and cannot be awarded with university degrees. non-citizens Kurds living in Syria are not awarded school certificates and are often unable to travel outside of their provinces. In April 2011, the President signed Decree 49 which provides citizenship for Kurds who were registered as foreigners in Hasaka. However, a recent independent report has suggested that the actual number of non-citizens Kurds who obtained their national ID cards following the decree does not exceed 6,000, leaving the remainder of 300,000 non-citizens Kurds living in Syria in a state of uncertainty. One newly nationalized Kurd has been reported as saying: ‘I’m pleased to have my ID card .... But not until the process is completed will I truly trust the intentions of this action. Before my card is activated, I must have an interview, no doubt full of interrogation and intimidation, with State Security. Citizenship should not be a privilege. It is my right.’ According to one researcher, the Kurdish street perceived the measure of providing citizenship as 'not well-intentioned, but simply an attempt to distance Kurds from the developing protest movement of the Syrian Revolution.' Influential Syrian Kurds Politicians Ibrahim Hananu (1869–1935), Ottoman municipal official and later a leader of a revolt against the French presence in northern Syria. Adib Shishakli (1909–1964), Syrian military leader and President of Syria (1953–1954). Ata Bey al-Ayyubi (1877–1951), Prime Minister of Syria (1936) and President of Syria (1943). Husni al-Za'im (1897–1949), Prime Minister and President of Syria (1949). Husni al-Barazi (1895–1975), Prime Minister of Syria (1942–1943) Muhsin al-Barazi (1904–1949), Prime Minister of Syria (1949). Khalid Bakdash (1912–1995), leader (1936–1995) of the Syrian Communist Party. Qadri Jamil (born 1952), Kurdish politician and one of the leaders of the People's Will Party and the Popular Front for Change and Liberation. Mahmoud al-Ayyubi (born 1932), Prime Minister of Syria (1972–1976) Muhammad Mustafa Mero (born 1941), Prime Minister of Syria (2000–2003). Daham Miro (1921–2010), Kurdish political leader and former chairman of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Syria. Mashaal Tammo (1958–2011), Kurdish Political leader and founder of the Kurdish Future Movement. Singers Ciwan Haco (born 1957), Kurdish singer. Authors Cigerxwîn (1903–1984), influential Kurdish writer and poet. Osman Sabri (1905–1993), Kurdish poet, writer and journalist. Haitham Hussein (born 1978), Novelists and Journalist. Salim Barakat (born 1951), Novelist and poet. Scholars Ahmed Kuftaro (1915–2004), Grand Mufti (1964–2004), the highest Sunni authority in the country. Mohamed Said Ramadan Al-Bouti (1929–2013), influential Islamic scholar.