Imam uses ambulance to address worshippers

Manama: When the residents of a small village south of Taif in western Saudi Arabia went to the open air grounds to perform the Eid prayers, they thought everything was well in order to start the auspicious day.

However, when the imam took up his position at the front to lead the prayers and deliver two short sermons, he discovered there was no microphone to help carry his voice to the hundreds of worshippers gathered in the open space.

Several ideas were floated to overcome the embarrassment and save the situation, and the imam finally chose to deliver the sermons through the loudspeaker of the ambulance parked in the area for emergency cases.

A picture of the imam addressing the worshippers through the ambulance microphone went viral on the social media, prompting angry reactions by users who called for an investigation into the matter and for action against those who failed in their responsibilities.

The Eid prayers are highly popular among Muslims who perform them just after sunrise. The prayers mark the end of Ramadan, the ninth month on the Muslim calendar during which all physically-able men and women abstain from food and drink from sunrise until sunset.

In many Muslim countries, the prayers are performed in open air grounds to accommodate the large numbers of people keen on exchanging Eid greetings with worshippers.

Kuwait this year banned open air prayers, citing security reasons.