Abdallah Ben Abdel Mohsen At-Turki ( ar, عبد الله بن عبد المحسن التركي, born 4 August 1940) is a Muslim religious leader from

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

who has been General Secretary of the

Muslim World League The Muslim World League (MWL; ar, رابطة العالم الاسلامي, Rabitat al-Alam al-Islami, ) is an International Islamic NGO based in Mecca, Saudi Arabia that promotes what it calls the true message of Islam by advancing moderate v ...

Birth and academic career

At-Turki was born in

Riyadh Province The Riyadh Province ( ar, منطقة الرياض '), also known as the Riyadh Region, is a region of Saudi Arabia, located in the geographic center of the country. It has an area of and with a 2017 population of 8,216,284, it is the second-la ...

. He attended the Sharia College in Ar-Riyadh, graduating in 1963 with a bachelor's degree in

Islamic Law Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the ...

. He attended the Higher Law Institute in Er-Riad, earning a master's degree in 1969. In 1972 he defended a thesis on foundations of Islamic jurisprudence at

Al-Azhar University , image = جامعة_الأزهر_بالقاهرة.jpg , image_size = 250 , caption = Al-Azhar University portal , motto = , established = *970/972 first foundat ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

making him the first Saudi to get a Ph.d. from Al-Azhar. He taught at the Higher Scientific Institute from 1961 to 1969, and was Dean of the Arab Language College in Er-Riad from 1969 to 1975. He was appointed Provost of

Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU) (), commonly known as Al-Imam University, is a public university in Baladiyah al-Shemal in northern Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was founded in 1953. represented by the College of Sharia Sciences (n ...

in 1975, and later became rector of this university. He had published numerous papers on Islamic studies, Sharia and

Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

Public positions

At-Turki was appointed Saudi Arabian Minister of Islam affairs, vakufs, appeals and morals in 1995, and mentor of King Fahd's Koran printing unit. He was Minister without the portfolio from 1999 to 2000, when he was appointed General Secretary of the

. He is also chairman of various other institutions including the

League of Islamic Universities The League of Islamic Universities (or Union of Islamic Universities) is an association of Islamic universities. It is based in Cairo. The chairman is Abdallah Ben Abdel Mohsen At-Turki, who is also general secretary of the Muslim World League. Pr ...

, Global Islamic Council in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and World Islamic Council of Appeal and Salvation. He is also the chairman of Islamic Universities Association (IUA). He has played an important role in establishing Islamic universities, including the

Islamic University of Niger The Islamic University in Niger (IUIN) is an international university in Say, Niger west of Niamey. Students and faculty study in Arabic, French, and English. The university's vice-chancellor's office is in Niamey. History IUIN began following r ...

and the

International Islamic University, Islamabad , motto_lang = Arabic , mottoeng = "All those endowed with knowledge have the All-Knowing above them" , established = , closed = , type = Public , affiliation = ...

Views

At a conference in

Makkah Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow va ...

in 2015, commenting on the violence caused by

ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...

, he said: "The terrorism that we face within the

Muslim Ummah ' (; ar, أمة ) is an Arabic word meaning "community". It is distinguished from ' ( ), which means a nation with common ancestry or geography. Thus, it can be said to be a supra-national community with a common history. It is a synonym for ' ...

and our own homelands today … is religiously motivated. It has been founded on extremism, and the misconception of some distorted

Sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...

concept."

Bibliography

Published books include: * ''Osool Madhab al Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal'' (the fundamentals of imam Ahmed bin Hanbal school). * ''Asbab Ikhtilaf Al Foqaha'' (the causes of differences between jurisprudence scholars). * ''Menhaj Al Islam Fi Bina Al Osra'' (the approach of Islam in the building of family). * ''Menjaj Al Malik Abdul Aziz'' (King Abdul Aziz's approach). * ''Majmal Itikad Aimat Alk Salaf'' (a summary of the belief of previous imams). * ''Menhaj Al tamul Ma Al Sira'' (the approach of dealing with the biography of the Prophet). * ''Al imman Mohammed bin Saud: the state of Dawa wa Al Dohat'' (Immam Mohammed bin Saud: the state of the call and callers). * ''Al Ommah Al Wasat wl al menhaj al nabawi fi al Dawa ela Allah'' (the middle national mission and the Prophetic approach in the call to Allah). * ''Masoliat Al Dawla Al Islamiah an Al Dawa Ela Allah'' (the responsibility of the Islamic state for the call to Allah). * ''Al Mamalaka Al Arabia Al Saudia wa khidmatiha lilislam wa Al Muslimeen fi Al Gharb'' (the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its services to Islam and Muslim in the West). * ''Al Islam wa hokouk Al Insan'' (Islam and human rights). * ''Tamolat fi Dawat Al sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Wahab'' (contemplations in the call of sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul wahab)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turki, Abdallah Ben Abdel Mohsen 1940 births Living people Heads of universities and colleges in Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabian writers Biographical evaluation scholars Al-Azhar University alumni Saudi Arabian expatriates in Egypt