In appreciation of the remarkable visit of Mr. Alan Krause, Head of the Political Affairs Department at the Consulate General of the United States of America with a large delegation to the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy a few months ago, in order to strengthen the relations of cooperation and partnership between the International Islamic Fiqh Academy and American scientific institutions and centers that are active in the field of dialogue and intellectual discourse especially the dialogue among the followers of religions and the alliance of Civilizations. His Excellency Prof. Dr. Koutoub Moustapha SANO, Secretary General of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy, on Wednesday 19 Rajab 1442 AH corresponding to March 3, 2021, visited the Consulate General of the United States of America in Jeddah. He and his accompanying delegation were received by His Excellency Mr. Ryan M. Gliha, the Consul General and the US Representative to Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, OIC in Jedddah.

His Excellency, the Consul general, welcomed His Excellency and the accompanying delegation, and congratulated him for the excellent efforts made by him since assuming his duties as Secretary General of the Academy. These efforts would certainly contribute to introduce the Academy, its mission, its activities and its programs to the lager number of people. He also expressed his appreciation to His Excellency for the sincere interest in strengthening the partnership and cooperation relations with institutions and scientific centers in the United States. In this regard, the Consul general expressed his full readiness to facilitate all means of communication and cooperation between the Academy and the American scientific institutions and centers.

For his part, His Excellency Professor SANO thanked His host, the Consul general for the wonderful reception and the warm welcome. Also he highly valued the successful visit of the Head of the Political Affairs Department to the Academy a few months ago. Indeed this visit did allow the two parties to discuss different aspects and areas of possible cooperation between the Academy and the prestigious American scientific centers and institutions. Then His Excellency Professor SANO highlighted the vision of the Academy, and its mission that is based on presenting Islam in a correct and moderate way far from all forms of extremism, fanaticism and exclusion. Further he reiterated the interest of the Academy in establishing partnerships, signing memoranda of understanding, and cooperation agreements with American institutions and scientific centers that promote dialogue and intellectual discourse and encourage rapprochement, integration and solidarity among peoples especially while addressing human issues and proposing solutions to challenges of the contemporary life. His Excellency Professor SANO also affirmed to his host the Academy’s adoption of a comprehensive, objective scientific and the moderate approach in issuing its fatwas and decisions related to family, women and children issues. For that purpose, the Academy pursuit closer cooperation and partnership with fatwa institutions and higher scholarly councils inside and outside the Islamic world in order to strengthen coordination and integration while providing appropriate legal solutions to new issues and calamities. His Excellency concluded his remarks with informing his host that the Academy has just finalized a five-year strategic plan for the Academy that includes a clear formulation of the most important activities and programs that the Academy intends to carry out during the next five years. He also informed his host that the Academy held recently a seminar aiming to clarify the position of Islam with regard to the available vaccines against Covid 19. The Academy had confirmed the permissibility of using the vaccines and it also called upon Muslim communities all over the world to strictly follow the instructions given by the competent authorities in their respective countries and communities. The Academy also issued warning against rumors and malicious fatwas stemming from the conspiracy theory that warns, without evidence, of vaccines while it has become an important and necessary means that helps to preserve the lives which preservation is considered as one of the most important necessities that must be preserved in Islam.

At the end of the meeting, His Excellency, the Consul general, reiterated his sincere thanks and appreciation to His Excellency Professor SANO and delegation for wonderful information that he and his colleagues heard about the Academy especially it’s new strategic plan plan, wishing to obtain a copy of that plan. Moreover that plan could facilitate the establishment of partnership and cooperation with American institutions and scientific centers which might be willing to cooperate with the Academy. He also reiterated the US State Department’s invitation in Washington to His Excellency to visit the department of and meet with the relevant authorities within the delegation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Yet this visit aims at consolidating the partnership and cooperation relations between the United States of America and the Islamic world. His Excellency Professor SANO, welcomed the invitation and confirmed his readiness to take part in order to establish strategic partnerships with American institutions and scientific centers that would be recommended by his Excellency, the Consul general and the American administration.

Mr. Al-Mundhir Reda Al-Shawk, Dr. Ayman Abdul-Karim, Mr. Murad Al-Tillili, Mr. Amjad Al-Mansi and Mrs. Sarah Bint Amjad Hussain participated in the meeting from the General Secretariat of the Academy, and Mr. Alan Krause and Mr. Rizk participated on the American side.