Saudi Arabia has appointed a prominent scholar as the kingdom's top religious cleric about a month after the previous grand mufti died.

King Salman issued a royal decree appointing Saleh bin Fawzan al-Fawzan as the grand mufti.

The decision came after a recommendation by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Al-Fawzan, 90, was born in al-Qassim province and has been a member of the Council of Senior Scholars and the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta since 1992.

Ifta is the process of issuing a legal ruling, or fatwa, on a point of Islamic law.

The grand mufti in Muslim-dominated countries interprets Islamic laws and issues fatwas, which are religious edicts.

Al-Fawzan is well-known and has previously stirred controversy with his views.

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