On Wednesday, 29 Safar 1443H corresponding to 06 October 2021G, His Excellency Prof. Koutoub Moustapha Sano, Secretary General of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA), participated in a seminar organized by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on the role of Islamic social financing in achieving UN sustainable development goals, and also to discuss ways to use this funding to provide the necessary support and relief to refugees and forcibly displaced people around the world.

This seminar comes as part of the initiative of the United Nations earlier this year to call for dialogue in order to support efforts to recover from the Corona pandemic and its dire economic and social effects, especially on developing countries. The initiative aims to provide an innovative financing methodology that can provide relief and support to people affected by wars in all regions witnessing violent conflicts around the world.

His Excellency Mr. Khalid Khalifa, Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the Gulf Cooperation Council and Advisor to the High Commissioner for Islamic Financing indicated that the Commission benefited during the recent period from the donations and assistance made by Muslims all over the world for the benefit of the Zakat Fund for Refugees, materializing the sharia fatwa issued by the Academy which was well received and accepted by the donors all over the world. The fatwa issued by the Academy stipulates the permissibility of spending from zakat monies to aid and relief refugees and the afflicted all over the world. His Excellency Mr. Khalid Khalifa confirmed that the Zakat Fund for Refugees witnessed a remarkable increase in the amount of donations it receives annually, which made it possible to help larger numbers of needy people, and he attributes this to the joint awareness campaign carried out by UNHCR in partnership with the Academy during the last month of Ramadan.

For his part, His Excellency the Secretary General of the Academy explained the scientific and sharia role of the Academy, as the first international jurisprudential reference for Muslim countries and Muslim communities, and that role is to issue sharia fatwas, resolutions and recommendations in order to urge donors to provide the necessary support and assistance required for refugees and the forcibly displaced, and he emphasized the human dimension of this issue that transcends the boundaries of religion, color, race and gender.

His Excellency also added that the joint awareness campaign between the Academy and UNHCR, with the aim of shedding light on the necessary humanitarian needs of refugees and displaced people around the world, has contributed and continues to contribute greatly to shedding light on this human tragedy that humanity suffers from, especially Muslim countries, which account for about half of the refugees of the world.

His Excellency explained that the Academy will continue to provide Sharia and intellectual support to the UNHCR by urging Muslims to spend their zakat and allocate endowments and donations in order to finance UNHCR activities and programs aimed at saving millions of people who live in extremely harsh conditions under the burden of poverty, deprivation, and destitution.

His Excellency pointed out that all Islamic social financing mechanisms should be employed, including zakat, endowments, alms, vows, and penances in order to achieve a decent and safe life for the affected and the afflicted by providing them with the basics of life such as food, clothing, and housing.

The seminar was also attended by His Excellency Dr. Ahmed Al Meraikhi, Special Advisor to UN Secretary General, and His Excellency Sheikh Omar Subedar, Chief Operating Officer, Halal Monitoring Authority, Canada.