International Islamic Fiqh Academy

The International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA) is an intergovernmental Islamic jurisprudential institution headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It operates as a subsidiary organ of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the international organization whose membership it shares. Rather than selling consumer goods or operating as a commercial brand, the Academy functions as a scholarly and advisory body: it convenes jurists, scholars, researchers and specialists to examine modern questions through the sources, principles and objectives of Islamic law. The institution was created in June 1983 after the Third Islamic Summit Conference of the OIC, held in Mecca, called for the establishment of an Islamic fiqh academy. Its membership is associated with the OIC’s 57 member states. Governments commonly nominate prominent scholars, grand muftis, university professors or current and former religious-affairs officials as representatives. In addition to representatives of member states, the Academy’s conferences and research programs bring together experts from medicine, economics, science, law, humanitarian affairs and other fields. Its central work consists of research, documentation, international sessions, seminars, resolutions, recommendations and religious-legal opinions addressing issues affecting Muslims and, in some cases, wider humanity. The subject matter has included financial and economic questions, public health, medical research ethics, organ transplantation, Ramadan fasting and illness, humanitarian relief, social relations, inter-sectarian cooperation, extremism and terrorism, and the ethical implications of scientific and technological change. The Academy presents its role as applying Islamic jurisprudential reasoning to contemporary circumstances while drawing on the Qur’an, Prophetic Sunnah, inherited Islamic scholarship and modern knowledge. The IIFA is particularly notable for collective rather than purely individual jurisprudential decision-making. Its resolutions are developed through scholarly deliberation and expert consultation and are intended to provide a reference for governments, Muslim communities, religious councils and institutions. The Academy also cooperates with bodies outside the OIC system. Reported examples include work connected with the World Health Organization’s Islamic Advisory Group on polio eradication and cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on charitable and zakat support for refugees and displaced people. Medical ethics has been one of its most consequential areas. In 1986, the Academy recognized brain death as a form of death in Islamic law, a position that helped provide a jurisprudential basis for organ transplantation in Saudi Arabia. It subsequently addressed organ transplantation and issued further resolutions on medical research ethics in several years, including 1992, 1997, 2004, 2006 and 2018. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it promoted public-health precautions, addressed Muslim governments and international organizations, rejected conspiracy theories and unreliable religious claims about the disease, and urged communities to follow competent medical and governmental guidance. The Academy has also positioned itself as an advocate of moderation, tolerance and opposition to violence. It has issued statements and resolutions against extremism and terrorism and supported dialogue among different Islamic schools and communities. The Makkah Document, produced in 2006 under its auspices by Iraqi Sunni and Shia religious leaders, sought practical steps to reduce sectarian violence in Iraq. The Madinah Declaration, associated with the Academy’s 23rd session in 2018, emphasized jurisprudential tolerance, cooperation and integration. As of 2019, the Academy had held 24 international sessions and issued 238 resolutions, while its session and seminar research had reached approximately 80 volumes; these figures are historical and may have increased s…

The International Islamic Fiqh Academy emerged from the OIC’s effort to create a collective institution capable of addressing modern issues through Islamic jurisprudence. At the Third Islamic Summit Conference in Mecca, OIC member states resolved to establish an Islamic fiqh academy, and the IIFA was constituted in June 1983 as an OIC subsidiary organ. Its institutional design linked it to the OIC’s member-state structure while giving it a scholarly mandate. Representatives are generally selected from among leading national scholars, grand muftis, professors and religious-affairs officials. From its beginning, the Academy’s purpose was broader than the production of traditional legal commentary. It sought to connect the inherited disciplines of fiqh and Sharia with contemporary science, medicine, economics, culture and public affairs. Its principal instruments became international sessions, research commissions, seminars, documentation projects, resolutions and recommendations. These activities enabled jurists to consult specialists and formulate collective positions on questions that could not be answered adequately without modern technical knowledge. Medical ethics became an important early field. In 1986 the Academy recognized brain death as a legally relevant form of death in Islam, contributing to the jurisprudential basis for organ transplantation in Saudi Arabia. It later addressed transplantation in greater detail and considered medical research ethics in resolutions issued in 1992, 1997, 2004, 2006 and 2018. Its work also covered confidentiality in research settings and religious guidance concerning fasting by people with diabetes. The Academy developed an international cooperation role alongside its formal scholarly work. It participated in cooperation connected with the World Health Organization’s Islamic Advisory Group for polio eradication and entered into an understanding with the UNHCR under which it issued a 2020 fatwa permitting the collection and distribution of zakat and charitable funds for refugees and displaced persons. These relationships illustrate the institution’s effort to translate jurisprudential reasoning into practical humanitarian and public-health programs. Social cohesion and opposition to extremism became another sustained theme. The Academy has promoted moderation and tolerance and issued statements condemning terrorism and violence. In 2006, it sponsored a meeting near the Grand Mosque in Mecca attended by Iraqi Sunni and Shia religious leaders; the resulting Makkah Document called for practical measures, local committees and continued scholarly dialogue to combat sectarian bloodshed. The Madinah Declaration associated with the Academy’s 23rd session in 2018 similarly called for cooperation and tolerance across jurisprudential and denominational differences. During the COVID-19 crisis, the IIFA used its religious authority to reinforce public-health measures. It addressed OIC member states and international bodies, encouraged compliance with governmental and medical precautions, and rejected conspiracy theories and isolated opinions that cast doubt on treatment or encouraged disobedience. This represented a modern example of its characteristic approach: combining jurisprudential analysis with expert knowledge and emphasizing public welfare. The Academy’s administrative leadership has included two presidents and four secretaries-general according to the cited reference material. Professor Abdulsalam al-Abbadi died in August 2020, reportedly after complications related to COVID-19, shortly before the end of his term. Professor Koutoub Moustapha Sano became secretary-general in October 2020. Sheikh Dr. Salih bin Abdullah al-Humaid is identified as president. By 2019, the Academy reported 24 international sessions, 238 resolutions and approximately 80 volumes of session and seminar research. In 2020 it established the IIFA Waqf Fund, adding an endowment mechanism to its member-state and donor-supported funding model. The organization remains an active international reference body rather than a commercial enterprise.

