Only two days to go and we will bid farewell to another year which saw more downs than ups – especially for the oppressed and weaker sections.
Yet, The Year 2024 had in it quite a few important events and the people who made these events happen, leaders, achievers and role models who revived hope, heroes who despite living in conflict zones held firm their ground resisting tyrant rulers despite all their military might, and the people who were lost somewhere in history but rebounded and became inspiration.
There is a long list of such Newsmakers belonging to every caste, religion, faith and country. Team ummid.com looked back at the year that was, and chronicled below some of the Muslim Newsmakers:
Abu Mohammad Al-Julani, born Ahmed Hussein al-Shar’a in 1982, came known to the world back in 2006 when he was arrested by the U.S. forces in Iraq. He was under the U.S. custody for five years and was lost somewhere in history.
Al-Julani or Al-Golani – the nickname he acquired courtesy his family roots in Golan Heights, Syria, resurfaced at the fag end of the year 2024 when he led the Syrian Opposition Forces and toppled more than 50 years brutal rule of al Assad family on December 08, 2024.
Also Read: Man of The Moment: Abu Muhammad Al-Julani
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan – the President of Turkey, now Türkiye, has been at the receiving end along with other Muslim and Arab rulers since October 07, 2023 when Israel started its genocidal war against the Palestinians following Operation Al Aqsa Storm.
Erdogan and other Muslim rulers are slammed for not doing anything for the Palestinians who are facing massacre at the hands of the Israeli Occupation Forces in Gaza, West Bank and other occupied lands.
The maverick President of Türkiye, however, suddenly came to limelight in the last month of the year for the reasons that were quite surprising and unexpected for world.
No sooner did triumphant Abu Muhammad al Julani marched in Damascus and Bashar al Assad fled the country, than the reports started emerging how Erdogan helped the Syrian opposition forces and also held talks with different stakeholders at diplomatic level to ensure the end of al Assad regime.
Political analysts are unanimous that the toppling of Bashar Assad rule in Syria has not only ended more than 10 years of Syrian civil war but has also changed the political landscape of the region.
Also Read: Israel, UAE had secret deal to keep Bashar al Assad in power: Report
44-year-old Sheikh Tamim is the ruler or Emir of Qatar – the oil-rich Arab State. This tiny Arab State has a distinction over other GCC countries because of Al Jazeera - one of the largest media houses of the world that it owns.
Al Jazeera has been at the forefront in decimating the western media war since the 2003 U.S. led invasion of Iraq, and now the ongoing Israeli genocidal war in Gaza. Had it not been for Qatar owned Al Jazeera, the Zionists and their supporters would have gone scot free and their crimes against humanity unnoticed.
Along with Al Jazeera, Qatar has also been in news during the entire year due to the mediation efforts it undertook and platform it provided for open as well as backdoor diplomatic talks – be it between Hamas and Israel, or Russia, Turkey, Iran, and others for bloodless transition of power in Syria.
And the man behind all this is Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani
Rashida Tlaib is the Palestinian American and a member of U.S. Congress. She first made headlines in 2018 when she became the first Muslim woman in the U.S. Congress.
Before entering the U.S. Congress, Rashida Tlaib had served from 2008-2014 as the first Muslim woman in Michigan's Legislature.
She has been vocal against the latest Israeli genocidal war against the Palestinians started on October 7, 2023. Due to this, Zionist supporters brought in a censure motion in the U.S. Congress against her, but she remained defiant and undeterred.
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib holds a sign calling Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu a "War Criminal" as he addresses Congress. pic.twitter.com/0cY2wJU3fr
— BRICS News (@BRICSinfo) July 25, 2024
When Netanyahu delivered his infamous address at the joint session of U.S. Congress on July 24, 2024, Rashida Tlaib was the only lawmaker protesting against the Israeli Prime Minister right inside the House when other lawmakers were counting standing ovations. But, Tlaib stood firm, holding up a sign that read "war criminal" on one side and "guilty of genocide" on the other.
Also Read: The Most Shameful Moment of 2024
Iqra Hasan belongs to the family of politicians in Muzaffarnagr, Uttar Pradesh. UK educated Iqra Hasan made headlines when she won the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, defeating her nearest rival of the BJP by a huge margin.
Iqra won the 2024 General Elections from Kairana despite a strong communal and anti-Muslim wave in the BJP ruled state.
What makes her victory important is that she got support from all sections of the society.
Ever since winning the National Elections in June 2024, Iqra Hasan, the youngest Muslim female MP to enter the Parliament, has been in news.
Also Read: India's youngest female Muslim MP Iqra Hasan is also a feminist
Maulana Mahmood Madani is the President of Jamiat e Uleama – one of the largest organisations of Indian Muslims. The Jamiat under the leadership of Mahmood Madani has always been at the forefront fighting injustice meted to minorities, especially Muslims. Be it riots or natural calamities, the Jamiat is first to reach out to the victims and help those affected.
Mahmood Madani has been in news for all the work that the Jamiat is doing. But, in September 2024, he stirred up the hornet's nest by criticising AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi’s brand of politics.
President of Jamiat e Ulema Hind, Maulana Mahmood Madani, on why he differs with Asaduddin Owaisi on his brand of politics. pic.twitter.com/PdwEYWS0jJ
— ummid.com (@ummid) December 29, 2024
For the fan following that Owaisi enjoys, Mahmood Madani was brutally trolled and criticised. Some sections, including a group of clergy, even demanded from him to withdraw his comments. He however remained defiant.
