Minister: Mosques not to be used in electoral campaigns

Thursday 01-05-2014 08:51 PM
Minister: Mosques not to be used in electoral campaigns

Policemen stand guard in front of a mosque during Friday prayer ahead of a protest by Muslim Brotherhood supporters in Cairo, March 7, 2014. REUTERS/Al Youm Al Saabi Newspaper

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Cairo, May 1 (Aswat Masriya) – Egypt’s Minister of Endowments said that has given strict orders to all mosque Imams to avoid using mosques as a means of campaigning for any presidential candidate.

The new regulations state that mosques are to avoid politics as well as all that is related to the electoral process, Minister Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa told Aswat Masriya on Thursday.

“Any Imam who does not adhere to these regulations will be severely punished,” said the minister.

The ministry will take legal measures against those who use mosque platforms to campaign for a candidate or discuss politics, he explained.

Mosques are for worshipping, advocating good deeds and calling for work and productivity, Gomaa stated.

The minister also commended the decision of the senior scholars’ commission to prohibit any Imam from joining any political party of movement.

He hailed this step as a sign of major support from the commission to the mission and policies of the Ministry of Endowments.

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