10 Muslims who have changed the world

This weekend marks the midway point of Ramadan, the holiest month of the year for the world’s 1 billion Muslims.

Ramadan, which began July 20 and ends Aug. 19, is one of the “Five Pillars” of Islam. It requires that all able-bodied Muslims abstain from food, drink and other physical pleasures during each day from sunrise to sunset. The goal of the fast is to purify the body and soul, to embrace self-sacrifice and renew one’s focus on God. The fasting period also is accompanied by deeper prayer and study of the Quran. The fast is broken with communal meals involving family or a community of fellow believers.

Here are 10 Muslims who have changed the world:

1. Prophet Muhammad -peace be upon him-
full name: Abū al-Qāsim Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib ibn Hāshim As Islam’s founding prophet, Muslims believe the Quran was given directly to Muhammad by Allah, in 610. Muhammad Is the last of the prophets sent by Allah The name Muhammad means "Praiseworthy" and occurs four times in the Quran.[Muhammad gained few followers early on, and was met with hostility from some Meccan tribes; he and his followers were treated harshly. Muhammad died in 632, and is buried in Medina, Saudi Arabia, in the confines of the home in which he died.

2. Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi — 

A mathematician who lived in Persia (modern-day Iran) in the ninth century, 

He is credited with inventing algebra and the modern numeric system, which is derived from Hindu-Arabic numbers used in Indian mathematics.

The term “algorithm” is derived from his name

3.  Fatima Al-Fihriyya  — 

The daughter of a merchant,

she founded Al-Qarawiyyn,

arguably the world’s first and 

oldest continuously 

operating university, 

in 859, in Fez. Morocco.

4. Salahuddin Ayyubi — 

Considered one of the greatest warriors in history, 

Salahuddin defeated Europe’s Crusaders and

conquered Jerusalem in 1187.

He became legendary for his humane treatment 

of the captured Crusaders and their families.

5. Benazir Bhutto — A second-generation prime minister of Pakistan, Bhutto was first female head of state in the Muslim world. When her government was accused of corruption, she was defeated for reelection in 1997. After nine years in exile, she was poised for a political comeback in 2007 when she was assassinated.

6. Alhazen — 
The 10th century physician from Basra,Iraq, is considered the fatherof the modern-study of optics.Alhazen made significant contributions to the principles of optics, as well as to physics, astronomy, mathematics, ophthalmology, philosophy, visual perception, and to the scientific method. He also wrote nsightful commentaries on works by Aristotle, Ptolemy, and the Greek mathematician Euclid

7. Ruhollah Masvi Khomeinhi 
A fundamentalist clergyman and leader of the Iranian Revolution, who became the Supreme Leader and Grand Ayatollah of Iran after his overthrow of the corrupt Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1979. Under Khomeini’s iron-fisted rule, Iran went from a country tolerant of the West, to a hard-right theocracy and constant critic of the United States.
    Supreme Leader of Iran (3-Dec-1979 to 3-Jun-1989, his death)
    Time Man of the Year 1979
    Exiled to Paris, France (1978-79)
    Exiled to Iraq (1965-78)
    Exiled to Turkey (1964-65)

8. Fethullah Gulen — The reclusive imam from Turkey, is founder of the “Gulen Movement,” which boasts 10 million followers and owns a vast network of charter schools, media outlets and think tanks in 130 countries. Gulen’s supporters say he preaches a tolerant and pragmatic brand of Islam that emphasis education more than orthodoxy. His detractors are wary of his growing clout. Gulen, who lives in rural Pennsylvania, fled Turkey after being accused of trying to undermine the government.

9. Anwar Sadat 
As Egypt’s third president, Sadat signed the first-ever historic peace treaty between his country and Israel; an agreement which holds to this day. Sadat was assassinated by Muslim-fundamentalist army officers in 1981.

10. Osama bin Laden — The millionaire founder of al-Qaida, fundamentalist and terrorist who spearheaded the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, as well as other acts of terror around the world, and forever changed how the Western countries deal with the security of public venues.

Sources: Scientific American; Science in Islam; Jewish Virtual Library; the Pride of Islam; Washington Post

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