On the gracious invitation of the Malaysian National Committee for Revision, His Excellency Prof. Koutoub Moustapha Sano, Secretary General of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA), held a consultative virtual meeting on Friday 09 of Shawwal 1442, corresponding to 21 of May 2021, with the honorable Muftis of the fourteen states of Malaysia, members of the Malaysian National Committee for Revision, in the headquarters of the Department of Islamic Affairs at the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya, Malaysia.

At the beginning of the meeting, His Eminence Dato Wan Zahidi, Chairman of the National Revision Committee, welcomed His Excellency the Secretary General of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy, and thanked him for accepting the committee’s invitation. He also presented to His Excellency the members of the National Committee who represent the fourteen Malaysian states, and each member of them is considered Mufti of his own state. The committee also includes three other expert members. Then the Director of the Research and Studies Division at the Department of Islamic Affairs Development at the Office of the Malaysian Prime Minister spoke about the historical stages that the Malaysian National Committee for Revision went through, explaining that this committee was until recently called the National Fatwa Council, and this name was changed to the National Committee for Revision in compliance with the desire of the Sultans of the states for each state to maintain its independence in fatwas and guidance, since the specialization of the committee to issue fatwas in pubic matters does not pertain to a specific state.

For his part, His Excellency Prof. Koutoub Moustapha Sano, Secretary General of the Academy expressed his sincere thanks and great appreciation to their eminence the muftis who represent their states for this first ever meeting of its kind, in order to discuss and debate about strengthening ways and aspects of cooperation and communication between the Academy and the National Revision Committee, especially with regard to coordination between the two parties in the field of fatwas, in cases that transcend borders and countries and concern Muslims all over the world. His Excellency also provided the participants with an extensive briefing on the Academy’s history, vision, mission, goals and means, stressing in this regard that the Academy looks forward in the coming days to broader cooperation and closer communication with the National Committee in the fields of research, studies and fatwas, and the organization of training and qualification courses for members of the National Committee. Moreover, the Academy will provide the Fatwa Centers at the different states in Malaysia with its publications, especially the fourth edition of the book of resolutions and recommendations. His Excellency also expressed the academy’s readiness to provide intellectual and administrative support for all research and development projects that the National Committee intends to implement in the coming years, especially with regard to the committee’s desire to establish a Malaysian Fiqh Academy specialized in jurisprudence and Ifta issues.