MADINAH — The branch of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance in Madinah has asked all mosque imams to prevent beggars from using the houses of God to practice their trade and urged them to report anyone caught begging to the police. The ministry asked the imams to watch carefully for those who have made begging their profession, to stop them from doing so and to hand them over to the nearest police station for necessary action. The director of the branch ministry, Mohammed Al-Amin Khatri said begging in mosques has become a growing phenomenon, which should be immediately stopped. "Beggars from various nationalities are disturbing worshippers and obstructing their concentration during prayer," he said. Khatri noted that beggars usually enter the mosques or gather at the doors to beg from the congregates who have to take the door while leaving after their prayer. He said the imams were asked not to allow beggars to beg inside the mosques or at the doors in order not to disturb the worshippers. "The houses of God should not be made places for begging. It is the responsibility of the imams to fight this negative activity," he said. Madinah police spokesman Brig. Fahd Bin Amir Al-Ghannam said, when caught, the beggars will be classified at the police station to separate the Saudis from the others. "The Saudis will be sent to the Ministry of Social Affairs to study their cases while the expatriates will be handed over to the passport police for deportation," he explained.
