Saudi Gazette According to a report in Al-Watan Arabic daily 75,000 mosques in the Kingdom lack either maintenance, an imam or a mu'ezzin. Another major problem is that some of the imams fail to fulfill their religious duties; they do not show up on time for the daily prayers. They pick a substitute of their own accord to fill in for them, and most of the time these replacements do not even meet the qualifications required of an imam. Some mosques are clearly void of any cleanliness and maintenance services and their bathrooms are appalling. The Ministry of Islamic Affairs is working hard to serve the houses of Allah and ensure their cleanliness and appearance. The ministry assigns a janitor or signs a contract with a sanitation company to look after the mosques. However, due to the enormous number of mosques under its umbrella, they are clearly falling short of employees. Only 28% of the Kingdom's mosques are benefiting from the current budget for the maintenance of mosques, which we hope will increase in the near future. Many neighborhood mosques are kept clean by volunteers or the appointment of a janitor whose salary is paid by generous residents in the neighborhood,” said Al-Sudairi. The Ministry of Islamic Affairs will employ supervisors to ensure smooth functioning of the mosque. The supervisors will be required to inspect the cleanliness, maintenance needs and all other activities at the mosques apart from penalizing the imams, who send someone else in their place to perform their responsibilities. The Deputy Minsiter of Islamic Affairs for Mosques Affairs, Dr. Tawfiq Al-Sudairi, called the Ministry to increase the budget allocated for the cleanliness and maintenance of mosques in the Kingdom. He observed that the mosques are in dire need of funds because the current budget for the maintenance of mosques is quite low. “There has been an increase in the number of mosques built by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs to cater to the population growth and the development of remote areas on the outskirts of the cities. It is becoming increasingly difficult for the ministry to keep up with the maintenance of the progressively growing number of mosques. Therefore, the Ministry has laid down strict regulations and conditions for the construction of any new mosque. For example: no mosque can be built until it is proven that there is no other mosque present in that given neighborhood and that the proposed mosque can be easily accessed by the neighborhood's residents,” said Al-Sudairi. A comprehensive study by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs will tally the total number of mosques in the Kingdom so that necessary measures can be taken; that is to ensure an imam and a mu'ezzin, who are deeply committed to their duties, for each mosque. A qualified non-Saudi who meets the criteria and requirements for a mu'ezzin will also be appointed to help fill in the vacancies of this position in the Kingdom's mosques. __
