A poem that was circulated on the Internet and allegedly written by the teacher compared the House of God to the actress Lamis and also criticized a number of top Islamic scholars in the Kingdom.

The accused teaches at a Madinah school and was interrogated a few months ago by the PIC on orders from the Ministry of Interior.

Al-Madinah newspaper reported that a number of his colleagues and friends were also subpoenaed by the PIC.

It also said the Department of Education had initially formed a four-member investigation committee a year ago on the orders of then Minister of Education Dr. Abdullah Al-Obaid to interrogate the teacher, who was teaching at a Qur'an memorization school in Al-Hanakiya district of Madinah.

According to the newspaper, the defendant had protested his innocence, telling the committee he never wrote poems.

The teacher said he was willing to accept any punishment if it was proved that it was he who wrote the poem.

Al-Madinah said authorities were not convinced by the outcome of the committee’s investigations and asked the PIC to investigate further.

A source at the Department of Education in Madinah told Arab News that the teacher is still working at the school since he has an otherwise clean record.

He confirmed that his department had previously investigated the case and that it was subsequently transferred to the PIC.

The poem appeared in online forums with the teacher’s name and a photo of a man that strongly resembles him.