Egypt Bars Salafist Leader From Mosque Sermons

Egypt's Ministry of Religious Endowments on Thursday banned a senior Salafist preacher from delivering sermons in the nation's mosques, saying he is not "qualified" for the job.



The ministry said it will prevent Yasser Borhami, the deputy chief of the Salafist Call, one of the largest Salafist movement in Egypt, from delivering sermons in mosques, because he is not a graduate of Al-Azhar and that he does not meet preaching conditions.



"Only the graduates of Al-Azhar are permitted to deliver sermons in mosques," the ministry, which is responsible for running mosques' affairs across the nation, said in a statement.



Al-Azhar, the highest seat of Sunni Islamic learning, must authorize mosque preachers, as the Ministry of Religious Endowments makes it necessary for scholars who want to preach in mosques to submit an application that includes their Al-Azhar University certificate.



The ministry said in its statement that scholars who are not authorized by it do not have the right to mount mosque pulpits.



On Wednesday, local media "ed a senior ministry official as saying the ministry had also decided to ban three other prominent Salafist scholars from preaching in mosques due to similar reasons.



Last year, the Salafist Call and its political arm Nour Party split ranks with Egypt's Islamist camp, throwing its weight behind the army-imposed roadmap under which Islamist president Mohamed Morsi was ousted following mass protests against his presidency.



Nour was also the only Islamist group to have had a representative on a committee tasked with amending the country's constitution -- a major component of the army-imposed roadmap.



By Sobhi Mugahed



englishnews@aa.com.tr - Kahire