The Islamic world should establish a Fatwa Council for AI

The Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence is the world's first graduate university dedicated to AI. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

The Islamic world, home to nearly two billion people, represents not only one of the largest global communities, but one of the youngest. In many Muslim-majority countries, more than 60 per cent of the population is under 30 years of age. By 2030, Muslims will make up more than 25 per cent of the global population, based on UN data. That demographic future is now colliding with another unstoppable force: artificial intelligence.

AI is not simply a new technology – it is the new language of power. As it rapidly transforms how we work, learn, govern and live, Muslim societies face a stark choice: shape the system or be shaped by it. Muslim societies must not repeat the mistake of being passive adopters of technological innovations such as smart phones and social media designed elsewhere. We must participate in the architectural design of the digital world and ensure that our cultural, legal and ethical DNA is encoded into its foundations.

And yet, we are already falling behind.

More than 89 per cent of AI training data today comes from English-language sources. Islamic perspectives on ethics, finance, governance, gender and education are practically absent from the datasets feeding today’s most powerful AI models. The consequence is not just cultural erasure, it is algorithmic bias with real-world impact. Hijab-wearing women are likely to be misidentified by facial recognition tools. Islamic financial institutions can find it difficult to adopt credit-scoring models trained on interest-based frameworks. Generative AI platforms routinely exclude, misinterpret or marginalise Islamic content in education and the media.

This is not merely a technical issue. It is a strategic risk for the Islamic world – and a historic opportunity.

There needs to be an AI Fatwa Council – a multidisciplinary body of scholars, technologists and ethicists that can provide authoritative guidance on how to govern, apply and develop artificial intelligence in accordance with Islamic values. This is not to limit innovation but to accelerate it responsibly.

Islamic jurisprudence has always embraced the intersection of ethics and technology, from rulings on in vitro fertilisation, and organ transplants to blockchain and digital currencies. It is now time to do the same for AI.

The council’s scope would be broad and future-facing. Should AI be allowed to lead prayer in remote areas where no imam is available? How can AI-generated Quran recitation or digital fatwa services be regulated? Can generative AI models be certified for use in Islamic education, finance or media? What does a halal algorithm look like for dating apps, zakat distribution or even environmental monitoring?

Islamic perspectives on ethics, finance, governance, gender and education are practically absent from the datasets feeding today’s most powerful AI models

This is not theoretical. Around the world, AI is already making decisions – in hospitals, banks, courts and classrooms. Without proactive guidance, Muslim communities risk becoming consumers of values embedded by others. If we do not build our own models, we will inherit the blind spots of someone else’s code.

The GCC is ideally positioned to lead this initiative. Consider the momentum – the UAE has established the world’s first graduate university dedicated to AI, launched national AI strategies and invested heavily in AI-native firms like G42. The country has appointed AI advisers to public entities and integrated AI in national planning across sectors from justice to education.

Saudi Arabia is using AI at scale in Neom, through its National Data Management Office, and through initiatives such as the Global AI Summit. Qatar has incorporated AI into its 2030 National Vision, created an AI Policy Framework through the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, and is investing in Arabic-language large language models for regional relevance.

Together, these nations possess the credibility, capital and computational capacity to build the world’s first halal AI ecosystem, one that is rooted in Islamic values but designed for global relevance.

The AI Fatwa Council could serve as a global benchmark for digital ethics, working in parallel with international bodies such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and Unesco, while addressing the unique jurisprudential questions of the Muslim world. It could incubate Arabic-language datasets, provide ethical certifications, train scholars in AI fluency, and launch AI educational platforms blending religious knowledge with data science.

This is not about nostalgia or conservatism. It is about building a future that reflects our values. If we want tomorrow’s AI to respect the Islamic worldview, we must engage today, not just with scripture, but with source code.

The Prophet Mohammed urged us to “seek knowledge, even if it be in China”. In 2025, that knowledge is encoded in neural networks and algorithms. And if we do not write ourselves into the architecture of the digital age, we will find ourselves written out. If we don’t define the values of AI, others will.