Modern Era

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam served as India's eleventh President (2002–2007) and was a principal architect of the country's missile programme and a coordinator of the 1998 nuclear tests. A DRDO and ISRO scientist, he became a symbol of Indian scientific aspiration.

Abadi Bano Begum (1852-1924), known affectionately as Bi Amma, was the mother of the Ali Brothers and one of the first Muslim women to enter Indian nationalist politics, mobilizing women for the Khilafat and Non-Cooperation movements while observing purdah.

An Iranian Shia cleric who was the second Supreme Leader of Iran, holding the office from 1989 until his death in 2026. He had earlier served as Tehran's Friday prayer leader and as the third president of Iran from 1981 to 1989.

Ashfaqulla Khan (1900-1927) was an Indian Muslim revolutionary and poet who co-organized the 1925 Kakori train robbery with Ram Prasad Bismil to fund the anti-colonial Hindustan Republican Association, and was executed by the British for his role in it.

Begum Hazrat Mahal (c. 1820-1879) was a consort of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Awadh who, after the British annexation of 1856, became regent for her son Birjis Qadr and led the resistance at Lucknow during the Revolt of 1857. She refused all terms and died in exile in Nepal.

Comprehensive history of the decline and dissolution of the Ottoman Empire from the 19th century through World War I to the establishment of the Turkish Republic in 1923

Hasrat Mohani (1875-1951) was an Indian Muslim poet, journalist, and freedom fighter who coined the slogan 'Inquilab Zindabad' and was the first to demand complete independence for India, combining Urdu literary mastery with radical anti-colonial politics.

Mohammad Ali Jauhar (1878-1931) was an Indian Muslim leader, journalist, and orator who co-led the Khilafat Movement with his brother Shaukat Ali, forged a Hindu-Muslim alliance with Gandhi, and spent his final years advocating for Muslim political rights at the Round Table Conference in London.

Shaukat Ali (1873-1938) was an Indian Muslim leader who co-led the Khilafat Movement with his brother Mohammad Ali Jauhar. Known as the organizational force behind the movement, he was instrumental in forging the Hindu-Muslim alliance with Gandhi and spent years imprisoned for his activism.

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan (1817-1898) was an Indian Muslim reformer and educator who founded the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh in 1875, which became Aligarh Muslim University. His Aligarh Movement sought to reconcile Islamic faith with Western scientific education.