His Excellency Dr. Yousef bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen, Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and Chairman of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy’s (IIFA) Bureau, presided on Sunday 24th of Dhu’l-Qa’dah 1442 corresponding to July 4, 2021, Via video communication, over the first meeting of the Bureau Committee of the Academy for the year 2021. The meeting was attended by His Excellency Sheikh Dr. Saleh bin Abdullah bin Humaid, Advisor at the Royal Court, member of the Council of Senior Scholars, imam and khatib of the Grand Mosque, President of the Academy, Vice-Chairman of the Bureau, His Excellency Prof. Koutoub Moustapha Sano, Secretary General of the Academy, and Secretary of the Bureau. The honorable members of the Bureau also participated in the meeting, namely Sheikh Muhammad Taqi Al-Othmani, Sheikh Dr. Abu Bakr Al-Dokouri, and Sheikh Prof. Ajil Al-Nashmi.

His Excellency Dr. Yousef bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen, Secretary General of the OIC, opened the meeting by expressing his great thanks and great appreciation to the distinguished members for their participation and continuous support for IIFA, praising the great role played by the Academy in spreading the culture of moderation and tolerance, and combating extremism, fanaticism, terrorism, and violence. He also noted the great and appreciated efforts the Academy is making in strengthening cooperation and coordination between the fatwa bodies and the Shariah councils in OIC member states. He also expressed, on this occasion, his happiness and pride in the great achievements and tangible results that the Academy has achieved recently since the new Secretary General of the Academy, Prof. Koutoub Sano, assumed his duties.

His Excellency concluded his opening speech by calling on OIC member states to continue supporting the Academy, especially its Waqf Fund, expressing his great thanks and appreciation to His Excellency Dr. Bandar Hajjar, President of the Islamic Development Bank Group, for his efforts to sign a cooperation agreement between the Academy and IsDB, whereby it will undertake the investment and development of the fund assets in an effort to provide a stable source of financing for the Academy’s activities and programs.

For his part, His Excellency Sheikh Dr. Saleh bin Humaid, President of the Academy, expressed his great thanks and great appreciation to His Excellency the OIC Secretary General, Dr. Youssef Al-Othaimeen, for his continuous support to the activities and programs of the Academy. He also expressed his gratitude to the members of the Bureau for their attendance and active participation in support of the efforts of the Academy. He then praised the results and achievements of the Academy under the leadership of His Excellency the Secretary General and his assistants, pointing out that the content of the report of the General Secretariat of the Academy, submitted for this meeting, is the most certain evidence and the greatest proof of that.

The meeting then discussed the items on the agenda of the meeting presented by His Excellency the Secretary General of the Academy, who began by extending his deepest condolences and sympathy on behalf of the Academy, its presidency, general secretariat, members, and experts to the family of the late former Secretary General of the Academy, H.E. Dr. Khaled Ahmed Babaker, who passed away a couple of weeks ago in Riyadh. His Excellency the Secretary General then expressed, on behalf of the General Secretariat of the Academy, the most sincere thanks and gratitude to the Headquarters State (KSA), its leadership and people, for the distinguished medical care it provided to the deceased, who passed away while being treated at the National Guard Hospital in Riyadh at the expense of the headquarters state, praising in the meantime and thanking His Excellency Sheikh Dr. Saleh bin Abdullah bin Humaid, the President of the Academy, for his blessed efforts who intervened with the wise leadership of the headquarters to secure excellent medical treatment for the deceased.

Then His Excellency the Secretary General presented the meeting’s items, which included the approval of the minutes of the previous meeting of the Bureau, the meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Academy’s Waqf Fund, and the briefing of the members of the Bureau on the recommendations and declarations of the specialized scientific symposia and forums organized by the General Secretariat of the Academy since the last meeting of the Bureau, as well as the cooperation agreements and memoranda of understanding signed by the General Secretariat of the Academy with the different ministries, councils, and scientific institutions. The meeting agenda also included a discussion of the nominations submitted by the member states for the new members of the Academy’s Council, where the Bureau approved two of the four nominations based on the membership conditions stipulated in the Academy’s statute.

The meeting concluded with presenting a summary report on the Academy’s financial report, focusing on informing the members of the contributions of countries to the current budget of the Academy and the arrears of some member states.

At the end of the meeting, His Excellency the Chairman and the members of the Bureau expressed their great satisfaction and deep appreciation for the achievements of the General Secretariat of the Academy at all levels, despite the conditions of the Corona pandemic that affected all aspects of life. They all expressed their appreciation to His Excellency the Secretary General of the Academy and were pleased with the stable financial situation of the Academy recently as a result of the successful efforts made and are still being made by the General Secretariat of the Academy in collecting the arrears and contributions from the member states, which enabled it to achieve a surplus in this year’s budget.