Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat- The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz dismissed yesterday, Sheikh Dr. Saad bin Nasir bin Abdulaziz Alshithri, a member of the Senior Ulema (Islamic Scholars) Commission and the commission-affiliated Standing Committee of Research and Fatwa (Edict).

Alshithri came under wide public scrutiny after appearing on an Islamic television program criticizing the recently launched King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) for allowing men and women to take classes together.