Abdallah Ben Abdel Mohsen At-Turki
# Abdallah Ben Abdel Mohsen At-Turki

Abdallah Ben Abdel Mohsen At-Turki (Arabic: عبد الله بن عبد المحسن التركي, born 4 August 1940) is a Muslim religious leader from Saudi Arabia who has been General Secretary of the Muslim World League.

## Birth and academic career

At-Turki was born in Riyadh Province. He attended the Sharia College in Ar-Riyadh, graduating in 1963 with a bachelor's degree in Islamic Law. 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, Cairo 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 in 1975, and later became rector of this university.

He had published numerous papers on Islamic studies, Sharia and Arabic language.

## 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 Muslim World League. He is also chairman of various other institutions including the League of Islamic Universities, Global Islamic Council in London 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 and the International Islamic University, Islamabad.

## Views

At a conference in Makkah in 2015, commenting on the violence caused by ISIS, he said: "The terrorism that we face within the Muslim Ummah and our own homelands today … is religiously motivated. It has been founded on extremism, and the misconception of some distorted Sharia concept."

