JEDDAH, 17 April 2005 — A regulation allowing only qualified female preachers to lecture in schools is now being strictly enforced.
Preachers are not allowed to lecture in schools unless they have a permit from the Ministry of Islamic Affairs and Endowments based on standard regulations for the qualifications of guest speakers in schools.
During the past three years the regulation has been more diligently followed, especially regarding preachers in mosques who claimed to be qualified for school lectures.
Three years ago the Ministry of Education reinstated the regulation that schools cannot invite an Islamic scholar to lecture students unless he has a permit from the Ministry of Islamic Affairs. Previously, Islamic education teachers in the schools or from outside could hold lectures once the school principal got permission for the lecture from the Education Supervisory Administration.
“We list the names of preachers in all the schools, colleges and institutions and send it to the Ministry of Islamic Affairs to review their qualifications,” Muneera Al-Masoud from the media relations unit at the Education Administration in Jeddah, told Arab News.
The preachers are then issued the permit to lecture in girls’ schools if they have the required permit from the ministry. Although this is not a new regulation, it is now being more strictly enforced due to concerns over sermons by unqualified preachers.
