Imams told to stick to standard Friday sermon

All imams of mosques in the UAE have been asked to adhere to the standard Friday sermon given to them every week by the Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Awqaf.

A ministry circular, also asks imams to stick to the time frame and not exceed the 30 minutes set aside for Friday sermon at prayer time. The directive asks all imams to take time reviewing the sermon sent and memorising the words. But it said they will not be permitted to go beyond the text.

It urges Imams to deliver their address without referring to the papers and said they should not weave in irrelevant information, or make judgments in the sermon. Nor will they be allowed to add information of their own.

A senior official from Ras Al Khaimah's Department of Islamic Affairs and Endowment said that the emirate has 150 mosques, the largest number in the UAE.

He pointed out that most of these mosques are small and can only accommodate 200-300 people. So, a prolonged Friday sermon could create discomfort, he said.

He added that each imam is also given large speakers to amplify his address and prayers, and said these could sometimes disturb prayers at other mosques in the neighbourhood if imams were allowed to elaborate on the given sermon.

But he did say that the department in the emirate faced difficulties getting the Friday sermon across to imams of mosques in remote areas on time.

In this case, the department will only intimate them about the theme of the sermon and those imams will prepare their address strictly on that theme.