Shawki Allam

Allam was born in the Nile Delta governorate of Beheira on 12 August 1961. He received his PhD in 1996 from the Al-Azhar University in Jurisprudence and Sharia law. Before his appointment, he served as the chairman of the Department of Jurisprudence at the School of Sharia at Al-Azhar University's Tanta branch. Allam is a Sufi. ==Appointment==

In February 2013, he was elected by Al Azhar's Council of Senior Scholars replacing outgoing grand Mufti, 61-year-old Ali Gomaa. The bylaws of Al-Azhar say the new Grand Mufti must be under the age of 60, have worked continuously inside the religious establishment following his education, be a scholar of both Jurisprudence and Sharia law, and be fluent in a second language other than Arabic. His office, the Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah (literally, the house of fatwas of Egypt), a government agency charged with issuing religious legal opinions on any question to Muslims who ask for them, issues some 5,000 fatwas a week, including both the official ones that he himself crafts on important issues and the more routine ones handled via phone and Internet by a dozen or so subordinate muftis. In addition to issuing fatwas, the Grand Mufti of Egypt is responsible under Egyptian law for reviewing all death sentences in Egypt. ==Positions==

during the World Sufi Forum in New Delhi. Allam is known as a moderate who renounces fanaticism and does not have any political allegiances. In April 2013, Al Azhar University's Council of Senior Scholars decided to hold elections to replace Al-Azhar University president Usama al-Abd after the same incident. Contrary to the majority of Muslim scholars, Allam believes Muslims can keep dogs as pets. == See also ==