User:Mr.work-shy/sandbox-02

Mr.work-shy/sandbox-02
Senior posting
Post	Grand Mufti of South Korea
Website	www.kmf.or.kr

Muhammad Abdul Wahab Zahid Al-Haq (born 1941) is a Syrian-born Islamic scholar who serves as the Grand Mufti of South Korea and is the imam of the Jeonju Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq Mosque in Jeonju.

Early life and education

Zahid Al-Haq was born in Aleppo, Syria in 1941. He studied fiqh and Ḥadīth under Indian scholar Abu Hasan Nadwi in Lucknow, India. He obtained a Master’s degree in Islamic law from Karachi University and a Ph.D. in Comparative Islamic Jurisprudence from Sindh University, Pakistan, with a thesis on the Fiqh of the Four Imams. He then attended the Faculty of Usul al-Din at al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, for advanced studies in Islamic theology.

Career

After graduation, Zahid Al-Haq served as imam at Aleppo’s Al-Bakhti Mosque, taught at the Fatwa Department, and directed a Sharia school in Afrin. He taught Islamic law at Umm al-Qura University in Mecca and Taif University in Saudi Arabia, and led postgraduate studies at Al-Faruqia University, Karachi.

In 1984, responding to a request from the South Korean government via Kuwait’s Ministry of Awqaf, he arrived in Korea as part of a da‘wah mission. In 1985 he co-established the Jeonju Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq Mosque, one of the first purpose-built mosques in Korea, combining traditional Korean and Islamic architecture. He became its imam and focused on religious education and community development.

Grand Mufti of South Korea

Zahid Al-Haq was elected Grand Mufti by a council of imams under the Korea Muslim Federation (KMF), the principal umbrella organisation for Muslims in Korea. As Grand Mufti since January 2015, he is the highest Sunni authority in South Korea, providing fatwā, advising on religious matters, and settling fiqh disputes.

Community contributions and initiatives

Zahid Al-Haq has authored over 30 publications in Arabic, English and Korean on jurisprudence, Ḥadīth and da‘wah, including guides on fasting, Hajj, and interfaith relations. He conducts Arabic classes and public lectures, under which numerous Koreans have embraced Islam.

Since 2024 the Muslim World League has supported his salary and mission, following earlier sponsorship by Kuwait’s Ministry of Awqaf. He continues to advocate for increased preacher deployment to Korea, describing it as an "untapped land for da‘wah."

Interfaith and international engagement

During the 1st World Interfaith Harmony Week at the United Nations in Seoul in February 2011, he spoke on the “brotherhood of humanity,” representing Korean Muslims. He has coordinated Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages for Korean believers and liaised with international Islamic bodies. The Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosts annual Ramadan Iftar dinners, often attended by the Grand Mufti.