Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa
Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa is a Saudi Arabian religious leader, Secretary General of the Muslim World League, President of the International Islamic Halal Organization, and former Saudi Minister of Justice.
He also serves as the chairman of the , a body of globally influential government, faith, media, business, and community leaders working together to solve the challenges facing humanity and the world today.
Al-Issa is considered a leading global voice on moderate Islam as well as a key figure in the fight against extremist ideology. Religious leaders and government officials alike have commended Al-Issa for his efforts to promote moderation, and cooperation and coexistence among all people.
Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of New York and an influential member of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States, referred to Al-Issa as the "most eloquent spokesperson in the Islamic world for reconciliation and friendship among the religions of the world." In a historic meeting with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Russell Nelson stated to Al-Issa, "You are a peacemaker. You are a bridge builder. And we need more leaders like you." The American Jewish Committee has called Al-Issa "the most powerful voice in the Muslim world promoting moderate Islam." Elan Carr, former U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, said Al-Issa "has chosen a future of tolerance and affection, where Jews and Christians can be embraced by their Muslim brethren.”
Ndileka Mandela, granddaughter of Noble laureate Nelson Mandela and head of the Thembekile Mandela Foundation, has praised Dr Al-Issa as a "".
Early life and education
Al-Issa was born in Riyadh on June 10, 1965. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Comparative Islamic Jurisprudence at Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University. Later, he received a master's degree and then a PhD degree in Comparative Judicial Studies as well as in Studies in General Law and Constitutional Law from the university's higher institute of the judiciary.Career
After graduation, Al-Issa began to work at Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud Islamic University as a faculty member. He became vice president to the board of grievances in 2007, and he served there until 2009.On February 14, 2009, he was appointed the Minister of Justice in the Saudi cabinet, replacing Abdullah bin Muhammad Al Sheikh who had been in office since 1992. The appointment of Al-Issa as the minister of justice was part of King Abdullah's reforms' initiatives.
As the justice minister, Al-Issa oversaw key reforms in several areas, including legislative reforms in family matters, humanitarian cases, and for the rights of women.
Following Al-Issa's departure from the Board of Grievance, executions in the kingdom grew from 69 in 2010 to 158 in 2015. Saudi courts are affiliated with the Board of Grievances and do not belong to the Ministry of Justice.
Al-Issa was appointed Secretary General of the Muslim World League on August 4, 2016.
Views
Issa argued in a lecture at Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh in 2012 that Salafism was only an approach and that it should not be viewed as Islam. He further emphasized that the Salafi approach was moderate and meant following and obeying the ancestors' belief and values in regard to the understanding of Islam.Issa acknowledges the horror of the Holocaust and denounced the efforts of Holocaust denial. He advocates for Muslim immigrants to Western countries to integrate socially, in contrast to Wahhabi ideology.
In January 2020, he led a delegation to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, to mark the 75th anniversary of the camp's liberation from Nazis. In a speech on how Muslims and Jews can work together, Al-Issa stated that the Muslim World League is proud to stand "shoulder to shoulder" with the Jewish community to build better understanding, respect and harmony.
In February 2020, Al-Issa led a delegation of Islamic scholars to visit Srebrenica in Bosnia to pay respect at the Srebrenica-Potocari Genocide Memorial Centre.
Issa is opposed to political Islam, saying that it does not reflect the true values of Islam and that Muslims in non-Muslim countries should respect the values of their nation of residence.
Honors
Hajj sermon, 2022
In July 2022, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud appointed Dr Al-Issa the Khateeb of Hajj 1443 Hijri to deliver the hajj sermon from the pulpit of . The Hajj is the largest gathering of Muslims in the world and Dr Al-Issa used the opportunity to advocate a moderate message of Islam promoting harmony and compassion.He called on Muslims to avoid all that leads to "dissent, animosity, or division" and stressed that "our interactions are dominated by harmony and compassion”. His address further asked Muslims "not to give any mind to those who are insolent, have ulterior motives, or seek to obstruct him" in a bid to promote tolerance and understanding. Dr Al-Issa underscored that Islam had an encompassing spirit whose goodness extended to all of humanity
Initiatives
Auschwitz visit
As the head of the MWL and a key Muslim voice for interfaith peace and coexistence, Dr Al-Issa collaborated with the American Jewish Committee to lead an historic delegation of senior Muslim scholars and leaders to the Auschwitz concentration camp in January 2020. The delegation consisted of 62 Muslims, including 25 prominent religious leaders, from 28 countries.The visit aimed at condemning the atrocities carried out against the Jews during the World War II and expressing solidarity in standing against oppressors. AJC CEO David Harris said Dr Al-Issa's visit was the “most senior Islamic leadership delegation to ever visit Auschwitz or any Nazi German death camp”. Harris called the visit a "direct rebuttal to the extremists who threaten us all".
Dr Al-Issa led a similar delegation to the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum again in January 2022.
Forum on Common Values among Religious Followers
Under Al-Issa's guidance, MWL arranged a discussion and debate forum in Riyadh in May 2022 titled "Forum on Common Values among Religious Followers" that brought together senior Muslim scholars and leaders as well as leadership and scholars of other religions from across the world.The forum was a key initiative in bringing leadership and followers of various religions together to discuss, appreciate and promote values that bind all religions. Combining common religious principles and international conventions, the forum issued a declaration of “Common Human Values” wherein participants agreed to affirm the centrality of religion in every civilization due to its influence in “shaping the ideas of human societies”.
The participants shunned denounced the idea of an 'inevitable clash of civilizations' due to religious issues. The that attempts to gain religious, cultural, political and economic advantages without respect for rights or ethics, and through forms of extremism, arrogance and racism, must be opposed. One of the key successes of the forum was religious leaders agreeing that it was uncalled for to link religion and malpractices of some of its followers, and that religion must not be employed for worldly purposes.
The event was hailed as a landmark gathering of religious leadership from around the world and crucial to scaling . It was also cited as an effective initiative for engaging conflict parties, addressing grievances, and promote understanding on both sides of the political and religious divides.
Conference on the Declaration of Peace in Afghanistan
In June 2021, Al-Issa and the Muslim World League spearheaded a meeting of religious and political leadership from Afghanistan and Pakistan in the holy city of Makkah that devised a roadmap for attaining lasting peace in the war-torn country.Following a full-day conference, an that defined religious parameters to achieve a just and comprehensive peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan in line with Islamic principles.
Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, then federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Inter-faith Harmony in Pakistan, and Mohammad Qasim Halimi, then minister of Hajj and Religious Affairs of Afghanistan, signed the agreement.
Al-Issa had said that the conference had highlighted the strong resolve "of our brothers in the meeting to advance peace in Afghanistan".
The Charter of Makkah
The Charter of Makkah, endorsed in May 2019, was an effort led by the Muslim World League under Dr Al-Issa. The Charter was formulated to create a pan-Islamic set of principles that support anti-extremism, religious and cultural diversity, tolerance and legislation against hate and violence.The document was declared at the end of the four-day conference organized by the Muslim World League in Makkah. It was approved by Islamic leaders of 139 countries and signed by around 1,200 prominent Muslim figures.
At the conference, more than 1,000 religious scholars representing 128 countries discussed ways to come up with a comprehensive plan to address sectarianism and extremism within Islam, and stressed the need to create effective channels of communication between the different schools of Islam.