PM Imran declared Muslim world's 'Man of the year' by Jordanian institute
Prime Minister Imran Khan has been declared "Man of the Year" from the Muslim world by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre, an independent research entity affiliated with an international Islamic non-governmental, independent institute headquartered in Jordan.
The prime minister has been honoured in the 11th annual issue of 'The Muslim 500: The World's 500 Most Influential Muslims' magazine. This publication seeks to ascertain the influence some Muslims have on nearly 1.93 billion people who share their faith across the world.
Among the 500 influential Muslims, the magazine highlights the top 50 which are led by the overall top two personalities entitled 'Man of the Year' and 'Woman of the Year'. The publication selects Muslim individuals from a range of categories of influence - 13 in total - including scholarly, political, administration of religious affairs, business, science and technology.
Professor S. Abdallah Schleifer, Professor Emeritus of Journalism at the American University in Cairo and chief editor of "The Muslim 500" project, while declaring PM Imran the "Man of the year", wrote that his quest for peace with neighbouring entitled him for the honour.
Professor Schleifer, in his note, highlighted the premier's career as a cricketer and paid him rich tribute. "If The Muslim 500 was in print back in 1992 and I was then chief editor I would have nominated Imran Khan as our Muslim Man of the Year because of his brilliant performance in cricket, which culminated in Pakistan winning the 1992 Cricket World Cup - a sport I have always admired for its combination of elegance and intense competitive play."
Talking about the prime minister's later campaign for Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital, he wrote,
India "I also was touched when Khan launched a successful fund raising campaign to establish a hospital devoted to both the care of victims of cancer as well as research."
"This was his magnificent response to the loss of his mother to cancer in 1985 and given Khan's extraordinary popularity with Pakistanis both at home as well as among the large number of Pakistani expats along with his own, no doubt, generous personal contribution - he raised sufficient funds so that by 1994 the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital opened its doors in Lahore. 75 per cent of its patients receive free-care."