H.E. Mr. Hussein Ibrahim Taha, Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Chairman of the Bureau, chaired on Thursday, 29 Dhu al-Hijjah 1443 corresponding to 28 July 2022 the first meeting of the Bureau of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA) for the current year 2022G via video communication technology.

His Excellency delivered an important opening speech in which he expressed his great thanks and great appreciation to the honorable members of the Bureau for their participation and continuous support for the Academy, praising the support and guidance received by the Academy from His Excellency Sheikh Dr. Saleh bin Abdullah bin Humaid, Chairman of the Academy’s Council, and the qualitative leap that the Academy’s General Secretariat is witnessing at all levels under the leadership of His Excellency Prof. Koutoub Moustapha Sano, Secretary General of the Academy. His Excellency also expressed the importance of the Academy and its position within the subsidiary organs of the OIC, as it is the intellectual and scientific reference that works and watches over the unification of the Muslims’ voice, and the realization of the intellectual and jurisprudential approach aimed at achieving unity and rapprochement among Muslims in various fields of life, noting that political and economic solidarity between member states in the OIC is achieved when it has the balanced intellectual and religious environment that the Academy works to provide.

Then His Excellency spoke about the importance of the period of convening this meeting of the Bureau, as there is an unprecedented escalation of the feelings and practices hostile to Islam and Muslims in many Western countries, and the abhorrent insult to the person of the Noble Prophet, may God bless him and his family, by some extremist Indian politicians, which requires the Academy to double its effort to formulate a unified Islamic position for all religious references in the member states of the OIC towards these shameful provocations and campaigns. The Academy is also urged to create a rational collective stance through formulating authentic and applicable concepts and policies in order to stop the torrent of abuse and exposure to Islamic symbols in particular, and to Islam in general, and to transform these fierce attacks and extreme abuses into opportunities to be seized to introduce the values, teachings, and principles of Islam, the greatness of its symbols, and their great positive impact on humanity.

His Excellency concluded by praising the commendable efforts exerted by the Academy on the Afghanistan file in order to converge between the views of the current authority and the opinion of religious references in the Muslim world and the international public opinion. His Excellency also especially blessed the last successful visit organized by the Academy for a delegation of the Ummah’s scholars to Afghanistan, considering it a great success that will remain in the Academy’s record of achievements for decades, and which will enhance the role and position of the Academy in resolving many outstanding issues in Muslim societies.

For his part, His Excellency Sheikh Dr. Saleh bin Abdullah bin Humaid, President of the Academy, expressed his great thanks and great appreciation to His Excellency the Secretary General of the OIC, Mr. Hussein Ibrahim Taha, for presiding over this meeting and for his continuous support for the activities and programs of the Academy. He also expressed his gratitude to the members of the Bureau for their attendance, participation, and their support for the efforts of the Academy. Then His Excellency offered the best words of congratulations and blessings to the host country for the success of this year’s Hajj season. He also offered, on behalf of His Excellency the Secretary General of the OIC and on behalf of the Academy, the most sincere thanks and gratitude to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdelaziz Al Saud, and his Crown Prince, His Royal Highness the Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdelaziz Al Saud, and the Kingdom’s government, for the recent royal gift of the payment of the arrears of the least developed member states to the OIC and its subsidiary organs, including the Academy, as these arrears to the Academy are estimated at about twelve million dollars. Then His Excellency praised the great results achieved by the Academy under the leadership of His Excellency the Secretary General, noting that what was stated in the report of the General Secretariat of the Academy submitted for this meeting is the best evidence of the remarkable achievements of the General Secretariat on a regular basis at the local, regional and international levels.

In his speech, the Secretary General of the Academy, Prof. Koutoub Moustapha Sano, expressed his great thanks and great gratitude to His Excellency the Secretary General of the OIC for the generous care and great attention given to the Academy for its activities, programs and projects, praising the trust of His Excellency in the Academy, presidency and general secretariat, and his pride with the good opportunity granted by His Excellency to the Academy by assigning him to lead the Ummah’s scholars delegation to Afghanistan with the aim of dialogue and discussion with the current authority and the scholars of Afghanistan on issues related to tolerance and coexistence, gender education, and the participation of Afghan women in the efforts of construction, progress and development. On this occasion, His Excellency expressed the Academy’s thanks and gratitude to the ruling authority in Afghanistan for the kind reception, warm welcome and hospitality that the delegation received, which enabled the delegation to carry out its mission with ease and comfort. His Excellency concluded by renewing the General Secretariat of the Academy’s thanks to the headquarters country for all the distinguished facilities and services that it continues to provide to the Academy to enable it to carry out its tasks in an optimal manner.

The meeting then discussed the items on its agenda presented by His Excellency the Secretary General of the Academy, which included the approval of the minutes of the previous meeting of the Bureau, briefing the members of the Bureau on the report and recommendations of the delegation of the Ummah’s scholars to Afghanistan led by the Academy, the draft recommendations of the symposium on Stunning Poultry and Animals and its impact on the legitimacy of slaughter, and the cooperation and understanding agreements signed by the Academy’s General Secretariat with many ministries, councils and scientific institutions. The items also included a discussion of the nominations submitted by some countries for new members of the Academy’s Council, as well as a financial report on the contributions of member states to the Academy’s budget for the current year.

At the end of the meeting, His Excellency the Secretary General of the OIC, Chairman of the Bureau, and their Excellencies, members of the Bureau, recorded their great satisfaction and appreciation for the achievements made by the General Secretariat of the Academy at all levels. They all expressed their great appreciation to His Excellency the Secretary General of the Academy and his assistants, congratulating them for their efforts in the service of Islam and Muslims. They also commended the Academy’s stable financial position during the first half of this year, as a result of the blessed efforts made and still being made by the General Secretariat of the Academy, led by its Secretary General, in collecting arrears and contributions from member states, which enabled the Academy to carry out many distinguished activities and programs and maintain a stable financial position similar to the previous year.

Also participated in the meeting, His Eminence Sheikh Dr. Abu Bakr Doukouri, representing the African group, His Eminence Prof. Ajil Al-Nashmi, representing the Arab group, and His Eminence Sheikh Taqi Al-Othmani, representative of the Asian group, apologized. A number of directors of the Academy’s departments and divisions attended the meeting.