Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Sheikh

Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah Al-Sheikh[2] (Arabic: عبد العزيز بن عبد الله آل الشيخ‎[3]) (born 30 November 1943) is a Muslim scholar and the current Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia.[4] As such he is head of the Council of Senior Religious Scholars and its sub-committee, the Permanent Committee for Islamic Research and Issuing Fatwas.

Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Sheikh
Title	Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia
Personal
Born	30 November 1943 Mecca, Saudi Arabia[1]
Religion	Islam
Nationality	Saudi Arabian
Denomination	Sunni
Lineage	Al ash-Sheikh Family
Jurisprudence	Hanbali
Creed	Athari
Alma mater	Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University
Profession	Scholar
Muslim leader
Period in office	June 1999 – present
Predecessor	Abdul Aziz ibn Baaz
Profession	Scholar
Monarch	King Fahd King Abdullah King Salman

Biography

Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Sheikh is a member of the Saudi Arabian family Al ash-Sheikh. In 1969-70 he assumed leadership at the Sheikh Muhammad Bin Ibrahim Mosque in Dukhna, Riyadh. In 1979 he was appointed Assistant Professor at the College of Sharia, Mecca.

In June 1999, he was appointed Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia by King Fahd, succeeding Abdul Aziz ibn Baaz.[5]

Proclamations

Following Pope Benedict XVI's quotation of a Byzantine emperor in a lecture, he called the pope's statement "lies", adding that they "show that reconciliation between religions is impossible".[6]

In 2007, he announced plans to demolish the Green Dome and flatten the dome.[7]

On 15 March 2012, he declared that, "All churches in the Arabian Peninsula must be destroyed". This declaration caused criticism from some Christian officeholders. Roman Catholic bishops in Germany and Austria responded sharply to his fatwa, concerned about the human rights of non-Muslims working in the Persian Gulf region. Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Mark Archbishop of Yegoryevsk said the ruling was "alarming". Most of the world overlooked the statement.[8] Mehmet Görmez, the most senior imam in Turkey, another Sunni Muslim country, blasted the Saudi grand mufti's call to "destroy all the churches" in the Persian Gulf region, saying that the announcement totally contradicted the peaceful teachings of the Muslim religion. Görmez, the president of Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı (Presidency of Religious Affairs), said he could not accept the Islamic religious order—fatwa—issued by Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Sheikh, adding that the mufti's declaration ran contrary to the centuries-old Islamic teachings of tolerance and the sanctity of institutions belonging to other religions.[9]

In April 2012, he issued a fatwa allowing ten-year-old girls to marry insisting that girls are ready for marriage by age 10 or 12: "Our mothers and grandmothers got married when they were barely 12. Good upbringing makes a girl ready to perform all marital duties at that age."[10] However, he is opposed to the practice of marrying off very young girls to older men, emphasizing its incongruence with Islamic tradition.[11]

In June 2013, he issued a fatwa demanding the destruction of statues of horses placed in a roundabout in Jizan:[12] "The sculptures [must] be removed because they are a great sin and are prohibited under Sharia (Islamic law)".[13]

The Grand Mufti issued a fatwa on 12 September 2013, that suicide bombings are "great crimes" and bombers are "criminals who rush themselves to hell by their actions". Sheikh described suicide bombers as "robbed of their minds... who have been used (as tools) to destroy themselves and societies."[14]

In late August 2014, he condemned the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and al-Qaeda saying, "Extremist and militant ideas and terrorism which spread decay on Earth, destroying human civilisation, are not in any way part of Islam, but are enemy number one of Islam, and Muslims are their first victims".[15]

On 25 September 2015, one day after the Mina crowd crush disaster which (according to the Associated Press) killed at least 1,399 foreign Muslims performing Hajj, Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh publicly told then-Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef, who was also the country's Minister of Interior at the time and responsible for safety in Mecca, that he was "not responsible for what happened", and "as for the things that humans cannot control, you are not blamed for them. Fate and destiny are inevitable." With his words, the Grand Mufti immunized Muhammad bin Nayef from possible public criticism within Saudi Arabia, which set the official death toll for the Mina tragedy at fewer than 800 deaths.[16]

In January 2016, while answering a question on a television show in which he issues fatwas in response to viewers’ queries on everyday religious matters, ruled that chess was forbidden in Islam because it constituted gambling, was a waste of time and money and a cause of hatred and enmity between the players.[17][18]

