H.E. Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen, Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and President of the Council Bureau chaired the annual meeting of the Bureau Committee on Thursday 09 Jamada Al-Oula 1442, corresponding to 24 December 2020.

The meeting was attended by H.E. Sheikh Saleh bin Humaid, President of the Academy and Vice-Chairman of the Bureau, H.E. Prof. Koutoub Sano, Secretary-General of the Academy and Secretary of the Bureau, as well as other Committee members including H.E. Shaikh Ahmed bin Hamad Al Khalili, Grand Mufti of the Sultanate of Oman, H. Em. Dr. Abu Bakr Doukouri, and H. Em. Prof. Ajeel Al-Nashmi.

H.E. Dr. Yousef Al-Othaymeen opened the meeting by expressing his thanks to the Secretariat-General of the Academy and the Bureau members for their continued support to the Academy and highlighted the important intellectual role that the International Islamic Fiqh Academy has played since its creation to the present day as the legal arm of the OIC, which continues to provide Islamic solutions and answers to the problems of concern to the Muslim communities with a scientific approach based on the promotion of the values of moderation, temperance, the fight against extremism and fanaticism at all levels, which has had a significant impact on the achievement of the intellectual security of the Muslim Ummah within the OIC Member States.

For his part, H.E. Sheikh Saleh bin Humaid, President of the Academy, thanked the OIC Secretary-General for his continued support to the Academy, urging Allah the Almighty to bless his efforts.

The meeting discussed the agenda presented by H.E. Prof. Koutoub Sano. This agenda included three articles, namely the clause approving the minutes of the last Bureau meeting in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The second article was a detailed annual report on the activities and programs of the Academy. The third article included the financial report and the proposed budget for the year 2022.

After deliberations and clarifications on all issues and questions related to the three articles of the meeting, the Bureau issued several recommendations, the most important of which are as follows:

-The Bureau, as President and members, expresses its sincere thanks, deep appreciation, and prayers for forgiveness and mercy on H.E. Prof. Abdulsalam al-Abbadi, as well as its expert members who perished this year, such as Sheikh Mohamed Mokhtar al-Salami, Dr. Anes Abdulnoor Kelissa, Dr. Abdulsatar Abughudda, Dr. Jafar Abdulsalam, Dr. Ahmed Abdulhalim, and Sheikh Mohamed al-Taskhiri, may Allah forgive them and have mercy on them.

-Approval of the minutes of the Committee’s previous meeting and adoption of all its articles.

-Approval of the decisions taken by the meetings of the Supervisory Board of the Academy Waqf Fund, including the designation of the Islamic Development Bank to manage and invest the funds of the Waqf, and welcoming the registration of the first donation to the Waqf by H. Em. Eng. Solaiman Al-Khereiji. The Committee also requested to send brochures about the Waqf Fund of the Academy, as well as of its programs and activities to the members of the Committee in order to contact public and charitable organizations to support the Waqf.

-Approval of the statements and recommendations of the Academy’s symposium on German measles, the medico-legal symposium on issues related to the novel coronavirus, as well as the Scientific Forum between the Academy and the members of the Shariah Councils of Islamic banks and financial institutions in the headquarters country.

-Congratulating the publication of the fourth edition of the resolutions and recommendations of the Academy after an eleven-year hiatus. This new edition includes all the resolutions, recommendations and statements issued by the Academy from the 2nd session up to the 24th Session (the last session), which reached 238 resolutions and recommendations. The Committee welcomed the publication of introductory brochures of the Academy in the three languages after a fifteen-year hiatus, as well as the updating of the Academy’s website in the three languages and the publication of the monthly newsletter, Academy News, which publishes the most important activities and programs of the Academy.

-Announcing that the 25th session shall be held in November 2021, with the adoption of the most important topics of the session proposed by the members, experts and departments of the Secretariat-General of the Academy.

-Approval of the five-year strategic plan prepared by the Secretariat General of the Academy for the first time since its creation. This plan includes a precise formulation of the most important activities and programs that the Academy will implement each year for the next five years, Allah willing. The plan also includes a precise formulation of the most crucial performance indicators to ensure that the Secretariat General implements its activities and programs in accordance with the strategic plan.

-Approval of the appointment of H.E. Dr. Muhammad Ahmed Muslim al-Khalayla by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan as a new representative member, to succeed the late H.E. Prof. Abdulsalam Al-Abbadi.

-Approval of the appointment of H.E. Dr. Abdel-Rahim Adam Soliman by the Republic of Sudan as a new representative member, to succeed H.E. Dr. Essam Al-Bashir.

-Referring to the third article, the Committee took note of the financial report of the Academy which was presented by the Secretariat-General of the Academy, and noted with gratitude that this year, thanks be to Allah the Almighty, the Academy did not register a deficit in its budget, unlike in previous years. This is due to the intense efforts made by H.E. the Secretary-General of the Academy since he assumed office three months ago, who has addressed several Member states of the Academy for the settlement of their arrears. As a result, some Member states have paid their arrears over the past two months.

-On the other hand, the Secretary-General of the Academy informed the members of the Committee that it is hoped that many countries will pay their arrears in the coming months, Allah willing, which will enable the Academy to implement its programs and activities and to fulfill its mission in the best way.

-At the end of the meeting, the OIC Secretary-General, H.E. Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen expressed his sincere thanks and appreciation for the continued support by the members of the Bureau, headed by H.E. Sheikh Saleh bin Humaid, President of the Academy. His Excellency also expressed his gratitude for the Secretariat General of the Academy’s esteemed efforts under the leadership of H.E. Prof. Koutoub Sano, noting a qualitative leap in the activities and programs of the Academy since he took office, may Allah the Almighty bless his efforts.