Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs to visit Arab Republic of Egypt

Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs (Ag MMA) and Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Home Affairs, Assoc Prof Faishal Ibrahim, will be on a working visit to Cairo, Egypt, from 31 October to 2 November 2025. He will be accompanied by senior officials from the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS). The visit, his first to Egypt as Ag MMA, aims to strengthen Singapore’s bilateral engagements with Egypt in Islamic education, scholarship and student development as well as to enhance partnerships for student and asatizah development.

As part of the visit, Assoc Prof Faishal will be making calls to the following key personalities:

• Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Dr Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed Al-Tayyeb,

• The Grand Mufti of Egypt, Dr Nazir Mohamed Ayyad,

• The Minister of Awqaf, Dr Osama Al-Azhary; and

• The President of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif University, Dr Salama Dawood.

Assoc Prof Faishal will also engage Singaporean students in Egypt including Al-Azhar Al-Sharif University to reaffirm MUIS's dedication in supporting their well-being and growth. He will also be visiting the Egyptian Red Cross (ERC) together with delegates from Singapore’s Rahmatan Lil Alamin Foundation (RLAF), as part of RLAF’s Aid for Gaza 2025 fundraising campaign, to review and strengthen the partnership between Singapore and ERC including implementations of various humanitarian projects on the ground in the context of future long-term recovery plans for Gaza.

The MUIS delegation will meet Dr Muhammad Al-Shilani, Director of Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah, to explore curriculum design for the Singapore College of Islamic Studies (SCIS) bachelor's degree programme. Discussions will also cover student immersion opportunities, and potential partnerships in Fatwa Studies specialisation.