Saudi Arabia has named Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan al-Fawzan as the country’s new grand mufti, the kingdom’s top religious scholar.
The state-run Saudi Press Agency reported that King Salman appointed the 90-year-old to the position late on Wednesday, based on a recommendation from his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Born in Saudi Arabia‘s al-Qassim province, Sheikh Saleh studied the Quran with a local imam after his father’s death and gained prominence through the Noor ala al-Darb (Light the Way) radio show, as well as his books and his television appearances.
Sheikh Saleh has faced criticism in Western media in the past for some of his pronouncements. When asked if Sunni Muslims should view Shia Muslims as their “brothers”, he allegedly responded that they were “brothers of Satan”, according to Human Rights Watch in 2017.
Such comments about the Shia from religious leaders in Saudi Arabia are common, particularly amid political tensions with Iran. Sheikh Saleh also criticised Yemen’s Houthi rebels for firing missiles towards holy sites in the kingdom.
His fatwas, which have been shared via social media, include a 2016 order to ban the mobile game “Pokemon Go” as a form of gambling. Under Crown Prince Mohammed, Saudi Arabia owns a sizeable stake in Nintendo and the gaming division of Niantic, the maker of Pokemon Go.
In 2003, Sheikh Saleh was quoted as saying: “Slavery is a part of Islam. Slavery is part of jihad, and jihad will remain as long as there is Islam.” Jihad means an inner spiritual struggle.
He takes the post after the September death of Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah al-Sheikh, who held the position of grand mufti for a quarter of a century.
The al-Sheikh family, descendants of Sheikh Mohammed Ibn Abdul-Wahhab, had long seen its members serve as the grand mufti.
Sheikh Mohammed’s ultraconservative teachings of Islam in the 18th century, widely referred to as “Wahhabism” in his name, had guided the kingdom for decades.
The grand mufti is one of the top Islamic leaders in the world of Sunni Muslims. Saudi Arabia’s status as home to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina means grand mufti pronouncements are closely watched.
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