Ministry of Endowment, Mosques, Call and Guidance officials in Jeddah and Rafha have warned mosque imams to fully commit to their duties during the month of Ramadan or else face action from the ministry. Fuhaid Al-Bargi, department director of the ministry in Jeddah, said mosques would be continually monitored for any failure on the part of imams in their duties, cited particularly their abiding by the “adhan” and prayer timings as defined by the Umm Al-Qura calendar, and adhering to regulations limiting the volume of mosque loudspeakers. Ahmad Al-Shammari, ministry's department director in Rafha, said that any imam found deserting his duties in the last ten days of Ramadan to perform Umrah pilgrimage would see action taken against him, and added that it was also the responsibility of imams to tackle begging inside mosques.
