Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Fiqh Academy team participates in strategic dialogue with US State Department

Fiqh Academy team participates in strategic dialogue with US State Department

A delegation from the International Islamic Fiqh (Jurisprudence) Academy (IIFA), headed by its Secretary-General Dr. Koutoub Moustapha Sano, participated in a strategic dialogue organized by the US State Department between the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the US in Washington on May 23-24.
Dr. Sano highlighted important aspects of the Academy’s achievements in many areas of common interest between the OIC and the US, mainly the fight against extremist ideology and terrorism. He underscored a series of intellectual and practical measures submitted by IIFA to the OIC member states to combat extremism and terrorism.

He also underlined IIFA's efforts in spreading the culture of moderation, tolerance, and coexistence, and promoting moderation inside and outside the Islamic world, praising the good results achieved through the commitment of many member states to the decisions and recommendations of the Academy.

In his speech, Sano touched on the efforts of IIFA in promoting awareness and the importance of correcting misconceptions about many legal terminologies, such as jihad, loyalty, disavowal, governance, and others, stressing that the concepts woven around these expressions to achieve doubtfulness were and still are one of the most important reasons for the spread of extremist thought, fanaticism and terrorism, which prompted IIFA to issue many decisions and recommendations to correct these misconceptions in a scientific, systematic and objective manner.

The IIFA Secretary-General also spoke about the efforts of the Academy in explaining the legal provisions appropriate to calamities and developments, citing the new corona pandemic. The academy organized two specialized seminars that focused on several issues related to the pandemic, especially about dealing with precautionary measures, and those infected with the coronavirus, and those who succumbed to the disease. It also issued the religious point of view with regard to taking Covid-19 vaccines and spending from zakat funds to buy vaccines for the needy individuals, communities and countries.

The Academy’s Director of Family and Women's Affairs, Sarah bint Amjad Hussein, highlighted IIFA’s efforts in empowering women and combating all forms of violence and injustice against this venerable group.

The Academy, in many of its organized sessions, issued effective decisions that clearly explain the rights granted by Shariah to women, including the right to education, the right to work, the right to own property, the right to inherit, the right to choose, the right to movement, and the right to participate in the efforts of construction, progress and development for countries and societies. She added that Shariah did not distinguish between men and women in many religious domains, such as compliance with the pillars of Islam and the pillars of faith.

She explained that the origin of the assignment letter of faith is that it is directed to both genders and that men and women are addressed together, and are equal in rights and duties as stipulated in many of the Shariah texts, the Holy Qur’an and the Prophetic Sunnah.

For their part, the American side hailed the Academy’s various efforts in all fields, especially its recent measures to counter rumors about vaccines, and urging Muslims to adhere to precautionary measures aimed at preventing the spread of the virus. They also expressed their desire to establish partnerships of cooperation and understanding between some of the US State Department agencies and the Academy, in the hope of achieving more coordination and integration.

Meanwhile, Sano signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Secretary General of the Religions for Peace Foundation, Dr. Azza Karam, at the headquarters of the Foundation’s General Secretariat in New York.

The agreement aims to build a strategic partnership based on enhancing cooperation and coordination between the two parties to highlight the desired pivotal role of religions in combating all forms of extremism, fanaticism, and terrorism by coordinating efforts and organizing programs and activities aimed at enhancing the awareness of followers of religions of the importance of coexistence and tolerance on the one hand, and seeking the assistance of scholars in spreading the culture of peace, tolerance and coexistence on the other hand.

The agreement also aims at cooperation between the two parties in the joint organization of conferences and seminars, holding workshops and training, exchanging publications, and representing the two sides in the work of conferences and seminars that are held with the knowledge of each of them in the field of common interest.

According to the memorandum, the two parties agreed to form a specialized committee to determine the aspects of cooperation between them, and the ways and mechanisms of implementation according to the perception contained in the memorandum itself, and that committee has full authority to seek the assistance of whomever it deems appropriate to implement all the terms of the agreement.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
×