His Excellency Professor Koutoub Moustapha Sano, Secretary General of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA), held a meeting on Sunday 4 of Shawwal 1442 corresponding to 16 of May 2021 in Kuala Lumpur with members of the Malaysian Fiqh Society, also known as the Malaysian Islamic Fiqh Academy “AFHAM”.

This virtual meeting was attended from the Malaysian side by HE Dr. Abdulmanan Ismail, Chairman of the Society and HE Dr. Irwan Mohamad Subri, its General Secretary, as well as a number of members of the Society’s Executive Office. The meeting discussed ways to develop cooperation relations between the Academy and the Society and to enable it to make the most of the scientific and administrative expertise and capabilities of the Academy.

His Excellency Dr. Irwan Mohamad Subri welcomed Professor Koutoub Moustapha Sano, the esteemed guest of Malaysia, and thanked him for this first visit to Malaysia in his capacity as Secretary General of IIFA. He also thanked His Excellency for giving this opportunity to “AFHAM” to meet with him and hold talks regarding cooperation prospects between the two organizations and emphasizing in this regard that one of the objectives of “AFHAM” is to strengthen the relationship with the International Islamic Fiqh Academy in order to benefit from its achievements, expertise, and experiences. He also confirmed that the Society looks forward to hearing the advice and directions of His Excellency the Secretary General of the Academy.

Dr. Irwan Mohamad Subri, Secretary General of “AFHAM”, then spoke about the establishment of the Society, its objectives, and areas of activities, explaining that “AFHAM” is a private, non-governmental, and non-profit civil society. It is newly established, and its members consist of Malaysian university professors. Membership is always open to graduates of Shariah and jurisprudence from Malaysian universities. He stated that the Society’s objective is to become the first reference for jurisprudence studies and research in Malaysia.

For his part, His Excellency the Secretary General of the Academy thanked those in charge of the Society “AFHAM” for their welcome, trust and appreciation for his person and the International Islamic Fiqh Academy. He also congratulated them on establishing this Society in an effort to advance jurisprudential studies and research, and to strengthen cooperation between graduates of universities, colleges, institutes, and centers of Shariah, Fiqh and Osul (fundamentals). He also expressed the Academy’s readiness to provide support and assistance to the Society in all fields.

His Excellency then spoke about the Academy’s vision, mission, goals, means, and strategic plan, stressing in this regard the series of reforms and qualitative changes that have occurred in the General Secretariat of the Academy in recent months, especially with regard to the establishment of a number of strategic departments to ensure that the activities and programs of the Academy are executed in a smooth and orderly manner. Among the most important of these new departments are the Department of Family, Women and Children Affairs, the Department of Planning, Development and International Cooperation, and the Department of Conferences and Seminars. His Excellency also spoke about the Academy’s adoption for the first time since its establishment forty years ago, an ambitious and detailed strategic plan with clear five-year performance indicators to serve as a working manual for the Academy and a comprehensive document for its activities and programs during the next five years.

His Excellency concluded his intervention by accepting the requests of “AFHAM”, especially with regard to inviting some of its members to participate in the conferences and symposiums organized by the Academy. He also promised to provide them with the Academy’s publications, especially the fourth edition of the Academy’s book of resolutions and recommendations.