NEWS

Imams prolonging prayers taken to task

                                                                                                

MAKKAH: The acting director of a branch of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs Endowments,Call and Guidance in Makkah province, Bakr bin Hamid Mir, has criticized the prolonging of prayer in Makkah mosques and said the imams have been advised not to do so.

In a statement published Saturday by Al-Madinah Arabic daily, the official also said the ministry has noted that some loudspeakers were not closed while the sermons were being delivered and lessons being imparted during the holy month of Ramadan. “The ministry will direct these mosques to comply with the rules.”

He said the remarks and observations of the ministry were conveyed to imams and khatibs of mosques in the holy city.

Mir said when the ministry receives complaints that the sound from the a mosque’s loudspeakers is extremely loud, it will send its technicians to adjust the sound system.

“There have been some complaints from people living near mosques about the loudness and on occasions the lack of volume of the speakers from the mosques. In many cases, the sound is normal and the complaints are unjustified. But if it is blaring, then it is regulated. When the sound is low, we receive complaints that people cannot hear clearly, then we tell the imams to fine-tune the sound so as to help people hear the call to prayer,” he said.

According to the acting director, there are 1,400 government-run and 500 privately-funded mosques in Makkah. The ministry supervises the private mosques.