Saudi Arabia appoints Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan al-Fawzan as new grand mufti

Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan al-Fawzan has been appointed as the kingdom’s top religious scholar and the country’s new grand mufti.

According to the state-run Saudi Press Agency, King Salman, 90, was appointed on the recommendation of his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, late on Wednesday.

Sheikh Saleh, who was born in the province of al-Qassim, studied the Quran with a nearby imam after his father passed away. He became well-known through his radio show, books, and television appearances.

Some of Sheikh Saleh’s pronouncements have previously drawn criticism from Western media. According to Human Rights Watch in 2017, when asked if Sunni Muslims should view Shia Muslims as their “brothers,” he allegedly responded that they were “brothers of Satan.”

Particularly in the midst of political unrest in Saudi Arabia, such remarks are frequently made about the Shia by religious leaders. Sheikh Saleh also criticized Yemen’s Houthi rebels for firing missiles at their holy sites.

His 2016 orders to outlaw the mobile game “Pokemon Go” as a form of gambling are among the social media posts that have been shared. Saudi Arabia, which is the country’s crown prince, owns a sizable stake in Nintendo and Niantic, the company that makes Pokemon Go.

Sheikh Saleh said in 2003, “Slavery is a part of Islam. Slavery is a component of jihad, and jihad will continue to exist as Islam does. Jihad refers to an internal conflict between the two.

Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah al-Sheikh, who served as the country’s grand mufti for a quarter of a century, passed away in September.

The al-Sheikh family, which is a branch of Sheikh Mohammed Ibn Abdul-Wahhab, has a long history of serving as the grand mufti.

The kingdom had been under the control of Sheikh Mohammed for decades as a result of his ultraconservative teachings of Islam in the 18th century, which were frequently referred to as “Wahhabism.”