His Excellency Prof. Dr. Koutoub Moustapha Sano, Secretary‑General of the Academy, chaired the sixty‑first monthly staff meeting of the Academy on Sunday, 15 Rajab 1447 AH, corresponding to 4 January 2026, at the General Secretariat headquarters in Jeddah. His Excellency opened the meeting by welcoming the attendees and expressing his appreciation for their continued presence and engagement. He then offered prayers for the late member of the Academy’s Council, Shaykh Muhammad Abduh Omar—the representative of the Republic of Yemen since the Academy’s establishment—asking Allah Almighty to grant him forgiveness and mercy, and to place his service to Islam and Muslims in the record of his good deeds.
His Excellency also congratulated the Academy’s staff on the arrival of the new Gregorian year 2026, clarifying that congratulating others on historical occasions is a customary practice, not an act of worship nor a religious obligation. He called for greater dedication and productivity during the new administrative year.
He explained that the meeting was intended to serve as an opportunity for self‑evaluation, to resolve issues, to present suggestions, and to strengthen communication among the Academy’s staff. Employees were given the chance to share their views and proposals for improving the Academy’s work. Several topics were discussed, most notably:
• Completion of printing the papers of the symposium “The Role of Religious Leaders in Combating Violence Against Women” in their final approved format.
• Providing copies of designated publications for gifting, and preparing suitable gift packages for the Academy’s guests and visitors from abroad.
• Replacing computers that have been in use for more than five years and are showing malfunctions or slowness, and working to replace them soon, along with providing essential accessories such as printer ink.
• Coordinating the preparation of letters of thanks and acceptance notifications for researchers whose papers were approved for the Religious Leadership Symposium.
• Completing the design of the Academy’s General Secretariat Activities Report for the year 2025 in the three languages.