As part of his official visit to the United Kingdom, H.E. Prof. Koutoub Moustapha Sano, Secretary General of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy, was received in London by Lord Wajid Khan of Burnley, British Under-Secretary of State for Faith and Communities, on Tuesday, 15 July 2025.

The meeting discussed ways to enhance cooperation and coordination between the Academy and the British government in areas such as supporting interfaith and intercultural dialogue, promoting values of peaceful coexistence, combating hate speech and extremism, addressing Islamophobia, and advancing religious freedoms according to human rights principles and international charters.

The Secretary General also reviewed with the Under-Secretary the key efforts of the Academy in promoting moderation and centrism, fostering societal peace, combating extremism, and spreading the values of tolerance and coexistence through dialogue and scholarly exchange. His Excellency emphasized the Academy’s support for religious and intellectual institutions in the United Kingdom and the Islamic world, noting that the Academy has signed cooperation agreements with several leading academic institutions in the UK, including the University of Birmingham and the Islamic Cultural Centre in London.

For his part, Lord Khan of Burnley expressed great appreciation for the prominent scholarly and intellectual role the Academy plays on the international stage. He affirmed the British government’s keenness to build strong relations with credible and influential reference institutions in the Islamic world, foremost among them the International Islamic Fiqh Academy.

After the meeting, both parties agreed on the importance of strengthening cooperation through joint initiatives and projects that promote the culture of dialogue, understanding, and tolerance, and combat all forms of religious and cultural discrimination.