1. 2020IIFA Waqf Fund launched

   The Academy established an endowment fund to attract public and private contributions.

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2. 2018Madinah Declaration

   The declaration associated with the Academy’s 23rd session called for tolerance and cooperation among Islamic schools and denominations.

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3. 2006Makkah Document

   Iraqi Sunni and Shia religious leaders met under Academy auspices and issued a document addressing sectarian violence.

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4. 1986Recognition of brain death

   The Academy recognized brain death as a form of death in Islamic jurisprudence, supporting the development of organ-transplant practice.

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5. 1983Establishment of the Academy

   The IIFA was created in June 1983 following an OIC resolution adopted at the Third Islamic Summit Conference in Mecca.

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An OIC-based collective jurisprudential reference for applying Islamic legal and ethical reasoning to contemporary global issues.

• Fiqh resolutions and recommendationsJurisprudential guidance1983

  Collective resolutions and recommendations addressing contemporary questions through Islamic jurisprudence. Topics span public health, medicine, economics, humanitarian action, social relations, sectarian coexistence and emerging issues. They are intended as reference materials for governments, Muslim communities, scholars and related institutions rather than as legally binding commercial products.

• Research and documentation publicationsAcademic publishing1983

  The Academy publishes research arising from its international sessions and seminars, together with collections of resolutions and recommendations. The cited material reports approximately 80 volumes of session and seminar research by 2019, with resolutions and recommendations translated into English and French.

• International fiqh sessions and seminarsScholarly convening1983

  Recurring international meetings bring together national representatives, Islamic jurists and specialists from medicine, science, economics, law and humanitarian fields. These events provide the deliberative setting through which the Academy studies issues and prepares collective jurisprudential positions.

• IIFA Waqf FundEndowment program2020

  An endowment initiative established in 2020 to attract contributions from public and private donors and support the Academy’s scholarly and institutional work.

• 2020COVID-19 public-health guidance

  OIC member states · Global Muslim communities

  The Academy communicated religious guidance supporting preventive measures, medical expertise and government health rules during the COVID-19 pandemic, while rejecting conspiracy theories and unreliable opinions that encouraged noncompliance.

  Outcome. The initiative reinforced public-health compliance and positioned the Academy as a major Islamic institutional voice during the pandemic.

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• 2020Refugee zakat and charity cooperation

  Global humanitarian sector · Refugee and displaced-person communities

  In cooperation with the UNHCR, the Academy issued a fatwa allowing zakat and charitable funds from Muslim donors to be collected and distributed to refugees and displaced people.

  Outcome. The guidance supported humanitarian fundraising and distribution through an Islamic legal framework.

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• 2006Makkah Document

  Iraq · OIC member states

  The Academy hosted and supported a two-day meeting of Iraqi Sunni and Shia religious leaders near the Grand Mosque in Mecca. Participants endorsed practical measures intended to limit sectarian violence and encouraged local committees and continued scholarly dialogue.

  Outcome. The document became a prominent faith-based initiative for Iraqi reconciliation, although the cited material does not quantify its effects.

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• 2020Creation of the IIFA Waqf FundStrategy

  The nonprofit Academy relies on contributions from member states and private donors to support its activities.

  What changed. It established a dedicated waqf endowment fund to attract public and private donations internationally.

  Aftermath. The fund added an endowment-based financing channel; no financial totals are provided in the cited material.

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• 2020COVID-19 precautionary guidanceOther

  The pandemic generated competing religious opinions about treatment, preventive measures and compliance with public-health rules.

  What changed. The Academy endorsed medical and governmental precautions, urged public compliance and rejected conspiracy theories and unreliable fatwas.

  Aftermath. Its position supported coordinated public-health messaging among Muslim populations and institutions.

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• 1986Recognition of brain deathOther

  Advances in transplantation required a jurisprudential assessment of whether brain death could constitute death for Islamic legal purposes.

  What changed. The Academy recognized brain death as a form of death in Islam.

  Aftermath. The resolution helped provide an Islamic legal basis for the immediate development of organ transplantation in Saudi Arabia; the cited material does not establish a quantified effect.

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• 2020IIFA addresses COVID-19 prevention and religious guidance

  The Academy urged compliance with public-health precautions, rejected COVID-19 conspiracy theories and criticized unreliable religious claims encouraging disobedience to safety measures.

  OtherRegulation
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• 2020IIFA establishes a waqf fund

  The Academy created an endowment fund intended to attract public and private donations for its work.

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• 2018Madinah Declaration emphasizes jurisprudential tolerance

  The Academy’s 23rd session was associated with a declaration supporting tolerance, cooperation and integration among Islamic schools and denominations.

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• 2006Iraqi scholars sign the Makkah Document

  Under IIFA auspices, Sunni and Shia Iraqi religious leaders met in Mecca and endorsed measures intended to reduce sectarian violence.

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• 1986IIFA recognizes brain death in Islamic jurisprudence

  The Academy recognized brain death as a form of death, helping provide a legal-ethical basis for organ transplantation in Saudi Arabia.

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• 1983IIFA established as an OIC subsidiary organ

  The Academy was established following the Third Islamic Summit Conference’s call for an international Islamic fiqh institution.

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1. International Islamic Fiqh Academy
2. International Islamic Fiqh Academy official website