Abu Dhabi: Mohamed Bin Zayed University for Humanities (MBZUH) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the UAE Fatwa Council initiating a mufti training program for UAE citizens.
The university’s mufti training program, which is open to postgraduate students, will give UAE nationals the training and knowledge necessary to practice fatwas and engage in legal dialogue. This year’s February is when the programme is expected to launch.
The agreement was signed by Dr. Omar Habtoor Al Darei, Director-General of the UAE Fatwa Council, and Dr. Khaled Al Dhaheri, Chancellor of MBZUH.
Shaikh Abdullah bin Bayyah, Chairman of the UAE Fatwa Council and President of the MBZUH Supreme Academic Council, remarked that, “We have high hopes that the programme will produce outstanding Emirati muftis with the skills necessary to understand the world and contribute to promoting happiness and peaceful co-existence. Equipped with a strong sense of self-awareness and the reality of this world, as well as compassion to make a difference, they will serve as ambassadors for the Islamic faith and the UAE and will be instrumental in achieving the goals set forth by the university in collaboration with the council.”
The final phase of training will require students to carry out specialised research for fatwas, begin thorough implementation of fatwas by taking phone calls and prepare trainees to speak to the media by giving them the ability to do this job successfully.
Students must pass a qualifying exam to obtain a licence to practise fatwas after completing the programme. Graduates of the programme will be able to practise issuing fatwas after receiving a licence, first exclusively through text messaging networks.