2016
August
Dr. Mohammad Al-Issa becomes Secretary-General of the Muslim World League
Dr. Al-Issa assumed his current role as Secretary-General of the Muslim World League on August 9, 2016. In the same year, he became Chairman of the Organization of Muslim Scholars and a member of the Council of Senior Scholars in Saudi Arabia.
Secretary-General
Chairman, IBMS
Senior Scholars
2017
Month
Global engagement and scholarly outreach
As Secretary-General, Dr. Al-Issa has travelled extensively throughout the United States, Europe, Africa and Asia, meeting with dignitaries and parliamentarians from the fields of justice, law and human rights, as well as major faith-based and community leaders. He has also delivered academic lectures and discussed scholarly dissertations at major universities within the Kingdom and abroad, particularly in Europe and the United States.
Global engagement
Lectures & dialogues
2017
September
High-level dialogue with the Holy See
To advance his vision of civilizational and cultural dialogue, Dr. Al-Issa visited the Vatican in September 2017 to meet Pope Francis and the late Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, Chairman of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. Those discussions led to an unprecedented partnership between the MWL and The Holy See, and paved the way for the most senior visit ever by a Vatican official to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in April 2018.
Interfaith partnership
Dialogue
2018
April
Most senior Vatican visit to Saudi Arabia
An outcome of the 2017 Vatican engagement, paving the way for unprecedented interreligious diplomacy.
Vatican–KSA
Milestone visit
2019
Month
Healing and inclusion in Sri Lanka
In 2019, Dr. Al-Issa visited Sri Lanka to meet with Buddhist and Muslim religious leaders to promote healing and integration in the wake of the country's deadly Easter attacks. He received the Order of Peace from Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena.
Interfaith solidarity
Order of Peace
2019
Month
Inclusive representation across MWL bodies
Under Dr. Al-Issa, the Muslim World League has expanded representation of various sects of Islam within the Muslim World League Supreme Council and other subsidiary bodies to ensure the inclusion of all Muslim communities around the world. He was elected by seventy Islamic figures from across the Islamic world, representing all Islamic schools of thought, to the Supreme Council of the League.
Inclusion
Diversity
2019
September 2019
First Paris agreement among Abrahamic leaders
He also orchestrated the first agreement between leaders of the Abrahamic religions in Paris, joining Jewish, Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox Christian leaders in an agreement committing to harmony and solidarity. This initiative built upon his work in bringing together the Abrahamic faiths in France, resulting in the “Paris Agreement for the Abrahamic Family for Solidarity and Peace,” which united Jewish, Catholic, Orthodox, and Islamic religious leaders.
Abrahamic accord (Paris)
Solidarity & peace
2020
January
Visit to Auschwitz
In January 2020, Dr. Al-Issa became the most senior Islamic leader to visit the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp.
Auschwitz remembrance
Holocaust memory
2020
Month
Unprecedented cooperation with Russian Orthodox Church
Over the past two years, Dr. Al-Issa has signed several cooperation agreements with some of the largest Jewish institutions operating in the United States and globally, they focus on promoting common values, protecting religious sites of worship and building greater interfaith understanding. In 2020, Dr. Al-Issa finalized a cooperation agreement with the Russian Orthodox Church and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, in another interreligious initiative without precedent.
Interreligious cooperation
Patriarch Kirill
2020
June 2020
Global platforms against prejudice
Dr. Al-Issa joined German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the AJC Virtual Global Forum opening plenary in June 2020, joining in their call for dialogue and cooperation to create a better, more equal world free of anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and any other form of prejudice. Later that month, he joined Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg in a virtual symposium focused on fighting hate and discrimination.
AJC Global Forum
Anti-hate symposium
2020
November 2020
Research with UN University for Peace: Promote Peace, Human Rights and Civilized Dialogue
Throughout 2020, Dr. Al-Issa oversaw a comprehensive research project in partnership with the United Nations University for Peace, which culminated in a launch of the book “Promote Peace, Human Rights and Civilized Dialogue,” in November 2020. The research project and book included input from 32 prominent religious, political, academic and civil society leaders representing the vast cultural diversity on display around the world. The book outlines a model for achieving stronger international cooperation and uniting the global visions to address some of the world's greatest problems.
UNU for Peace
Book launch
2021
June
Declaration of Peace in Afghanistan
In June 2021, Dr. Al-Issa brokered a groundbreaking agreement between government ministers and senior scholars from Afghanistan and Pakistan. The “Declaration of Peace in Afghanistan” creates a roadmap for reconciliation in the decades-long conflict in Afghanistan.
Peace roadmap
Afghanistan
2022
March
Largest-ever Muslim–Evangelical gatherings in U.S. tour
Most recently, in March 2022, Dr. Al-Issa completed a seven-day visit to three U.S. states as part of an effort to strengthen relations between Muslims and other faith groups. As a part of the Global Faith Forum, Dr. Al-Issa was hosted by Pastor Bob Roberts and the Multi-Faith Neighbors Network, in Dallas, Texas. He later visited thriving evangelical churches in Kansas City, Missouri, and Glenarden, Maryland. The visit represented the largest-ever gathering of Muslims and Evangelicals. He has been chosen as a keynote speaker and exclusive representative of Islam at major international conferences and events.
Global Faith Forum
Multi-Faith Neighbors
2019
May
Historic charter unanimously endorsed by 1,200+ scholars
At the Makkah Conference led by Dr. Al-Issa, attendees representing every sect of Islam endorse the Charter of Makkah, a defining document of modern Islamic thought.
Makkah Conference
1,200 scholars
2019
Month
Vision and precedent
The Charter follows the precedent of the Charter of Medina, emphasizing that diversity is a basis for cooperation, not conflict, and calling for dialogue, understanding and joint action against injustice and oppression.
Charter of Medina
Diversity & dialogue
2019
Month
Key provisions
Commits to combatting hate speech, violence, extremism and terrorism; advancing moderate Islam; protecting the environment and cultural traditions; and affirming national sovereignty alongside interfaith partnership.
Counter-extremism
Interfaith partnership
Environment
Sovereignty