Shaykh Ali Gomaa is the Grand Mufti of the Arab Republic of Egypt - the second highest religious position in the country, after the position of Shaykh 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.

Born in Bani Suwayf, Egypt in 1952, he received a Bachelor’s degree from the Faculty of Commerce at Ayn Shems University before transferring to the College of Islamic and Arabic Studies of al-Azhar University, the world’s leading Islamic institution of higher learning. He went on to receive a Master’s Degree and a Doctorate in Islamic Juristic Methodology (usul al-fiqh) from the same institution.

Prior to his posting as Grand Mufti, Shaykh Ali served as Professor of Jurisprudence at al-Azhar and served as a member of that institution’s Fatwa Council from 1995 to 1997. In addition to his duties as head of Dar al- Ifta’, he is a member of the Council for Islamic Research at al-Azhar University, a member of the Fiqh Council of the Organization of Islamic Conference, a General Advisor to al-Azhar University and a member of the Islamic Fiqh Centre in India.

Over the years Shaykh Ali has been involved in many activities aimed at strengthening Islam throughout the Muslim world and communicating a more balanced view of Islam in the non-Muslim world. He serves as expert advisor to the Council of Arabic Languages and participated in the preparation of the organization’s Encyclopaedia of Jurisprudence Terms. He participated in formulating the curricula of the College of Islamic Law in the Sultanate of Oman, and the School of Islamic and Social Sciences in Washington D.C. He has also been a participating advisor at Harvard University in Egypt, within the Department of Near Eastern Studies.

His sermons at Sultan Hasan Mosque, one of the Islamic world’s greatest architectural monuments, have become among the most popular in Egypt since he began delivering them in 1998.

A prolific author and writer on Islamic issues, Shaykh Ali writes a regular column in al-Ahram newspaper and has published many influential papers and over 25 acclaimed books on various aspects of Islam.