Saudi Arabia has appointed a new top religious cleric in the monarchy about a month after the death of his predecessor. According to the decree of King Salman, Sheikh Salih bin Fauzán al-Fauzán became the grand mufti, TASR informs, according to the Thursday reports of the DPA and AP agencies.
According to the state-run Saudi Press Agency, King Salman made the decision based on his son’s recommendationCrown Prince Muhammad bin Salman. The new Grand Mufti is 90 years old, was born in al-Qasim province and has been a member of the Council of Elder Scholars and the Standing Committee for Scientific Research and Ifta since 1992. Ifta is the process of issuing a legal ruling (fatwa) on an issue of Islamic law. The Grand Mufti in Muslim-majority countries interprets Islamic law and issues fatwas.
Sheikh Sálih is known for his conservative views. According to Human Rights Watch, in 2017, when asked if Sunni Muslims should consider Shiites their “brothers,” he replied, “They are the brothers of Satan.”
In 2016, he is credited with a fatwa banning the mobile game Pokémon Go as a form of gambling. Saudi Arabia, led by Crown Prince Muhammad, now owns a significant stake in Nintendo and Niantic’s gaming divisionthe maker of Pokémon Go. He said women driving can have harmful effects. Later, however, as a reflection of social development, he supported the monarchy’s decision to allow women to drive.
Just like his predecessor Abdalaziz al-Shaykh had reservations about cinema and theater, stating that these types of art may contain elements that conflict with Islamic values. In 2017, commercial cinemas began to open in Saudi Arabia after a 35-year ban. In the past decade, Crown Prince Muhammad has been introducing slow changes to the monarchy as Saudi Arabia tries to shift its economy away from the dominance of the oil industry.
