Top 20 Public Intellectuals

8/14/2019 Top 20 Public Intellectuals

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Top 100 Public

IntellectualsFOREIGN POLICY (US )and

Prospect(UK) will publish theresults of the poll on


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In 20 public Intellectuals FirstIn 20 public Intellectuals First


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Fethullah Glen

Religious theorist IranSoroush, a former university professor in Tehranand specialist inchemistry, Sufi poetry, and history, is widely

considered one of the worldspremier Islamic philosophers. Having fallen afoulof the mullahs thanks tohis work with Irans democratic activists, he haslately decamped to Europeand the United States, where his essays and

lectures on religiousphilosophy and human rights are followedclosely by Irans reformistmovement.


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2.Muhammad Yunus

Microfinancier, activist BangladeshMore than 30 years ago, Yunus loanedseveral dozenpoor entrepreneurs in his nativeBangladesh a total of $27. It was the beginning of a lifetimedevoted to fightingpoverty through microfinance, efforts thatearned him aNobel Peace Prize in 2006. Over the years,his GrameenBank, now operating in more than 100countries, has loaned nearly $7billion in small sums to more than 7 millionborrowers97 percent of them


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3. YUSUF AL-QARADAWI Cleric Egypt/Qatar

The host of the popular Sharia andLife TV program on Al Jazeera,

Qaradawi issues weekly fatwas oneverything from whether Islamforbids

all consumption of alcohol (no) towhether fighting U.S. troops in Iraq isa

legitimate form of resistance (yes).Considered the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Qaradawi

condemned the September 11attacks, but


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4.Orhan Pamuk

Novelist Turkey Part political pundit, part literary celebrity,

Pamuk is the foremost chronicler of Turkeys difficult dance

between East and West. His skillfully crafted works lay bare his native countrys

thorny relationship with religion, democracy, and modernity,

earning him a Nobel Prize in literature in 2006. Three years ago, Pamuk was put

on trial for insulting Turkish identity after mentioning the Armenian

genocide and the plight of Turkeys Kurds in an interview. The charges

were later dropped. Today,


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5.AITZAZ AHSAN Lawyer, politician

Pakistan President of Pakistans Supreme Court Bar

Association, Ahsan has been a

vocal opponent of President PervezMusharrafs rule. When Musharraf dismissed the head of the Supreme Court

in March 2007, it was Ahsan who led the legal challenge to reinstate the

chief justice and rallied thousands

of lawyers who took to the streets inprotest. He was arrested several times during the period of emergency rule

last year. Today, he is a senior member of the Pakistan Peoples Party,

formerl led b Benazir Bhutto, and


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6.Amr Khaled

Muslim televangelist EgyptA former accountant turned rock-starevangelist, Khaled preaches a folksy

interpretation of modern Islam tomillions of loyal viewers around theworld. With a charismatic oratory andcasual style, Khaled blendsmessages of cultural integration andhard work with lessons on how to live

a purpose-driven Islamic life.Although Khaled got his start inEgypt, herecently moved to Britain to counsel


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7.Abdolkarim Soroush

Religious theorist - Iran Soroush, a former university

professor in Tehran and specialist in

chemistry, Sufi poetry, and history, iswidely considered one of the worlds premier Islamic philosophers. Having

fallen afoul of the mullahs thanks to his work with Irans democratic

activists, he has lately decamped toEurope

and the United States, where hisessays and lectures on religious

philosophy and human rights arefollowed closel b Irans reformist


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8.Tariq RamadanPhilosopher, scholar of Islam SwitzerlandOne of the most well-known andcontroversial Muslimscholars today, Ramadan embodies thecultural andreligious clash he claims to be trying tobridge. Hissupporters consider him a passionateadvocate forMuslim integration in Europe. His criticsaccuse him of anti-Semitism and having links toterrorists. In 2004,Ramadan was denied a U.S. visa to


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9.MAHMOOD MAMDANI

Cultural anthropologist UgandaBorn in Uganda to South Asianparents, Mamdani was expelled fromthecountry by Idi Amin in 1972,eventually settling in the UnitedStates. Hiswork explores the role of citizenship,identity, and the creation of historicalnarratives in postcolonial Africa. Morerecently, he has focused hisattention on political Islam and U.S.foreign policy, arguing that modernIslamist terrorism is a byproduct of


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10.SHIRIN EBADI

Lawyer, humanrights activist IranIrans first female judge under theshah, Ebadi founded a pioneering lawpractice after she was thrown off thebench by Irans clerical rulers. Havinginitially supported the IslamicRevolution, she cut her teethdefendingpolitical dissidents and campaigningfor the rights of women and children.A fierce nationalist who sees noincompatibility between Islam anddemocracy, Ebadibecame the first


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15.AYAAN HIRSI ALI Activist, politician

Somalia /Netherlands A fierce critic of Islams treatment of women, the Somalia-born Hirsi Ali isknownfor her full-throated defense of theWest,reason, and freedom. Her publicrebellionagainst her Islamic upbringing hascomewith a steep cost: death threats andaroundthe-clock protection. She first receivednotoriety for penning Submission, afilmrenouncing the subjugation of Muslimwomen. (The films director, Theovan Gogh,was murdered by a Muslim fanatic in


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Journalist, author UnitedStates Editor of Newsweek International, Zakaria

is one of the most influentialand respected commentators oninternational affairs. His article Why Do

They Hate Us? a Newsweek cover storyin the weeks after the September11 attacks, upended the conventionalexplanations of the day for anuanced discussion of the economic,

Fareed Zakaria


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Rank 51-10051. Drew Gilpin Faust

52. Lawrence Lessig

53. J.M. Coetzee

54. Fernando Savater

55. Wole Soyinka

56. Yan Xuetong

57. Steven Pinker

58. Alma Guillermoprieto

59. Sunita Narain

60. Anies Baswedan

61. Michael Walzer

62. Niall Ferguson

63. George Ayittey64. Ashis Nandy

65. David Petraeus

66. Olivier Roy

67. Lawrence Summers

68. Martha Nussbaum

69. Robert Kagan

76. Kwame Anthony Appiah77. Malcolm Gladwell78. Alexander De Waal79. Gianni Riotta80. Daniel Barenboim81. Thrse Delpech

82. William Easterly83. Minxin Pei84. Richard Posner85. Ivan Krastev86. Enrique Krauze87. Anne Applebaum88. Rem Koolhaas

89. Jacques Attali90. Paul Collier91. Esther Duflo92. Michael Spence93. Robert Putnam94. Harold Varmus95. Howard Gardner


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Top 20 Public Intellectuals

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