His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco, Amir Al Mouminine, on Saturday invited the Ulemas, Muslim scholars and theologians, "to oppose obscurantists and extremists of all stripes who strive to deceive innocent souls".
“The Ulemas are required to have a beneficial presence in the lives of people by inviting them to the virtues of moderation and the happy medium and by opposing obscurantists and extremists of all stripes who strive to deceive candid souls. Said, on Saturday, His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco, Amir Al Mouminine.
The Moroccan sovereign spoke through a message addressed to the participants of an international symposium, initiated by the Mohammed VI Foundation of African Ulemas and which is being held from July 8 to 10, 2023 in Marrakech, under the theme "the rules of the fatwa in the African context.
In his message read by the Minister of Habous and Islamic Affairs of Morocco, Ahmed Toufiq, Amir Al Mouminine, explains that the Ulemas are invested with the "noble mission" of bringing religious science to succeeding generations and of issuing fatwas i.e. legal advice issued on a given issue.
Counting among the most reliable and virtuous members, according to the Moroccan sovereign, the Ulema are "the very ones who ensure the preservation of Islam against the mystifications of the zealots, the false allegations of impostors and the interpretations of the uneducated". .
For His Majesty Mohammed VI, the zealots, the impostors and the uneducated are three categories of actors who count, unfortunately, among those who rule, today, on religious questions, hence the need for the Ulemas to play fully their duty.
"This duty is all the more imperative since these deviants lend most of their reflections on religion the fallacious turn of fatwas, alerted that these are sacred things in the common understanding", he said. insisted in his message.
In addition, he recalled that in the specific case of Morocco, given this state of affairs and concerned with protecting religion, it was proceeded "to institutionalize the practice of the fatwa, thus becoming a collegial competence exercised by the superior council of the ulama”.
"It is, in fact, to this institution that fatwa requests are addressed to rule on matters of everyday life requiring religious advice", explains Amir Al Mouminine who urges other African countries to also raise the fatwa "at the level of institutional action where there is hardly any room for fanaticism or the misguided passions that lead to bewilderment".
"Each African country must attribute the exercise of the fatwa to a collegial institution composed of ulema who are trustworthy, moderate and attached to the intangible principles and religious doctrine of their country", insisted King Mohammed VI.
The international symposium in Marrakech on "the rules of the fatwa in the African context" brought together ulemas, men and women, from 72 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.
More than 350 participants including a delegation from Burkina Faso took part in the meeting.
Source: Burkina Information Agency