Sheikh Ali Gomaa

Sheikh Ali Gomaa is the Grand Mufti of the Arab Republic of Egypt—- the second highest religious position in the country, after the position of Sheikh al-Azhar, one of the most respected religious authorities in the entire Muslim world. As Grand Mufti, he oversees the premier institution in the Muslim world for religious legal direction, Dar al-Ifta’.
Since his appointment as Grand Mufti in 2003, he has become a leading advocate for moderation, and an outspoken critic of extremist ideologies, which he says are antithetical to Islam. He has revolutionized the process of issuing fatwas in Egypt transforming Dar al-Ifta from a institution that was the extension of one individual (the Grand Mufti) to a modern institution with a fatwa council and a system of checks and balances. Sheikh Ali has also added a technological aspect to the institution by developing a sophisticated website and call center through which people can request fatwas even if they are unable to come to the institution personally. Over the last five years Sheikh Ali has overseen the issuance of many important, and some controversial, fatwas all of which share the common characteristic of striving to show the continued relevance of Islam for people living in the 21st century. The methodology according to which this is carried out can be characterized by a profound respect for the intellectual product of the past accompanied by a realization of its shortcomings, when they exist, and an understanding of the specific needs the times in which we live.
Sheikh Ali is a prolific author and writer on Islamic issues and he writes a weekly column in the Egyptian al-Ahram newspaper in which he discusses matters of current interest and religion.