The General Secretariat of the Saudi Council of Senior Scholars said on Monday that the call to establish a new Islamic school of thought is “unrealistic and lacks objectivity.” Islamic Fiqh or jurisprudence, with its various recognized sects and legal interpretations, responds to all demands of modern life and balances between its needs and Islamic Sharia, it added. This is emphasized by scholarly bodies and jurisprudence groups that practice collective “ijtihad”, it went on to say. “God has blessed Muslims with the ease of collective ijtihad through these bodies that positively respond to the needs of society, its knowledge, social and economic development,” it stressed. The hundreds of decisions that have been issued by the groups in various fields are evidence of this, it said.