With permission from the Commander of the Faithful, His Majesty King Mohammed VI, President of the Mohammed VI Foundation of African Oulema – may God be with Him – the city of Fez will host the fifth annual regular session of the Foundation’s Higher Council, on 23-25 Jumada I, 1445H, corresponding to 6-8 December 2023. The meeting will be attended by 300 presidents and members of the Foundation’s sections from 34 African countries, including 50 female scholars. 17 Moroccan scholars, who are members of the Council, will also attend the meeting, including 4 female scholars.

The Foundation has sections in the following African countries are: the Republic of Niger, the Republic of Kenya, the Republic of Somalia, the Republic of Burkina Faso, the Republic of Chad, the Republic of the Comoros, the Republic of Benin, the Republic of the Gambia, the Republic of Mali, the Republic of Djibouti, the Republic of Angola, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Gabon, Republic of Ethiopia, Republic of Sierra Leone, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, the Republic of Madagascar, the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Republic of Rwanda, the Republic of South Africa, the Republic of Senegal, the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, the Republic of Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of Togo, the Republic of Sao Tome, the Republic of Liberia, the Republic of Ghana, the Republic of Guinea, the Federal Republic of Tanzania, the Republic of Sudan, the Republic of Uganda and the Republic of Malawi.

During this session, 14 new sections will join the Foundation, representing the following countries:

1. The Republic of Burundi
2. The Republic of Botswana
3. The Republic of the Congo
4. The Republic of Cape Verde
5. The Kingdom of Eswatini
6. The Republic of Equatorial Guinea
7. The Kingdom of Lesotho
8. The Republic of Mauritius
9. The Republic of Mozambique
10. The Republic of Namibia
11. The Republic of South Sudan
12. The Republic of Seychelles
13. The Republic of Zambia
14. The Republic of Zimbabwe

The convening of this session falls within the framework of implementing the provisions of amended Article 4 of Royal Decree No. 1.15.75, dated 7 Ramadan 1436H (24 June 2015), providing for the setting up of the Mohammed VI Foundation of African Oulema. It stipulates for the following:

• Pool and coordinate the efforts of African scholars, in the Kingdom of Morocco as well as in the other African countries, in order to shed light on the pristine values of Islam, and disseminate and strengthen them;
• Undertake any initiatives likely to promote the tolerant values of the faith in any reform Africa depends on, whether at continental level or at the level of each country;
• Promote the intellectual, scientific and cultural movement in African Islamic sectors;
• Consolidate the historical relations existing between the Kingdom of Morocco and the rest of Africa and seek to develop and expand them;
• Revitalize the common African-Islamic cultural heritage by making it better known, disseminating it, and seeking to safeguard and preserve it.

During this session, the official report on the Foundation’s activities for the year 2022 and a summary of the Foundation’s activities for the year 2023 will be presented by the Foundation’s General Secretariat. The projects and activities scheduled for the year 2024 will be introduced, discussed and adopted by the Foundation’s four Standing Committees, namely:

• The Scientific and Cultural Activities Committee;
• The Sharia Studies Committee;
• The Committee for the Revival of the African Islamic Heritage;
• The Communication, Cooperation and Partnerships Committee.

At the end of the session, the final declaration of the Foundation’s Higher Council will be presented, together with the recommendations of the four Standing Committees.

It should be pointed out that on the sidelines of this session, the Mohammed VI Foundation of African Oulema will hold a ceremony on Friday 25 Jumada I, 1445H, corresponding to 8 December 2023, in the library of the Al-Qarawiyin Mosque, for the official announcement of the African Oulema Charter. This doctrinal guide will serve as a reference document for the promotion of the foundation’s scholarly work, while also taking care of its scholars and achieving the Foundation’s goals.

In addition, prizes will be awarded to the winners in the finals of the Mohammed VI Foundation of African Oulema’s Fourth Competition in the memorization, recitation and psalmody of the holy Qur’an, which took place online in the city of Fez on 10-12 Ramadan 1444H (1-3 April 2023) via the Zoom platform.

There will be three winners in each competition category, namely: memorization of the entire Qur’an with recitation according to the narration of Warsh, on the authority of Nafi’; complete memorization with recitation using the other narrations; psalmody with memorization of five hizb. Similarly, an honorary prize will be awarded to the youngest female reciter and the youngest male reciter.