At the same time, the Friday sermon is a means of linking people to the realities of life by tackling their day-to-day problems. Sources at the Ministry of Islamic Affairs claim that there are imams who harbor extremist views and express them in their sermons. The sources said the ministry had advised a number of imams who showed signs of fanaticism to abandon this road and come back to moderation.
Why don’t we solve these problem once and for all by unifying the Friday sermon in all our mosques? Why can’t well-qualified specialists prepare these sermons in advance?
It is true that there are enlightened imams who are knowledgeable and responsible. This does not negate the fact that a large number of our imams are uneducated and uncultured and who lack the necessary charisma to attract the attention of the worshippers. We are obliged to listen to them just as a matter of duty.
I agree with Abdullah Faadaq, the researcher and preacher, who said: “Regrettably, we are now listening to sermons that agitate people against each other. We have to control this process by unifying the Friday sermons at least in some towns and villages where there are weak imams. The written text will train the imams on how to write a good sermon.”
I know this may be difficult at first, especially that the Kingdom has about 50,000 mosque imams. The size of the Kingdom makes this more difficult. But this shouldn’t matter because we must do something to ensure that the Friday sermon does not lose its religious value.
Some people may say that worshippers differ from place to place and so do their problems. This opinion was expressed by Shoura Council member Azib Al-Misbal. He believes that the Friday sermon is a religious and social message to the people which should suit the needs of the target audience. He says the problems of city residents are different from those in the rural area. Problems in Jeddah and Dammam may not be similar. Nevertheless the ethics and values that are instilled by Friday sermons are the same everywhere. The day-to-day problems that may differ from one place to another may also have some similarities.
For instance, the call for the conscientious consumption of water and electricity is the same, whether you live in Jeddah, Dammam, Madinah or Taif. We are living in a country in which problems are similar everywhere. They may, however, differ in magnitude and may need different solutions. So whatever is suitable here is also good there.
As the Friday sermon is a religious and a social duty, it is important the message reaches everyone. If some imams are unable to get on with this program, we should work to bring them on board.
