MAKKAH, 10 May 2008 — Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance Saleh Al-Ashaikh said that imams and Friday preachers in the Kingdom’s mosques do not deal with the topic of terror and extremism in their speeches unless ordered to by the ministry.

“Khatibs only speak about the need to shun misguided ideologies and terrorism when they receive instructions from the ministry. They do not discuss the subject until another instruction is issued,” said Al-Ashaikh. “This is not the right method. A preacher should know that it is his religious duty to speak out against terror and misguided ideologies as he is aware of what the Shariah says on the matter,” Al-Ashaikh said.

“Their attitude is wrong. Preachers should be spurred by their conscience and act with a sense of responsibility without waiting for a circular from the ministry to discuss the issue,” he said. “When a preacher believes in what he is saying and is in the need of uprooting extremist ideologies his words will be sincere and strongly influence the people,” he added.

In a related development, Mustafa Makhdoum, dean of the Higher Institute for Imams and Khatibs at Taiba University, said the institute aims to produce a generation of moderate religious preachers who would be skilled in modern methods of communication. Speaking at a function to mark a two-week course for imams and preachers in Taif on Wednesday, Makhdoum said, “The graduates of the institute are known for being moderate and their ability to influence people. They warn people of the dangers of extremist and misguided ideologies.

“The institute strives to remove misunderstandings in the mindset of traditional preachers besides helping them acquire modern skills of communication, thus enabling them to present their ideas in an effective style.”

He added that 55 imams and preachers, and a number of members from the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice attended the course.

The dean stressed the need to appoint full-time preachers at mosques who would be able to devote their full attention to their congregation. He added that there was a need to put preachers through workshops and orientation courses.

“Preachers should understand contemporary issues and be able to identify the problems faced by different levels of the people,” he said.