KUWAIT CITY, Oct 31, (KUNA): Minister of Justice and Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Justice Rashed Abdulmohsen Al-Hammad said here Sunday that Islamic nations was in dire need to fine-tune the pronouncement of fatwas, or religious edicts, as they ranged between unrequired toughening and undue slackening.

Al-Hammad, also Deputy Prime Minister for Legal Affairs, made the remark in his opening address delivered on the occasion of opening the Seventh annual four-day conference of the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America (AMJA) that is held in cooperation with the Kuwaiti Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs under the theme of “Fatwas’ Issue, its Sharia and Procedural Rules”.

He also said that the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs hosted the conference out of its responsibility and in appreciation of the efforts made by the AMJA personnel including religious scholars, specialists and experts at a time when the conditions of Muslim minorities require updated fatwas that are compatible with the needs of time and space.

In addition, he made clear that Muslims nowadays are in bad need for pathfinders who guide them to the truth that help them elevate their manners, purify their souls and gain the satisfaction of God.
However, he added that these above-mentioned concepts cannot be attained except through the words of religious scholars and the pronouncements of jurists as they are entrusted with transmitting the message of God and guiding to the straightfoward path.

On his part, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Dr Adel Al-Falah said the conference aims at highlighting the recent conditions of the Muslim minorities who live in the Western countries, particularly after Muslims there went beyond the identity protection phase to the time of featuring the Islamic model of peaceful coexistence and Islam’s merciful treatment to all mankind.
He added that the ministry’s strategy seeks to adopt a moderate approach on issuing fatwas that takes into account the spirit of Sharia, or Islamic law, along with the principle of easing hardships and shunning off unnecessary restrictions and schism as much as possible with emphasizing the cardinal goals of Islamic Shariaa and consolidating the religious constants.