In a year of bad news, these Muslims kicked butt and took names.

Malala Yousafzai, who won the damn Nobel Peace Prize at 17 years old, making her the youngest laureate ever.

Who she is: An education activist from Pakistan who survived a targeted shooting by the Taliban when she was 15.

How she changed the game in 2014: Her selflessness has inspired people of every faith. Meanwhile, her speeches demonstrate that Islam is her inspiration for educating women and continuing work on behalf of children worldwide.

Christopher Furlong / Via Getty Images

Ibtihaj Muhammad, who slayed as a world-class fencer AND fashion designer.

Who she is: The first Muslim woman to compete for the United States on an international scale.

How she changed the game in 2014: She won her first international fencing gold for America in team sabre at the 2014 World Fencing Championship, killed Instagram with her amazing fashion designs, AND participated in the 2013 Mipsterz video.

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Reza Aslan, who criticized Bill Maher's Islamophobia and added nuance to media coverage of Islam.

Who he is: Author, professor of creative writing at the University of California-Riverside, and a scholar of religion.

How he changed the game in 2014: Following up a masterful performance during a very strange 2013 Fox News interview, Aslan provided a nuanced critique of Maher's anti-Islam stance on CNN, saying Maher's usage of a few generalizations to criticize all of Islam is close to "bigotry."

Courtesy of CNN

NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin, who reported fearlessly from Gaza despite setbacks.

Who he is: A foreign affairs journalist who covered the Gazan conflict for NBC.

How he changed the game in 2014: Mohyeldin was pulled from Gaza soon after he live-tweeted an airstrike that killed four Palestinian children. The resulting outrage and outpour of support for Mohyeldin's balanced coverage caused him to be reinstated in Gaza.

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