lists the 500 most influential Muslims in the world, whether they act in the political, religious, cultural, scientific or social fields.

Usually, The Muslim 500 distinguishes between a man and a woman. But this year, the editors have chosen to jointly honor the inhabitants of Gaza, saluting their “resilience, their moral courage and their endurance in the face of immense humanitarian suffering”. “The men and women of Gaza have endured the unimaginable, while continuing to live with humanity. They pray and bury their dead with dignity, share their meager resources, treat the wounded at great risk to their lives, and document the truth, often at the cost of their own,” the magazine writes.

The 2026 ranking places Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani as the top most influential Muslim figure, followed by Pakistani scholar Sheikh Muhammad Taqi Usmani and Yemeni preacher Sheikh Al-Habib Umar bin Hafiz. Among the political and spiritual figures, also include the Iranian Supreme Guide Ali Khamenei (4th), King Abdullah II of Jordan (5th), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (7th) and Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan (36th), the only woman in the Top 50. Footballer Mohamed Salah ranks 39th, while Sadio Mané, Khabib Nurmagomedov and even journalist Mehdi Hasan are among honorable mentions.

Paying tribute to the people of Gaza, The Muslim 500 signs a strong symbolic gesture: recognizing, in the resistance of a people victim of an ongoing genocide, the highest expression of human dignity.