Saudi Arabia appoints Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan as grand mufti

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has appointed Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan bin Abdullah Al-Fawzan as grand mufti, state media said.

Al-Fawzan was named the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia by royal decree, the official SPA news agency reported. The newly appointed grand mufti replaced Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Sheikh, who passed away on September 23.

Al-Fawzan has been a member of Ifta and the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research since 1992, as well as the Council of Senior Scholars, the Saudi Gazette reported.

In addition, he was a member of the Supervisory Committee for Preachers during the Hajj, the Islamic Fiqh Council, and the Muslim World League.

Al-Fawzan was born in Al-Qassim in 1935 and attended school in Buraidah. He graduated from the College of Shariah in Riyadh with a master’s and a doctorate in fiqh. He later became the Higher Institute of Judiciary’s director.

The newly appointed grand mufti is also a multi-book author and has conducted several radio shows, including the well-known Nur Ala Al-Darb programme

Al-Fawzan succeeds Abdulaziz al-Sheikh, who died in September after more than 20 years in the role.

He was appointed on the recommendation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto Saudi ruler who has ushered in sweeping reforms in a bid to diversify the economy of the world’s biggest oil exporter.

— With additional input from AFP