In September 2016, the Grand Mufti ruled that Iranians are not Muslims and are "sons of the magi".[19][20]

Abdul Razzaq al-Mahdi, Nabil Al-Awadi, Tariq Abdelhaleem, and Hani al-Sibai who are linked to Al-Qaeda, in addition to others like Adnan al-Aroor, Abd Al-Aziz Al-Fawzan, Mohamad al-Arefe, Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdullah Al Shaykh and others were included on a death list by ISIS.[21]

In November 2017, he made a fatwa calling Hamas a terrorist organisation and stating that fighting against Jews is forbidden for Muslims. In response, Israel's Communications Minister Ayoub Kara, praised this religious ruling and invited him to visit Israel.[22][23]

See also

• Destruction of early Islamic heritage sites in Saudi Arabia

References

1. "حقيقة وفاة مفتى عام السعودية الشيخ (عبد العزيز ال شيخ)". نجوم مصرية. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
2. Google Translate
3. Arabic Wikipedia (Translated)
4. Schmitt, Eric; Shanker, Thom (2008-03-18). "U.S. adapts cold-war idea to fight terrorists". The New York Times. Saudi Arabia 's top cleric, Grand Mufti Sheik Abdul Aziz al-Asheik, gave a speech last October warning Saudis not to join unauthorized jihadist activities, a statement directed mainly at those considering going to Iraq to fight the American-led forces.
5. Eur (22 November 2002). The Middle East and North Africa 2003. Taylor & Francis. p. 950. ISBN 978-1-85743-132-2. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
6. "«Hässliche, unglückliche Äußerungen»: Erdogan fordert Entschuldigung des Papstes", Netzeitung, 17 September 2006 (in German)
7. Jerome Taylor (24 Sep 2011). "Mecca for the rich: Islam's holiest site 'turning into Vegas'. Historic and culturally important landmarks are being destroyed to make way for luxury hotels and malls, reports Jerome Taylor". The Independent. A pamphlet published in 2007 by the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs, endorsed by Abdulaziz Al Sheikh, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, stated that "the green dome shall be demolished and the three graves flattened in the Prophet's Masjid".
8. "Europe bishops slam Saudi fatwa against Persian Gulf churches". Reuters. March 24, 2012. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
9. "Diyanet'ten Suudi Müftüye Kilise Cevabı (Answer to the Saudi cleric from the Religious Affairs Directorate)". Religious News (Turkish), 7 April 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
10. Huffington Post: "Sheikh Abdul-Aziz Al al-Sheikh, Saudi Arabian Mufti, Says Girls Ready For Marriage At 10 Years Old" By Simon McCormack April 24, 2012
11. Schleifer, Abdallah; Ahmed, Aftab (2016). "Sheikh Abdul-Aziz Aal Al-Sheikh" (PDF). The Muslim 500 (2016): 62–63. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
12. "Horse statues demolished in Jazan". 13 June 2013.
13. Arabian Business News: "Saudi's Grand Mufti vents against horse statues" By Courtney Trenwith June 13, 2013
14. "Saudi grand mufti says suicide bombers will go to hell". en.alalam.ir.
15. "Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti denounces Islamic State group as un-Islamic". Reuters. 25 August 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
16. "Saudi Mufti: Hajj stampede beyond human control". Al Jazeera. September 26, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
17. Melvin, Don (21 January 2016). "Checkmate: Saudi grand mufti makes move against chess". CNN. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
18. Kareem Shaheen (January 21, 2016). "Chess forbidden in Islam, rules Saudi mufti, but issue not black and white". The Guardian. Scott Trust Media. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
19. Matt Payton (September 7, 2016). "'Iranians are not Muslims', says Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti". Independent. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
20. "Saudi cleric calling Iranians 'non-Muslims' and deriding Zoroastrians is religion-based persecution - Firstpost". www.firstpost.com.
21. "ISIS Launches Campaign Calling To Kill Prominent Islamic Clerics Such As Yousuf Al-Qaradawi, Saudi Mufti 'Abd Al-'Aziz Aal Al-Sheikh, Former Egyptian Chief Mufti 'Ali Gum'a". MEMRI. February 14, 2017.
22. "Saudi Arabia's Top Cleric: Fighting Jews Forbidden, Hamas a Terror group". UWI.
23. "Israel welcomes Saudi mufti's pro-Israel remarks, invites him to visit the country".

External links

• http://alifta.com/Fatawa/MoftyDetails.aspx?languagename=en&ID=8