Al-Sudairi: Friday sermon should be free of politics

RIYADH: Deputy Minister of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance Dr. Tawfiq Al-Sudairi warned all preachers about the use of Friday sermons to spread political messages, noting that the responsibility of preachers is to ensure that political issues do not find their way into sermons.
He said the role and responsibility of the Friday preacher is to ensure that the sermon promotes religious guidance and awareness, and remind people of the pillars of Islam.
Any preacher that violates this responsibility will be held accountable, he said, because the ministry does not side with anyone who uses his religious position to sow dissension between members of the community.
Al-Sudairi stressed that the ministry follows up closely on these issues and monitors mosque officials and Friday sermons through assigned monitors, as well as investigates all complaints and alerts received from citizens and residents. He reminded members of the community that the ministry’s door is open and that it receives all comments or feedback.
“If the ministry proves that a preacher violated these roles, it will take appropriate measures, according to the case, which may include signing a pledge, issuing a warning, or temporarily or permanently stopping the preacher from giving sermons,” he said.
“The ministry trusts its preachers because they are capable of shouldering their responsibility and are qualified.” He said preachers are selected in accordance with specific conditions and requirements stipulated in the regulations, which include passing a personal interview with the advisory committee at the ministry’s branches to identfy the applicants’ abilities to give Friday sermons.




He added that there is no human work without errors, but any such errors and violations will be dealt with accordingly.