The International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA) held its 71st weekly meeting for the directors of departments, on Monday, 25 Sha’ban 1443H corresponding to 28 March 2022G, headed by His Excellency Prof. Koutoub Moustapha Sano, Secretary General of the Academy, at the headquarters of the General Secretariat in Jeddah.

At the beginning of the meeting, His Excellency welcomed the attendees and thanked them for their continued participation in the weekly meetings, re-emphasizing the importance of these meetings during which discussions are held on various issues of the Academy in order to make decisions about them. His Excellency then spoke about his recent visit to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, in which he participated with a delegation from the Academy at the forty-eighth session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which was held in Islamabad. His Excellency also praised the distinguished efforts of the Republic of Pakistan in organizing this session, expressing his thanks and appreciation for the hospitality and warm reception.

His Excellency also met, during the visit, with the Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Dr. Noor Al-Haq Qadri, who praised the outstanding efforts of the Academy and its effective role in spreading and promoting a culture of moderation, tolerance and coexistence inside and outside the member states. The visit also looked forward to strengthening partnership and cooperative relations between his Ministry and the Academy by signing a joint cooperation agreement in the future.

Within the framework of the Academy’s relentless endeavor to build more relations of cooperation, communication and partnership, His Excellency spoke about the cooperation agreement that was signed with the Council of Islamic Thought at the Council’s headquarters in the capital, Islamabad, which aims to strengthen the bonds of cooperation and coordination between the two institutions that have old partnership relations, as well as the Council’s desire to benefiting from the Academy’s resolutions, recommendations, and publications, and organizing a number of specialized seminars on various issues and causes of common interest.

The meeting then discussed the decisions issued by the previous meeting, and several new decisions were issued, the most important of which are:

• Preparing a letter of thanks and appreciation to the Prime Minister of Pakistan for the blessed efforts Pakistan has made to secure the approval of the United Nations General Assembly to adopt the fifteenth of March of each year as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia.
• Preparing a letter of thanks and appreciation to His Excellency the Pakistani Minister of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony, and to the Chairman of the Council of Islamic Thought for the warm reception and excellent welcome and asking the Chairman of the Council to nominate a member to represent them in the Academy’s Council.
• Contacting the translators of the book of resolutions and recommendations and asking them to abide by the terms of the contract signed between them and the Academy.