Grand Mufti of Egpyt to deliver the Muis Lecture 2015 in Singapore

The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) will organise its fourth Distinguished Visitors Programme from 24 to 27 January 2015. The programme was first introduced in 2006 with the aim to widen and deepen progressive discourses through engagement sessions, discussions and lectures delivered by eminent Muslim statesmen, intellectual leaders and thinkers of international standing to discuss latest developments in contemporary issues on Islam and Muslims.

A key highlight of the DVP is the Muis Lecture delivered by the Distinguished Visitor, and chaired by the Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Dr Yaacob Ibrahim. Attendance at previous Muis Lectures has averaged 500 participants with a good mix of political and community leaders, the asatizah (Islamic religious teachers) fraternity, scholars and students of Islam and Muslims, madrasah teachers and students, interfaith leaders and activists. 

Source: Muis. Dr Allam.

The fourth Distinguished Visitor is Sheikh Dr Shawki Allam, the Grand Mufti of Egypt. Dr Allam’s dedication and efforts towards peace through greater understanding of different and diverse communities are recognised internationally. He was recently selected as the prominent promoter of peace by the World Alliance of Religions in Seoul, South Korea for his remarkable achievements in promoting world peace and his outstanding contributions to human society.

Dr Allam is the 19th and current Grand Mufti of Egypt through Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah, succeeding Dr Ali Gomaa in February 2013. He is the first Egyptian Grand Mufti to be elected into the position by Al-Azhar University's Council of Senior Scholars; previous ones were appointed by the President of Egypt. Born in 1961 in the Nile Delta governorate of Beheira in Egypt, Dr Allam completed his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Islamic Jurisprudence in Al-Azhar University’s Tanta and Cairo campuses respectively, where he eventually gained his PhD with honours in 1996 in the same field. He then lectured in Oman in 2001 to 2010, thereafter returning to Egypt to serve as a lecturer and head of the Department of Islamic Jurisprudence of Al-Azhar University’s Tanta campus.

During his visit, Dr Allam will be involved in many dialogues and discourses with various segments of the community, which will culminate with the Muis Lecture on 26 January 2015. In his lecture, Dr Allam will focus on Building Harmonious Societies in a Pluralistic World. He will address the universality of our respective values, and the importance of entering into authentic dialogue to promote the unifying role of religion in fostering a mutually respective, civic-minded and harmonious way of living with others. The lecture will be chaired by Minister Ibrahim.

The details for the Muis Lecture 2015 are as follows:

Date: Monday, 26 January 2015
Time: 8 to 9.30 pm
Venue: Grand Ballroom, Orchard Hotel Singapore, 442 Orchard Road, Singapore 238879
Dress code: Shirt and tie

Click here to register for the Muis Lecture.