To further prove his point, he came with an insightful presentation while addressing Jamia Session October 2024 and explained why he believed Owaisi brand of politics is deadly for Indian Muslims.
Yahya Sinwar, who took charge as Political Bureau Chief of Palestinian Resistance Group Hamas, after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, was killed by the Israeli Occupation Forces in October this year.
Sinwar was already a hero for Palestinians, but became a legend after his death, courtesy, the video and images released by the Israeli military that showed Sinwar’s last moment. A wounded Sinwar with more than half of his body bandaged and one hand almost lifeless... Sinwar was however still fighting the occupation forces.
For weeks, the Palestinian children replicated and artists portrayed on canvas the last moments of wounded Yahya Sinwar standing against the tryants.
Also Read: Yahya Sinwar died like the heroes of ancient legends
Mustafa Suleyman was among TIME 100 Most Influential People in AI 2023 list. The year 2024 had more for the Syrian-born British citizen Artificial Intelligence Researcher and Entrepreneur.
Mustafa Suleyman is the son of a taxi driver. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates had once praised him, predicting “he will one day become a big name in the world of technology”.
Mustafa co-founded DeepMind in 2010 that was acquired by Google in 2014. Ten years later, in March 2024, he was joined Microsoft as the CEO of the tech giant’s AI division.
Also Read: Mustafa Suleyman – A Beacon for Muslim Youth
French-Moroccan doctor, Dr Youness Ahallal, made medical history on November 16, 2024 when he performed world’s first intercontinental robot assisted prostatectomy.
Dr Youness Ahallal, a specialist in robotic and cancer surgery, utilised Chinese made Toumai Robot - a cutting-edge surgical system capable of real-time, high-definition imaging and precise control, to perform prostate cancer surgery on a patient in Morocco, while sitting in Shanghai some 12,000 kilometres away.
Also Read: Meet Dr Youness who performed world's 1st intercontinental robotic surgery
Rashid Masharawi was born in Gaza in 1962 to a family of refugees from Jaffa. He grew up in the Shati refugee camp. Rashid Masharawi lives and works in Ramallah, West Bank, where he founded the Cinema Production and Distribution Center in 1996 with the aim of promoting local film productions.
In November 2023, he founded the Masharawi Fund to support films and filmmakers in Gaza, and attracted international media attention when the fund's first project "From Ground Zero" was short listed for Oscar 2025.
"From Ground Zero" is a documentary comprising 22 short films by Gaza based as many Palestinian filmmakers.
Also Read: ‘From Ground Zero’ of Palestine makes to Oscar Shortlist 2025
Faraz Khalid was born, grown up and received schooling in New Delhi. He later acquired MBA in Entrepreneurial Project Management from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and moved first to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and later to Saudi Arabia.
Faraz is better known for co-founding “Namshi”, which went on to become Middle East’s leading fashion online retailer.
Faraz, currently working for e-commerce platform “Noon”, grabbed media attention, in July this year when he was granted Saudi citizenship by a Royal Decree.
Also Read: Meet Indian origin, Faraz Khalid, granted Saudi Citizenship by Royal Decree
Sarfaraz Khan first made headlines in 2009 when he smashed a record 439 runs at the age of 12 playing for Springfield Rizvi School in a 3-day match against Indian Education Society in the Harris Shield Inter-School tournament.
In 2014, Sarfaraz was included in the Indian squad for the ICC Under-19 World Cup. Ten years later, in February 2024, Sarfaraz made to the Indian Cricket Team, and scored 130 runs that included two half centuries playing against England in his debut test match.
Also Read: 130 Runs, Two 50s in 1st Test – Sarfaraz Khan Billed Team India’s New Run Machine
Sofia Firdous is the daughter of senior Odisha Congress leader and former MLA Mohammed Moquim.
Sofia made the headlines, in June 2024 when she won the 2024 Odisha Assembly Elections from Barabati-Cuttack - the constituency once held by her father.
The 32-year-old Firdous is a Civil Engineering graduate from the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology under KIIT University in Bhubaneswar, and held various professional positions.
When she joined politics in 2024, she won her very first political battle, also becoming the first ever Muslim woman MLA of Odisha.
Also Read: Odisha’s 1st Muslim Woman MLA Sofia Firdous's Rich Profile Makes Wave
11-year-old Pakistani teen, Muhammad Hasnain, was trending in August this year when he unveiled an AI Assistant Robot he has named as ““Muhammad Ali”.
Hasnain’s “AI Assistant Robot” accepts the voice commands and responds as directed human way.
What amazed the tech enthusiasts is that the Pakistani teen developed the robot which has a moving eyes and mouth all by himself, without outsourcing any parts or equipment.
Also Read: 'Muhammad Ali': 11-yr-old Pakistan teen's AI robot thrills tech enthusiasts
Rakibul Hussain made headlines two times in the year – first in June and then in November.
Rakibul Hussain was MLA from the Samaguri Assembly Constituency of Assam since 2001. He however contested the 2024 Lok Sabha Election from Dhubri Parliamentary seat, and defeated 3-time MP Badruddin Ajmal Qasmi, by more than 10 lakh votes - the highest victory margin in the 2024 Lok Sabha Polls.
Following his victory in the Parliamentary Elections, he resigned as MLA Samaguri Assembly seat. In a surprise turn of event, however, he could not win the seat for his son, Tanzil Hussain, in the November 2024 by polls.
[Image Source: All images from social media platform X.]
Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates.
Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic.