Abdo Khal Okaz The fight that took place among devotees at Al-Firdous Mosque in Riyadh following the Friday sermon further confirms the fact that mosques are often unregulated. There are imams (preachers) who are not properly educated and do not have sufficient knowledge of the political, philosophical or economic realities of life. Regardless, these imams do not shy away from talking about such issues and tend to forget that times have changed and that some of the attendees may be more knowledgeable than them even in religious matters. During his sermon in the Al-Firdous Mosque, the imam did not realize that he was agitating people with inflammatory statements. Those in the congregation are usually a mixture of people with different political beliefs that should not be attacked. Controversial issues should not be tackled by the imams so as to preserve peace among all people in the mosque. Climbing up the dais, many imams blurt out things without realizing their inherent danger. They talk without depth about certain issues and without any consideration for the feelings of those in attendance. They speak on controversial issues in which political, economic, social and cultural factors intertwine, and end up making matters worse. In recent years, we have become accustomed to some imams talking about controversial issues in their sermons. Not only do they pass judgments, they would go further to abuse the people they were talking about whether they were individuals or groups. The simplest term an imam may use to describe a man or a woman not of his liking is that he or she is immoral or indulges in debauchery. He will then use another popular accusation and that is of being Westernized, meaning that they have sold themselves to the West. He may be discussing issues which have no direct relevance to the attendees. What does it mean for an imam to accuse anyone of debauchery just because he does not agree with him politically? Why do the imams want to impose their political beliefs on the congregation? There is no purpose in all of this except to turn people against each other. Such an imam lacks the language of tolerance. He is also poor in social ethics. The mosque is a place for unity and harmony, and not disparity and antagonism. Why dothe imams not follow the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)? Though the Prophet knew the hypocrites by name, he never abused them during his sermons. Why do these imams learn not to be nice to people? Do they believe that they are free to say whatever they want just because they have complete dominance over the dais? The imams should realize that during the olden days mosques played the role of the Council of Ministers of our present time. This was because the imam was none other than the ruler or the caliph himself. Whatever he said was to be followed by people. With the expansion of the Islamic World and the construction of mosques in all corners, the rulers were no longer imams. They abandoned this role to ordinary scholars. Some imams have taken advantage of their positions to say unacceptable things and to accuse those with whom they do not agree as being immoral or corrupt. The new trend is that some imams will discuss current political issues in a manner in which many of us do not agree. They expect all to agree with their political views and to say amen to anything they may utter.
