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Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Sheikh ( ar, عبد العزيز بن عبد الله آل الشيخ ''ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn ʿAbd Āllah Āl ash-Sheikh''; born 30 November 1940) is a
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...
n
Islamic scholar In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...
who is the current Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia. As such he is head of the Council of Senior Religious Scholars and its sub-committee, the Permanent Committee for Islamic Research and Issuing Fatwas.


Biography

Sheikh Abdulaziz Al Sheikh is a member of the
Al ash-Sheikh The Al ash-Sheikh ( ar, آل الشيخ, '),Using the term ''the Al ash-Sheikh family'' is a pleonasm as the word ''Al'' already means ''family''. See Etymology. It would, in theory, be correct to use the term ''Family of the Sheikh'', but, unlik ...
family. In 1969-70 he assumed leadership at the Sheikh Muhammad Bin Ibrahim Mosque in Dukhna, Riyadh. In 1979 he was appointed assistant professor at the College of Sharia,
Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow v ...
. In June 1999, Al Sheikh was appointed Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia by
King Fahd Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, فهد بن عبد العزيز آل سعود ''Fahd ibn ʿAbd al ʿAzīz Āl Suʿūd'', ; 1920, 1921 or 1923 – 1 August 2005) was a Saudi Arabian politician who was King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia fro ...
, following the death of Grand Mufti Abdulaziz Bin Baz.


Proclamations

Following
Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...
's quotation of a Byzantine emperor in a lecture, the Grand Mufti called the pope's statement "lies", adding that they "show that reconciliation between religions is impossible". In 2007, the Grand Mufti announced plans to demolish the
Green Dome The Green Dome ( ar, ٱَلْقُبَّة ٱلْخَضْرَاء, al-Qubbah al-Khaḍrāʾ) is a green-coloured dome built above the tombs of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the early Rashidun Caliphs Abu Bakr () and Umar (), which used to be ...
and flatten the dome. On 15 March 2012, the Grand Mufti declared that, "All churches in the
Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plat ...
must be destroyed". This declaration caused criticism from some Christian officeholders.
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
bishops in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
and
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
responded sharply to his
fatwa A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist ...
, concerned about the human rights of non-Muslims working in the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...
region.
Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...
Metropolitan Mark,
Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...
of
Yegoryevsk Yegoryevsk (russian: Его́рьевск) is a town and the administrative center of Yegoryevsk Urban Settlement in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Guslitsa River southeast of Moscow. Toponymy Yegoryevsk was named h ...
, said the ruling was "alarming". Most of the world overlooked the statement.
Mehmet Görmez Mehmet Görmez (born 1959) is the former President of the Presidency of Religious Affairs ( tr, Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı from November 2010 to 31 July 2017, commonly known as ''Diyanet'') and as such legally the highest level Islamic schol ...
, the most senior imam in
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
, blasted Al Sheikh's call to "destroy all the churches" in the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...
region, saying that the announcement totally contradicted the peaceful teachings of Islam. Görmez, the president of ''
Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı The Directorate of Religious Affairs in Turkey ( tr, Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı, normally referred to simply as the Diyanet) is an official state institution established in 1924 by the orders of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk under article 136 of t ...
'' (Presidency of Religious Affairs), said he could not accept Al Sheikh's fatwa, adding that it ran contrary to the centuries-old Islamic teachings of tolerance and the sanctity of institutions belonging to other religions. In April 2012, the Grand Mufti issued a fatwa allowing ten-year-old girls to marry insisting that girls are ready for marriage by age 10 or 12: "Our mothers and grandmothers got married when they were barely 12. Good upbringing makes a girl ready to perform all marital duties at that age." However, he is opposed to the practice of marrying off very young girls to older men, emphasizing its incongruence with Islamic tradition. In June 2013, Al Sheikh issued a fatwa demanding the destruction of statues of horses placed in a roundabout in
Jizan Jazan ( ar, جازان, Jāzān), also spelled ''Jizan'' ( ar, جيزان, Jīzān), ''Gizan'' or ''Gazan'', is a port city and the capital of Jizan Region, which lies in the southwest corner of Saudi Arabia and directly north of the border with ...
: "The sculptures ustbe removed because they are a great sin and are prohibited under
Sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...
". The Grand Mufti issued a fatwa on 12 September 2013 that
suicide bombings A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...
are "great crimes" and bombers are "criminals who rush themselves to hell by their actions". He described suicide bombers as "robbed of their minds... who have been used (as tools) to destroy themselves and societies." In late August 2014, the Grand Mufti condemned the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic ter ...
and
al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countr ...
saying, "Extremist and militant ideas and terrorism which spread decay on Earth, destroying human civilisation, are not in any way part of Islam, but are enemy number one of Islam, and Muslims are their first victims". On 25 September 2015, one day after the Mina crowd crush disaster which (according to the Associated Press) killed at least 1,399 foreign Muslims performing Hajj, Al Sheikh publicly told Muhammad bin Nayef, then-
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia The crown prince of Saudi Arabia is the second-most important position in Saudi Arabia, second to the King, and is his designated successor. Currently, the Crown Prince assumes power with the approval of the Allegiance Council after he is no ...
, that he was "not responsible for what happened", and "as for the things that humans cannot control, you are not blamed for them. Fate and destiny are inevitable." Prince Muhammad was also the country's interior minister, responsible for safety in Mecca, and the Grand Mufti's words immunized the Crown Prince from possible public criticism within Saudi Arabia, which set the official death toll for the Mina tragedy at fewer than 800 deaths. In January 2016, while answering a question on a television show in which he issues fatwas in response to viewers' queries on everyday religious matters, Al Sheikh ruled that
chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...
was forbidden in Islam because it constituted
gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three ele ...
, was a waste of time and money and a cause of hatred and enmity between the players. In September 2016, the Grand Mufti ruled that the Iranian Leadership is not Muslim and is the "son of the
magi Magi (; singular magus ; from Latin '' magus'', cf. fa, مغ ) were priests in Zoroastrianism and the earlier religions of the western Iranians. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius t ...
". The Grand Mufti was on a list of religious scholars included on a death list by ISIS. In November 2017, the Grand Mufti made a
fatwa A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist ...
calling
Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni- Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qas ...
a terrorist organisation and stating that fighting against
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
s is forbidden for
Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
. In response, Israel's Communications Minister Ayoub Kara, praised this religious ruling and invited him to visit Israel.


See also

*
Destruction of early Islamic heritage sites in Saudi Arabia The destruction of heritage sites associated with early Islam is an ongoing phenomenon that has occurred mainly in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, particularly around the two holiest cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina. The demolition ha ...


References


External links

* http://alifta.com/Fatawa/MoftyDetails.aspx?languagename=en&ID=8 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheikh, Abdulaziz Living people Blind academics Saudi Arabian imams Saudi Arabian Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam 20th-century imams 21st-century imams Salafi Quietists Saudi Arabian Quran reciters Saudi Arabian Salafis Grand Muftis of Saudi Arabia 1943 births