saudi arabia's grand mufti, sheikh abdul-aziz ibn abdullah al ash-sheikh, has defended the religious establishment's legitimacy in a public forum, while responding to mounting criticism of the religious leadership's close political alliance with the ruling house of saud. during a question-and-answer session with members of the public and the media, al al-sheikh denied that the government influenced fatwas (religious rulings) and said accusations to the contrary within the media were false: