Emir of Qatar, others emerge Global Muslim Personality of the Year 2021

Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani; Chief Executive Officer of Bahrain-based Bank ABC Islamic, Hammad Hassan; Pakistani-American lawyer, author and podcast host, Rabia Chaudry; Indian journalist and opinion columnist with American daily, Rana Ayyub; Senegal-born footballer, Sadio Mane and Afghanistan’s education leader, Azizullah ‘Aziz’ Royesh have emerged winners of the 2021 Global Muslim Personality Award, a global award organised by Muslim News Nigeria.

Sheikh Tamim was declared the winner of the prestigious award tagged #MNAwards2021 in Nigeria, Southwest, Nigeria on Saturday, October 22, by the newspaper’s publisher, Alhaji Rasheed Abubakar.

While congratulating the Emir and the good people of Qatar, Abubakar said the Nigerian Muslim medium chose Sheikh Tamim “for being a harbinger of peace in today’s Islamic world, as he has on numerous occasions led his government to intervene in wars and conflicts as well as other issues that have caused or have potential in claiming the lives of millions of Muslims across the globe.

“And rather than pitching his tent in states of conflict, Tamim will rather create an avenue for dialogue, allowing both sides of the divide to come to the table to discuss and find common grounds for peace and order. He is a leader who is renowned for possessing uncommon listening ears as he pays attention to the plights of the oppressed and Muslim minorities.

“The 42-year-old emir of Qatar is considered worthy of this prestigious award for his humanitarian support to the less privileged, the Muslim minorities and others who are facing economic challenges. He has also succeeded in boosting Qatar’s economy,” Abubakar said.

The Chief Executive Officer of Bahrain-based Bank ABC Islamic, Hammad Hassan was named Global Muslim Finance Person of the Year 2021. Hassan is an exceptional leader who has consistently led the bank’s growth, from $22.9 million profit when he joined in 2016 to $29.9 million in 2021. Hassan is a seasoned and consummate banker with well over 25 years of experience in corporate, institutional and consumer banking.

Pakistani-American lawyer, author and podcast host, Rabia Chaudry clinched the Global Muslim Legal Person of the Year 2021 for being instrumental through her serial podcast, to the freedom of Adyan Syed, who was wrongly condemned to life imprisonment. Chaudry, an attorney, believes that there is something wrong with the judgment. She revisited the case to allow justice to happen. Her efforts through the podcast done eight years ago were so popular that it has been downloaded more than 340 million times worldwide.

Indian journalist and opinion columnist with the American daily, The Washington Post, Rana Ayyub was named the Global Muslim Media Person of the Year 2021. She is the Voice of the voiceless and oppressed Muslims, especially in India where cases of violation of Muslim rights including calls for Muslim genocide have been on the rise. Ayyub is a fearless, dogged and committed journalist. She has been at the forefront of advocating for the rights of Muslims, especially the girl-child, who have been denied access to education due to the ruthless hijab ban in many parts of India, the so-called world’s largest democracy.

Senegal-born footballer, Sadio Mane emerged as the 2021 Global Muslim Celebrity of the Year. Mane, who joined Bayern Munich from Liverpool in a shocking move at the start of the current season after six years of blossoming career in Merseyside, was described as an Ambassador of Islam by Alhaji Abubakar, who does not hide his identity and solidarity with Islam, even right from his days in the Premier League.

Afghanistan’s education leader, Azizullah ‘Aziz’ Royesh won the Global Muslim Teacher of the Year 2021. Royesh is an outstanding advocate for education, especially in Afghanistan where he founded Marefat High School in Kabul, which provides formal civic education to Afghan children. Despite the Taliban’s education ban for girls since 2021, Royesh opened the doors of his school for girls to learn until it became too risky to continue due to threats from the Taliban-led officials.