Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Ministry of Islamic Affairs Investigates Imam of Sabireen Mosque in Jeddah | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Tweets of Sabireen Mosque Imam


Riyadh – The Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance summoned Imam and muezzin of al-Sabireen mosque on the case of a video that surfaced on the social media showing a number of people singing inside the mosque.

The ministry said in its summon that there are some illegal practices inside the mosque.

The video showed a number of people dancing to the sound of Shelat. Shelat is a kind of songs that uses human sound effects instead of musical rhythms. Shelat legality is still being discussed among scholars, but what angered Saudis is the fact that it happened inside a mosque.

Deputy Minister of Islamic Affairs Tawfiq al-Sudairi told Asharq al-Awsat that the imam of the mosque risks a possible suspension if the the Shariah Advisory Council (SAC) head by scholars decided to.

General Manager of Ministry of Islamic Affairs in Makkah Ali al-Abdali said that such behaviors are no compatible with the house of god and mosques should only be used for the reason they were intended for.

Abdali said that in such cases, the committee might recommend removal from position. He added that both the Imam and muezzin will be summoned by the Shariah Advisory Council (SAC) on Monday.

For his part, Sabireen Mosque Imam Gashmir al-Qerni said on his Twitter account that the dancing was done without his knowledge and he only knew about it recently. He added that the human sound effects that were during the songs are a debatable subject among scholars.