The imams will not be sent written scripts. They may give impromptu speeches as long as they do not deviate from the official theme.
Source/Credit: WorldWide Religious News
By Ahmed Maher / BBC | January 31, 2014
Mosques across Egypt have witnessed the first Friday sermon on a set theme chosen by the government as part of newly introduced controls on Muslim places of worship.
The policy is controversial in a country that is deeply polarised after the army overthrew President Mohammad Morsi last year after mass protests, amid deep resentment against his single year in power.
The Ministry of Religious Endowments is the official Egyptian body which will decide what imams or preachers should tell the millions who attend the weekly prayers, known in Arabic as salat al-jummah. Attendance is obligatory within Islam for Muslims without a valid excuse such as sickness.
Starting from Friday 31 January, all Egyptian mosques are to abide by the weekly topic posted on the ministry's website.
Discipline
The imams will not be sent written scripts. They may give impromptu speeches as long as they do not deviate from the official theme.
....
Preachers at state mosques who disobey would face disciplinary action or sacking.
Private mosques are threatened with annexation by the ministry if they do not toe the line.
The theme for the first sermon was the importance of redeveloping squatter settlements and helping the poor.
The following week's sermon, on 7 February, will centre on "the role of youths in society".
It is hard to tell whether all mosques in the Arab world's most populous country have obeyed the new instructions.
It is also too early and rather difficult to assess whether the ministry will be able to enforce the decision on tens of thousands of mosques nationwide with only a limited number of inspectors.
Other newly introduced state controls over mosques include restricting the weekly sermon to clerics appointed by the authorities - who must be graduates of al-Azhar University [one of the main centres of Sunni Muslim learning].
Thousands of unlicensed prayer rooms in apartment buildings across the country are to be closed.
Spiritual matters
Supporters of the state guidance consider it necessary to stop preachers from stirring political tension.
They argue that the job of the imam or preacher should be confined to spiritual matters and social problems, and steer clear of politics.
"Muslim Brotherhood preachers have used the pulpits to spread their political opinions and incite violence against the army and security forces," said Ahmed Abdel Mohsen, a 37-year-old lawyer.
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'Manipulation'
Hisham Hanafi, a 31-year-old accountant, says the weekly Friday sermon has a huge amount of influence on people in Egypt.
He thinks that many people in the country could be easily manipulated through religious discourse, due to high rates of illiteracy.
"The imam is the first person they go to when they want to know what's right and wrong.
"One Friday sermon has an impact far bigger than media personalities and the torrent of talk shows," he noted.
For Mr Hanafi, the set sermon themes mark a return to the Mubarak era of state control and scrutiny over mosques.
"The clock has already turned back to the days before 2011 when the state security agencies were dictating the terms and conditions on the imams to protect the regime against mounting public anger.
"And the ongoing crackdown on free speech is an emphatic case in point," he said.
Read original post here: Egypt mosques: Weekly sermon themes set by government
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