Jordan’s Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre ranks PM Anwar as 15th most influential Muslim figure in the world

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 8 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has been named the 15th most influential Muslim figure in the 2025 edition of The World’s 500 Most Influential Muslims by Jordan’s Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre (RISSC).

The achievement of the Prime Minister was shared by the Minister of Housing and Local Government Nga Kor Ming through a post on the X application today congratulating the Prime Minister for successfully improving his ranking to 15th compared to 17th last year for the same category.

“This success shows an examplary figure and inclusive leadership for a multi-racial society,” according to Nga in the message.

In the publication of the book, Anwar is among the 50 individuals listed as the most influential Muslim individuals in the world besides the King of Jordan, King Abdullah II Al-Hussein who occupies first place; King of Saudi Arabia, King Salman Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud (fifth); and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto (18th).

The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center (RISSC) which published the book also said that Anwar was ranked ninth in the category of Islamic leaders and politicians most influential in the world, surpassing Prabowo (10th) and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Saeed Al-Sisi (11th).

Their assessment is made based on their respective influence in bringing about changes in terms of culture, ideology, finance, politics and so on in the Muslim community and also internationally.

The publication, in its brief introduction of Anwar, stated that the prime minister was vocal about the Palestinian people’s struggles in the face of Israeli atrocities.

“Ibrahim (Anwar) has been a vocal supporter of the Palestinian right to resist occupation. His meetings with Hamas officials (including the late assassinated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh) have drawn criticism from the USA.

“His social media posts offering condolences after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh were taken down, prompting him to say: “Let this serve as a clear and unequivocal message to Meta: cease this display of cowardice and stop acting as instruments of the oppressive Zionist Israeli regime,” the publication said. — Bernama