The Board of Senior Ulema is scheduled to meet at the end of the month to discuss the consolidation and centeralization of fatwas – religious rulings or edicts – in the Kingdom. According to Al-Watan newspaper, the Board, which is concerned at the increase in the number of fatwas being pronounced on satellite television channels and Internet websites, is seeking to limit the task to only those who are qualified and authorized. “The Board of Senior Ulema will meet on Jan. 31 to study the centeralization of fatwas, but we can't say if the issue will be resolved in the same session or in following sessions,” said Sheikh Abdullah Al-Hamoud, Director of the Religious Research Administration. Board member Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Dawoud, however, told Al-Watan that he knew nothing of the move. “I don't know anything about the issue of unification of fatwas. The only person authorized to be asked of the matter is the Kingdom's Grand Mufti,” Al
