Grand Mufti of Australia

Grand Mufti of Australia is a Sunni Muslim cleric, or Grand Mufti , chosen to represent and answer questions from the growing Muslim population. Nominated by the Australian National Imams Council (ANIC), the current Grand Mufti of Australia since 2018 is Ibrahim Abu Mohammed . Mohammed previously held the position from 2011–2018, and became Grand Mufti again after his successor, Abdel Aziem Al-Afifi died in office after a four-month tenure. ANIC's vision with the Grand Mufti was to unite the Australian Islamic community under a single leader and promote harmony and integration between Muslims and non-Muslims. The Mufti has a responsibility to issue fatwas , which are formal verdicts regarding Islamic law, in response to a question posed by a private individual or judge. The practicality of a Grand Mufti in Australia has been criticised by scholars such as Abdalla (2011), who states that a singular mufti only offers the mainstream interpretation of Islam, and that this is unrepresentative of the diverse Australian Islamic community. He proposes the formation of a council of imams from different traditions such as Shia , Zaidi and Ismaili , and specialists in medicine, law and finance, stating this would be better source of guidance for Australian Muslims. Ijtihād and its relevance to Muslims in Australia (MSc).