Mirwaiz among top five influential persons in subcontinent, according to latest ‘The Muslim 500’ report

Srinagar: Hurriyat (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has for the fifth consecutive year been chosen among the 500 most influential Muslim personalities across the globe by Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre (RISISC) Jordan and one among the five top influential persons in the sub-continent.

The list has been topped by Turkey President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, followed by Saudi Arabian King, Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, Jordan King Abdullah II Ibn Al-Hussein, Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khomeini and Morocco King Mohammad VI.

“Dr Farooq inherited the title of the 14th Mirwaiz, (traditional preacher of Muslims in Kashmir) in 1990 after the martyrdom of his father. At the young age of twenty, he became the chairman and founder of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a grassroots coalition of pro-freedom parties in J&K.” said the RISISC, in its annual report for year 2019, titled, ‘The Muslim 500’.

“He (Mirwaiz) has raised the Kashmir problem at the United Nations, European Parliament and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), advocating dialogue with both India and Pakistan so that the aspirations of the Kashmiri people may be realized,” said the report.

A Hurriyat (M) spokesman termed it as a matter of “pride and honour for the people of Kashmir and an acknowledgment of their rightful and just struggle for self determination.”