H.E. Mr. Haider Naseer, Executive Chairman of the Central Council of the Indonesian Al-Muhammadiyah Association, accompanied with the Central Committee’s members, received Prof. Koutoub Moustapha Sano, Secretary General of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy, and the accompanying delegation on Thursday, 30 Shawal 1442 corresponding to 11 June 2021, at the headquarters of Al-Muhammadiyah Association in Jakarta.

His Excellency, the Executive Chairman of the Association, started his speech by expressing his thanks, appreciation, and gratitude to the Secretary-General of the Academy for his visit to the headquarters of the Association and for meeting with the members of the Central Committee to discuss ways to improve cooperation between the two organizations. He pointed out that the Association, which has more than 30 million registered members, believes in diligence, renewal and openness, and rejects dependence, imitation and exclusion. It also has hundreds of hospitals, clinics, universities, dozens of banks and more than five thousand schools and institutes and is very active in charity and social work. The Association adopts the method of preaching through good behaviour and good deeds instead of limiting itself to empty words, making it popular among intellectuals and thinkers of all kinds. He also mentioned the free medical services provided by the Association during the coronavirus pandemic, as tens of thousands of people infected by Covid-19 were treated and many families were provided with subsidies during the pandemic.

Her Excellency explained that there is an important and influential place for women scholars and thinkers within the Association under the women’s wing named “Aisha Association”, as they raise awareness, educate, and fight reactionary ideas that try to exclude women from active participation in social, political, economic and intellectual life. It also fights against the thoughts and allegations of feminist movements that try to erase social values and principles under the pretext of freedom and liberation.

Therefore, the Association looks forward to cooperating closely with the Academy in terms of academic support and legal advice to clarify the Shariah provisions on contemporary calamities and problems. It also hopes to support the Academy in organizing specialized seminars and courses.

On his part, H.E. Prof. Koutoub Sano expressed his sincere thanks to H.E. Mr. Haider Naseer, Executive Chairman of Al-Muhammadiyah Association and the Central Committee’s members, commending the tremendous educational efforts and social services provided by the Association for more than a hundred years. His Excellency also praised the great importance the Association attaches to education, primarily vocational and academic education, such as running more than a hundred universities and hundreds of hospitals is certainly no small task.

His Excellency pointed out that the Academy considers Ijtihad as a permanent legislative source that no one can close or open because Allah and His Messenger (PBUH), have legislated and encouraged it. Allah has set aside two prizes for those who struggle hard and render a right judgment, and one prize for those who struggle hard and issues a wrong judgment. Therefore, the Academy bases its Shariah resolutions regarding contemporary calamities and problems on a genuine Ijtihad and fully believes in the importance of revival with its rules and methods. His Excellency concluded his speech by emphasizing the willingness of the Secretariat General of the Academy to cooperate with the Association, especially with the thinkers and scholars who are members of the women’s wing called “Aisha Association” to participate in the Academy’s sessions, conferences, and symposiums. He also affirmed that the Academy was ready to jointly organize specialized seminars and workshops for women thinkers and scholars within the OIC Member States.

It should be mentioned that His Excellency was accompanied at this meeting by Dr. Omar Zuhair Hafez, Special Advisor to His Excellency, Mrs. Sarah Amjad Hussein Bediwi, Director of Family, Women, Children and Elderly Affairs, and Mr. Khalid Al Ahmadi, Head of Administrative Affairs of the Academy.