Maulana Madani, the president of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind ( JUH), one of India’s oldest and most-respected Muslim organisations, has been named the Muslim man of the year for 2023.

The Muslim 500, a religious journal that ranks significant Islamic adherents globally, picked Mr Madani as the Muslim man of the year in its most recent ranking, seen by Peoples Gazette on Monday.

According to the report, the Islamic scholar has defended Muslims who have been wrongfully accused of participating in terrorism and has championed the rights of the Muslim minority in India.

The report further detailed that Mr Madani used his platform to fight the twin battles of condemning terrorism and calling out those who would use the issue to demonise the Indian Muslim community.

“Through the platform of the JUH, he has fought the twin battles of condemning terrorism in all its forms as well as calling out those who would use the issue to scapegoat the Muslim community,” stated the Muslim 500 report. 

It added, “He has regularly arranged massive public rallies and international scholarly conferences dealing with all the ramifications of these issues. He has consistently and clearly called out the evil of da’ish.”

Before assuming the group’s leadership, which his iconic father, Maulana As’ad Madani, had held for more than 50 years, he worked as the organization’s General Secretary for nearly 20 years.