Saudi Arabia’s New Grand Mufti Named

IQNA – A conservative cleric in his nineties has been appointed as the top religious leader in Saudi Arabia, state media said.

Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan bin Abdullah Al-Fawzan was named the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia by royal decree, the official SPA news agency reported late on Wednesday.

Fawzan succeeds the conservative Abdulaziz al-Asheikh, who died in September after more than 20 years in the role.

He was appointed on the recommendation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto Saudi ruler.

Fawzan's nomination is not surprising, said Umar Karim, a Saudi policy expert at the University of Birmingham in England.

It is in line with "the established Saudi religious policy of selecting the most senior and well respected alim (religious scholar) within the council as the successor", Karim told AFP.

"While the social atmosphere has changed and is changing, the modalities of the religious field and its workings remain the same," he added.

Source: Agencies