PM Tarique Rahman and Hamida Hossain Named in List of World's 500 Most Influential Muslims

The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre (RISSC), a Jordan-based research institution, has published its list of the world's 500 most influential Muslims. Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has been included in the list.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has been included in the 'Political' category of the publication, titled 'The Muslim 500'.

In Bangladesh's national parliamentary election held on 12 February 2026, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Tarique Rahman, won a two-thirds majority and the party returned to state power.

He took office as Prime Minister of Bangladesh as the term of the interim government came to an end. He has been included in this category in recognition of his important role in the country's political and administrative leadership as the head of the new government.

Also on the list is Dr Hamida Hossain, a prominent Bangladeshi human rights activist, researcher and one of the founders of Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK). She regularly appears on the list for her long-standing contribution to establishing women's rights and democratic values.

According to the publication, the list is prepared on the basis of the ability to exert political, ideological, cultural and financial influence over the world's approximately 2.2 billion Muslims.

Under the list's rules, only the top 50 personalities are ranked in order from 1 to 50. The remaining 450 are included without ranking in different categories.

There are 13 such categories in total, including politics, theology, social service, business, science and culture.

In this year's edition, all three people selected from Bangladesh have been placed in the unranked main list of 450.