Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has emerged winner of the 2021 Global Muslim Personality Award, a global award organised by Nigeria’s most authoritative Islamic newspaper, Muslim News Nigeria.
Gatekeepers News reports that Sheikh Tamim was declared the winner of the prestigious award tagged #MNAwards2021 in Nigeria, Southwest, Nigeria on Saturday, October 22, by the Publisher of the newspaper, Alhaji Rasheed Abubakar.
The President of Turkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdogan had won the award created in 2018 to celebrate Muslim achievers across professions including governance and administration, for three consecutive years (2018, 2019 and 2020).
While congratulating the Emir and the good people of Qatar, Alhaji Abubakar said the Nigerian Muslim medium chose Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani as the winner of the 2021 edition “for being a harbinger of peace in today’s Islamic world, as he has on numerous occasions led his government to intervene on wars and conflicts as well as other issues that have caused or have the potentials in claiming the lives of millions of Muslims across the globe.
“And rather than pitching its tent in states of conflict, Emir Tamim will rather create an avenue for dialogue, allowing both sides of the divide coming to the table to discuss and find common grounds for peace and order. He is a leader who is renowned for possessing uncommon listening ears as he pays attention to the plights of the oppressed and Muslim minorities.
“The Emir’s approach – though misunderstood by some, including its Arab neighbours, to mean supporting the supposed terrorists or the acclaimed outlaws – has not only saved lives of innocents but has also restored relative peace to many affected regions in the Middle East in particular and the Muslim world in general.
“From West Bank to Kabul, Cairo to Baghdad, Khartoum to Naypyidaw, Tripoli to Tehran, Damascus to Sana’a, Beirut to Beijing, among other global capitals, Al-Thani has led the Qatari government to find peace for the global Muslim populace. And it is on this basis, that we at the Muslim News Nigeria shall be conferring the prestigious 2021 Global Muslim Personality Award on Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani,”: he said.
Under the leadership of Emir Tamim, he said Qatar positions itself as a peaceful abode and mediator for the troubled Muslim world, particularly the Muslim minorities.
“Whether direct or indirect, Qatar has successfully mediated and settled disputes between brethren (Arab nations), on one part; and between Muslim countries and the global powers on the other.
“The 42-year old Emir of Qatar is considered worthy of this prestigious award for his humanitarian support to the less privileged, the Muslim minorities and others who are facing economic challenges. He has also succeeded in boosting Qatar’s economy,” Abubakar said.
Citing few exemplary actions of the Emir, the organiser of the award said in order to forestall total breakdown of law and order ahead of the US’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, Qatar made itself a useful platform for the outside world to be able to reach the Taliban, which eventually changed the erroneous belief among people who had hitherto considered Taliban as a terrorist organisation.
“Qatar’s position was that, regardless of how the Taliban is perceived, the population that would be affected if full-blown war broke out would be the Muslim population. By facilitating the diplomatic relationship between the Taliban and the erstwhile administration of Asraf Ghani, as well as the United States (both under Donald Trump and Joe Biden), Qatar succeeded in minimising the level of catastrophe the people of Afghanistan could have experienced following the withdrawal of the US military forces.
Emir Tamim also displayed uncommon influence in Tehran’s nuclear pact with world powers. Doha under his leadership keeps working tremendously behind the scenes, mediating between Tehran and the world powers led by the US, calling for more dialogue to settle the standoff, which was unilaterally abandoned in 2018 during the Trump-led administration.
Also, Qatar is the foremost among the few Arab countries that is not only passionate but visibly sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. The country has on several occasions publicly shown commitment to the establishment of an independent state where Palestinians will live in peace.
“Worried by the incessant aggressions of Israel in the besieged Gaza since 2007, Qatar has not only served as a go-between, between Tel-Aviv and Hamas in Gaza Strip but has also continued to contribute hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian and development aid to support Palestinians.
Abubakar said the Qatari government-funded Al Jazeera is a blessing to the entire world, particularly the Muslim ummah. The medium has practically taken over CNN and other international media in the Middle East, providing an alternative source of information to Muslims across the world.
Through Al Jazeerah, the Muslim world is able to know about the challenges facing brethren across the globe. A case in point was the plights of Muslim minorities such as Rohingya from Myanmar (now camped in Bangladesh) as well the Chinese Uyghur, among others.
“Prior to the establishment of Al Jazeera, the Western media continuously bamboozled the Muslim world with half-truths and one-sided propaganda. The plights and maltreatment of the Muslim populace were less reported.
“The advent of Al Jazeera, however, changed the narratives. And this has largely been possible with the efforts of Sheikh Tamim- led administration that has continuously financed the medium, such that it now reaches over 270 million households in over 140 countries across the world.
With a population of about 2 million people, Qatar under the leadership of Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani won the right to host the 2022 World Cup as announced by FIFA in 2010.
The Mundial, which is slated to hold between November 21 and December 18, 2022, will see Qatar become the first Arab nation to host the biggest football competition in the world.
In the area of economy, the Publisher of Muslim News Nigeria disclosed that Qatar is making a huge leap to become a financial powerhouse in the coming years.
“The Emir of Qatar is mobilizing resources to register a bolder presence for the country in the global Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) sector. Doha is blessed with hydrocarbon resources and this is being leveraged to make Qatar a major player in the LNG market across the world. Qatar is today one of the largest producers and exporters of LNG, supplying China, India, UAE, Japan, and South Korea, among others,” he added.
Other winners are;
• Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (Overall Global Muslim Personality of the Year)
• Hammad Hassan (Global Muslim Banking & Finance Person of the Year)
• Rabia Chaudry (Global Muslim Legal Person of the Year)
• Rana Ayyub ( Global Muslim Media Person of the Year)
• Sadio Mane (Global Muslim Celebrity of the Year)
• Azizullah Royesh (Global Muslim Teacher of the Year)
