Saudi Arabia Appoints 90-Year-Old Conservative Cleric as Grand Mufti Amid Ongoing Social Reforms

Saudi Arabia has named Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan bin Abdullah Al-Fawzan, a conservative cleric in his nineties, as its new grand mufti through a royal decree announced by the official SPA news agency on Wednesday evening.

Fawzan takes over from Abdulaziz al-Sheikh, another conservative religious leader who passed away in September after serving more than two decades in this prominent position.

The newly appointed grand mufti has previously generated controversy with his statements. In 2011, he publicly opposed establishing a minimum age for marriage when the justice ministry was working to eliminate child marriage practices. Human Rights Watch also reported that in 2017, Fawzan referred to Shiite Muslims as "brothers of Satan" during a recorded session.

His appointment came on the recommendation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler who has been implementing extensive reforms aimed at diversifying the economy of the world's largest oil exporter.

As the birthplace of Islam housing its holiest sites, including the Kaaba at Mecca's Grand Mosque that Muslims worldwide face during prayer, Saudi Arabia has maintained its religious significance while pursuing modernization efforts.

Since Prince Mohammed's appointment as heir to the throne by his 89-year-old father, King Salman, in 2017, the historically conservative kingdom has undergone substantial changes. The authority of Saudi clerics has diminished, and the once-powerful morality police have been restrained.

Urban areas now commonly see women without veils and head coverings, non-Muslim tourists are welcomed, and women have been legally permitted to drive since 2018.

Despite these progressive shifts in a country where 69 percent of Saudis are under 35 years old, Fawzan's selection follows traditional patterns, according to Umar Karim, a Saudi policy expert at the University of Birmingham.

Karim told AFP that the appointment aligns with "the established Saudi religious policy of selecting the most senior and well respected alim (religious scholar) within the council as the successor."

He further explained, "While the social atmosphere has changed and is changing, the modalities of the religious field and its workings remain the same. The revolutionary changes which have defined Saudi statecraft of the past several years don't impinge upon the hierarchy of religious establishment even if its composition has been altered slowly."