During the Security and History Dialogue 2026 in Riyadh, organized by the Ministry of Interior under the theme "Our History and Our Future.. Security and Prosperity," Sheikh Dr. Fahd bin Saad Al-Majid, Secretary-General of the Senior Scholars Commission and the Permanent Committee for Fatwa, emphasized the institution's pivotal role in fortifying intellectual security and preserving the Kingdom's social fabric, asserting that a trusted institutional religious reference is the cornerstone for shielding young minds from extremist rhetoric that seeks to destabilize nations.
Al-Majid traced the Commission's trajectory over more than two decades in addressing contemporary intellectual challenges and dismantling distorted concepts, recalling its firm religious edict during the 1990 Kuwait occupation that helped calm public opinion, as well as its decisive statements condemning terrorism following the September 11 attacks, which criminalized such acts and combated their financing and ideological justifications.
He further explained how extremist groups like Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and the Muslim Brotherhood have manipulated religious terms such as "jihad" and "loyalty and disavowal," stripping them from their proper jurisprudential context to lure youth into violence, while the Commission and the Permanent Committee have worked to clarify these concepts and their authentic legal parameters, thereby thwarting purveyors of discord.
The influence of these fatwas extends beyond Saudi borders, serving as a regional and international safeguard for Muslim communities, given the Kingdom's status as custodian of the holy mosques, with the Commission's positions during the Arab Spring upheavals contributing to public awareness of sedition risks and protecting social systems from collapse, thereby reinforcing the Kingdom's leadership in countering ideological extremism and promoting moderation worldwide.
Concluding his remarks, Al-Majid stressed that Saudi society's cohesion and unity around its leadership and religious institutions form an impregnable barrier against internal and external attempts at division, noting that cultural and intellectual diversity across the Kingdom's regions merges within a unified national identity, and that confidence in the trusted religious reference ensures the continuation of development in a secure and stable environment aligned with the Kingdom's ambitious vision.