Criteria for Presence on the List of the 100 Greatest Muslims

Criteria for Presence on the List of The 100 Greatest Muslims

In recent years, the United States has endured a great deal of turmoil over the historical reassessments that many of its historical leaders have undergone.  The major focus has been on historical figures associated with the Confederate States of America.  Such figures as Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, and Stonewall Jackson had been memorialized in many places in the country.  However, their role in a rebellion in support of slavery has tarnished their reputations and led to the removal of their statues and the renaming of schools.  Similarly, the reputations of such figures as Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Woodrow Wilson have, in recent years, undergone re-evaluations.

These recent historical re-evaluations highlight the problem in making historical assessments of individuals when preparing a list of the 100 Greatest of anything.  Based on what I have observed, an accurate historical assessment cannot be made any sooner than 100 years after the death of an individual.  The 100 years allows for the passage of time which tends to facilitate a more full evaluation of the individual.  

Based on this observation, the list of the 100 Greatest Muslims contained herein will be confined to those individuals who have been deceased for at least 100 years.

Accordingly, such individuals as Abdul Qadeer Khan (the Father of Pakistan's Nuclear Bomb), Hasan al-Banna (the Founder of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood), Ibn Saud (the Founder of Modern Day Saudi Arabia), Malcolm X (the Nation of Islam leader), Muhammad Ali (the most famous athlete of the twentieth century), Malala Yousafzai (the youngest Nobel Peace Prize recipient), Maryam Mirzakhani (the first woman and the first Iranian to win the Fields Medal, one the most desired awards in the field of mathematics),  Muhammad Ali Jinnah (the Father of the nation of Pakistan), Muhammad Yunus (the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics), Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (the Father of the modern nation of Turkey), Osama Bin Laden (the notorious Al-Qaeda leader), Ruhollah Khomeini (the Father of the Islamic Republic of Iran), or Saddam Hussein (the former ruler of Iraq) will not be found on this list.  The names of these individuals will be listed in an appendix for future consideration, perhaps by other historians who will follow me, ... or perhaps, by me. 

As salaam alaikum,

Everett Jenkins

Fairfield, California

March 18, 2022