His eminence Sheikh Dr. Ali Goma'a

His eminence Sheikh Dr. Ali Goma'a

Grand Mufti of Egypt

Sheikh Ali Goma'a is the Grand Mufti of the Arab Republic of Egypt. He is the second highest Sunni authority in Egypt after Sheikh Tantawi and one of the foremost Islamic scholars in the world. Goma'a is responsible for the Dar al Ifta al Masriyyah, a leading institute for Islamic legal research, and the legal arm of the Egyptian Ministry of Justice, which is responsible for passing official religious rulings.

Egypt's Weight in Islamic Scholarship

Goma'a's scholarly influence is derived from his position at the center of many of the most significant institutions of Islamic law in the world. Before becoming Grand Mufti, Goma'a was a professor of jurisprudence at Al Azhar University—the second oldest university in the world, founded in 975 CE—and served as a member of the Fatwa Council. He is currently a member of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy, the highest institute of Islamic law of the Organization of the Islamic Conference—an intergovernmental organization for Muslim-majority countries.

Personal Popularity

Goma'a has become incredibly popular as a mufti since he began to appear on popular broadcast and satellite television. Part of his appeal is due to the revival of the old Islamic practice of informal 'knowledge circles' at the Al Azhar Mosque, and very well attended Q&A sessions after his Friday sermons at the Sultan Hasan Mosque, where Goma'a makes a point of taking on anyone who tries to simplify or distort Islamic teachings without knowledge of its traditions. This has made him extremely popular with those who are uncomfortable with extremism.

Popularized and Simplified Fatwas

Goma'a has immense legal influence through his advocacy of Islamic legal rulings (fatwa). Since he was appointed Grand Mufti of Egypt in 2003, Goma'a has modernized the process of issuing fatwas in Egypt. He has done this by overhauling the Dar al Ifta organization into a dynamic institution with worldwide reach, based on a fatwa council and a system of checks and balances. He has been forthright in his criticism of poorly thought-out fatwas calling those who make such rulings criminals.

High-Tech Influence

Goma'a has authored over 50 books, as well as hundreds of articles. He now uses the Dar al Ifta to get his scholarly opinion out. His office issues some 5,000 fatwas a week, with official ones on important issues written by him and the routine ones dealt with via phone and the Internet by a team of subordinate muftis. He believes that respect for traditionalism is growing in the Muslim world, partly because of the immense demand for fatwas issued by his office.