Abdulaziz Al Sheikh: Difference between revisions

{{shortShort description|Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia (born 1940)}}

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| alma_mater = [[Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University]]

| creed = [[AthariSalafi]]

'''Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Sheikh''' ({{lang-ar|عبد العزيز بن عبد الله آل الشيخ}} ''ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn ʿAbd Āllah Āl ash-Sheikh''; born 30 November 1940) is a [[Saudi Arabia]]nArabian [[Ulema|Islamic scholar]] who is the current [[Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia]].<ref>{{cite news|title=U.S. adapts cold-war idea to fight terrorists|date=2008-03-18|work=[[The New York Times]]|author =Schmitt, Eric|author2 =Shanker, Thom|quote=Saudi Arabia 's top cleric, Grand Mufti Sheik Abdul Aziz al-Asheik, gave a speech last October warning Saudis not to join unauthorized jihadist activities, a statement directed mainly at those considering going to Iraq to fight the American-led forces.}}</ref> As such he is head of the [[Council of Senior Religious Scholars]] and its sub-committee, the [[Permanent Committee for Islamic Research and Issuing Fatwas]].

Sheikh Abdulaziz Al Sheikh is a member of the [[Al ash-Sheikh]] family. In 1969-70 he assumed leadership at the [[Sheikh Muhammad Binbin Ibrahim Mosque]] in Dukhna, Riyadh. In 1979 he was appointed assistant professor at the [[College of Sharia]], [[Mecca]].

In June 1999, [[King Fahd]] appointed Al Sheikh was appointedas [[Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia]] by [[King Fahd]], following the death of Grand Mufti [[Abdulaziz Bin Baz]].<ref name="Eur2002">{{cite book|author=Eur|title=The Middle East and North Africa 2003|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4CfBKvsiWeQC&pg=PA949|access-date=1 September 2012|date=22 November 2002|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-85743-132-2|pages=950|archive-date=23 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623194023/http://books.google.com/books?id=4CfBKvsiWeQC&pg=PA949|url-status=live}}</ref>

Following [[Pope Benedict XVI]]'s [[Regensburg lecture|quotation of a Byzantine emperor in a lecture]], the Grandgrand Muftimufti called the popePope's statement "lies", adding that they "show that reconciliation between religions is impossible".<ref>[http://www.netzeitung.de/spezial/derpapst/440836.html "«Hässliche, unglückliche Äußerungen»: Erdogan fordert Entschuldigung des Papstes"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208025214/http://www.netzeitung.de/spezial/derpapst/440836.html |date=2012-02-08 }}, ''Netzeitung'', 17 September 2006 {{in lang|de}}</ref>

In January 2016, while answering a question on a television show in which he issues fatwas in response to viewers’viewers' queries on everyday religious matters, Al Sheikh ruled that [[chess]] was forbidden in Islam because it constituted [[gambling]], was a waste of time and money and a cause of hatred and enmity between the players.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/21/middleeast/grand-mufti-opposes-chess/index.html | title=Checkmate: Saudi grand mufti makes move against chess | work=CNN | date=21 January 2016 | access-date=22 January 2016 | author=Melvin, Don | archive-date=22 January 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122002551/http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/21/middleeast/grand-mufti-opposes-chess/index.html | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Guard1>{{cite news|url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/21/chess-forbidden-in-islam-rules-saudi-arabia-grand-mufti|title= Chess forbidden in Islam, rules Saudi mufti, but issue not black and white|author= Kareem Shaheen|work= [[The Guardian]]|publisher= [[Scott Trust Media]]|date= January 21, 2016|access-date= February 10, 2016|archive-date= February 13, 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160213200335/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/21/chess-forbidden-in-islam-rules-saudi-arabia-grand-mufti|url-status= live}}</ref>

In September 2016, the Grand Mufti ruled that Iraniansthe areIranian Leadership is not MuslimsMuslim and areis the "sonsson of the [[magi]]".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-grand-mufti-iran-sunni-muslims-hajj-a7229416.html|author=Matt Payton|title='Iranians are not Muslims', says Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti|publisher=[[The Independent|Independent]]|language=en|date=September 7, 2016|access-date=October 23, 2017|archive-date=October 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023115812/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-grand-mufti-iran-sunni-muslims-hajj-a7229416.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.firstpost.com/world/saudi-cleric-calling-iranians-non-muslims-and-deriding-zoroastrians-is-religion-based-persecution-2995110.html|title=Saudi cleric calling Iranians 'non-Muslims' and deriding Zoroastrians is religion-based persecution - Firstpost|website=www.firstpost.com|date=8 September 2016|access-date=2017-11-20|archive-date=2017-11-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171119154035/http://www.firstpost.com/world/saudi-cleric-calling-iranians-non-muslims-and-deriding-zoroastrians-is-religion-based-persecution-2995110.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Grand Mufti was on a list of religious scholars included on a death list by ISIS.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.memri.org/reports/isis-launches-campaign-calling-kill-prominent-islamic-clerics-such-yousuf-al-qaradawi-saudi |title=ISIS Launches Campaign Calling To Kill Prominent Islamic Clerics Such As Yousuf Al-Qaradawi, Saudi Mufti 'Abd Al-'Aziz Aal Al-Sheikh, Former Egyptian Chief Mufti 'Ali Gum'a |date=February 14, 2017 |number=Special Dispatch No.6781 |website=MEMRI |access-date=February 25, 2017 |archive-date=June 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628015920/https://www.memri.org/reports/isis-launches-campaign-calling-kill-prominent-islamic-clerics-such-yousuf-al-qaradawi-saudi |url-status=live }}</ref>

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