The recent move by Ministry of Islamic Affairs to regulate the provisions of Iftar meals at mosques during Ramadan has evoked negative reaction from religious personages and the general public. Such a step will weaken the confidence between the Ministry of Islamic Affairs and the mosques' Imams, scholars say. “People working in the mosques who collect charities for Iftar meals are well known and trustworthy; but the decision of the ministry will treat them as suspected persons,” said Khaled Al-Remaihi, Secretary General of the International Authority for New Muslims and Imam at Naser Al-Assaf mosque in Jeddah's Al-Khalidiyah District. Al-Remaihi said the Ministry of Islamic Affairs should have organizational functions and not executive ones. “The ministry does not know every poor family in the Kingdom; a mosque's Imam will know all such families in the district his mosques is located,” he said. He said the ministry can prepare a list of requirements that should be fulfilled by mosques for Iftar meals. “For instance, mosques can be asked to submit a hygiene certificate from the restaurant they order food from,” Al-Remaihi said. “A supervisor can be assigned to each mosque to control distribution of meals during Ramadan,” he added. Al-Remaihi said the Ministry should cooperate with charity organizations to identify needy families and provide them with Iftar meals at their home. “This will benefit women and children who find it difficult to visit mosques,” he said. He said every year around 300 Muslims are provided with free meals in Al-Assaf Mosque. “We had also assigned an expert to test the meals before serving,” Al-Remaihi said. “The Ministry of Islamic Affairs must work with district mayors to be accurate in distributing meals among the poor families,” said Abdulrahman Al-Usail, Religion and International Studies professor in King Fahad University. He said the Ministry is not fully staffed or skilled to perform the task. “This step is a follow-up on their previous step banning collection of charities in mosques to identify people who are benefiting from the charity, thereby ensuring that misguided elements are not receiving any help,” he said. Mohammed Nasir, an Indian driver who takes his Iftar meals in Al-Khirat mosque throughout Ramadan, said the ministry's decision was unfair. “It has become very difficult now when food prices have increased; I cannot pay for Iftar meals everyday if a rice bag costs over SR100 when I earn only SR300 a month,” he said. __
