Saudi Arabia Fired 200 Imams For "Incompetence": Report

RIYADH, May 28 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Saudi
Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, has fired 44 Friday
preachers, 160 imams (prayer leaders) and 149 muezzin
(prayer callers) for being "incompetent" in the past six
months, a newspaper reported Wednesday, May 28.

Saudi officials have said that several hundred preachers
who defied orders not to speak about "sensitive political
issues", especially those which may strain ties with
Washington, were dismissed and prevented from giving
sermons at mosques, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.
Authorities also suspended 1,357 religious officials from
their duties and ordered them to undergo training, Al-Hayat
daily said.

The dismissals took place in accordance with a program
introduced by the ministry of Islamic affairs to boost
performance of mosque employees,Al-Hayat said.

Those suspended from duties include 517 imams, 90 Friday
Muslim callers and 750 muezzin. They have been asked to
undergo "Islamic theological training"to be able to work
more efficiently at mosques.

No External Pressure

The paper quoted head of the ministry program Sheikh Salman
al-Amri as saying the actions were not linked to the recent
suicide bombings in Riyadh or the result of external
pressure.

Saudi Arabia employs some 80,000 people, including
part-time Muslim callers,at tens of thousands of mosques
run by the government.

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United
States, Muslim callers have been repeatedly asked not to
speak about "sensitive political issues", especially those
which may strain ties with Washington.

Saudi officials have said that several hundred Muslim
callers who defied those orders were dismissed and
prevented from giving sermons at mosques.

"Gross" human rights violations in Saudi Arabia: Amnesty
Meanwhile, Amnesty International said in its report for
2002 published Wednesday that "gross" human rights
violations continued in Saudi Arabia,especially in light of
the 9/11 attacks on the United States.

"Gross human rights violations continued and were
exacerbated by the government policy of 'combating
terrorism' in the wake of the September 11,
2001 attacks," Amnesty said.

Saudi-born Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network was
blamed for the attacks in which suicide hijackers slammed
planes into New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon
outside Washington. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were
Saudis.

"The violations were perpetuated by the strictly secretive
criminal justice system and the prohibition of political
parties, trade unions and independent human rights
organizations," Amnesty said.

The report said that "hundreds of suspected religious
activists and critics of the state were arrested and the
legal status of most of those held from previous years
remained shrouded in secrecy.

"Women continued to suffer severe discrimination. Torture
and ill-treatment remained rife. At least 48 people were
executed," it said.

All 48 were sentenced to death after trials "about which
very little was known," while it was unclear how many
prisoners are under the death sentence, it said.


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