The Grand Mufti appears regularly on TV, where he answers the public's questions on Islam. The Grand Mufti declared in the midst of the Arab Spring that gyms and health clubs were "dens of vice", and should be closed down. He also urged the government to ban alcohol in Oman, one of the more liberal states in the Arabian Peninsula. However, he is a strong advocate for religious tolerance and works hard to ensure harmony between the different religious schools of thought in Oman. Al-Khalili is one of the Ulama signatories of the Amman Message, which gives a broad foundation for defining Muslim orthodoxy.
Life
Ahmed bin Hamad Al-Khalili was born on the island of Zanzibar on 27 July 1942, when Zanzibar was still under the rule of the al-Said sultans who originated from Oman. His tribal home is the town of Bahla. As a child he studied at Qur'anic schools on the island of Zanzibar from which he graduated at the age of 9 years old, having memorised the Quran. He then followed the teachings of several prominent clerics, including Sheikh Issa bin Saeed Al Ismaili, Sheikh Hamoud bin Saeed Al Kharusi and Sheikh Ahmed bin Zahran Al Riyami. He also attended the workshops of Abu Ishaq Ibrahim Tfayyesh when he visited Zanzibar. Sheikh Ahmed did not go to a secular school, but devoted himself to reading and learning. Along with his studies, he assisted his father in the field of trade in Zanzibar until the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution ended monarchical rule in Zanzibar. Sheikh Ahmed, with his father and many of those with Omani heritage, emigrated to Oman. The Sheikh returned with his father to the wilayat of Bahla in Oman. He was asked to teach at the Bahla Mosque, and did so for ten months. He was then appointed as a teacher at the Al Khor Mosque in Muscat until 1971. In 1971 he was appointed a judge at the Court of Appeal; he continued his studies at the same time. He was then appointed Director of the Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, and in 1395, a royal decree appointed him the Grand Mufti of the Sultanate of Oman, the highest Islamic authority in Oman, after the death of the scholar Sheikh Ibrahim bin Said Al Abri.
