Shawki Allam

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. This makes the first time that the Grand Mufti has been elected by Islamic scholars rather than appointed by the president.

Allam is known as a moderate who renounces fanaticism and does not have any political allegiances. In March 2013, he issued a statement warning that any attack on the Al-Azhar Institution or its head, the Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayeb "undermines Egypt's security" and called on all complaints against Al-Azhar "to be addressed with legitimate and peaceful means." This announcement came after 500 students fell ill with food poisoning in a dormitory at Al Azhar University 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.

Shawki Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam (Arabic: شوقي إبراهيم عبد الكريم علّام ‎) is the 19th and current Grand Mufti of Egypt through Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah succeeding Ali Gomaa.

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.