Top 10 are Muslim; FP explains the contest was promoted heavily in newspapers in the MidEast. Beating Chomsky is a popular suit-and-tie Egyptian Muslim televangelist, Amr Khaled.
1. FETHULLAH GÜLEN, Religious leader • Turkey
2. MUHAMMAD YUNUS, Microfinancier, activist • Bangladesh
3. YUSUF AL-QARADAWI, Cleric • Egypt/Qatar
4. ORHAN PAMUK, Novelist • Turkey
5. AITZAZ AHSAN, Lawyer, politician • Pakistan
6. AMR KHALED, Muslim televangelist • Egypt
7. ABDOLKARIM SOROUSH, Religious theorist • Iran
8. TARIQ RAMADAN, Philosopher, scholar of Islam • Switzerland
9. MAHMOOD MAMDANI, Cultural anthropologist • Uganda
10. SHIRIN EBADI, Lawyer, human rights activist • Iran
11. NOAM CHOMSKY, Linguist, activist • United States
12. AL GORE, Climate change activist, politician • United States
13. BERNARD LEWIS, Historian • Britain/United States
14. UMBERTO ECO, Novelist, semiologist • Italy
15. AYAAN HIRSI ALI, Activist, politician • Somalia/Netherlands
16. AMARTYA SEN, Development economist • India
17. FAREED ZAKARIA, Journalist, author • United States
18. GARRY KASPAROV, Democracy activist, chess grandmaster • Russia
19. RICHARD DAWKINS, Biologist, author • Britain
20. MARIO VARGAS LLOSA, Novelist, politician • Peru
TOP WRITE-IN CANDIDATE:
STEPHEN COLBERT, Television host, satirist • United States
-B.