Saudi Arabia Appoints Kingdom's New Grand Mufti

2025-10-23 05:03:44

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer) Dubai ~ Saudi Arabia appointed a prominent ultraconservative scholar late Wednesday as the country's new grand mufti, the kingdom's top religious scholar.

Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan al-Fawzan, 90, took over the position, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported. The decision came from King Salman, based on the recommendation of his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the report added.

Sheikh Saleh, reportedly born Sept 28, 1935, in Saudi Arabia's al-Qassim province, studied the Quran with a local imam after his father's death.

He became a prominent scholar, speaking to the faithful via the“Noor ala al-Darb,” radio show and via multiple books he's authored and his television appearances. His fatwas, or religious orders, have been shared via social media as well.

Sheikh Saleh has faced criticism in the past for many of his pronouncements. Human Rights Watch in 2017 reported Sheikh Saleh, when asked if Sunni Muslims should view Shia Muslims as their“brothers”, responded:“They are brothers of Satan.”

Such comments about the Shia Muslims from religious leaders in Saudi Arabia are common, particularly amid political tensions between the kingdom and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Sheikh Saleh also criticised Yemen's Ansarallah (Houthi) movement for resisting Saudi occupation.

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