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All Preparations in Place to Welcome Holy Month

Tuesday, 11 September 2007

Mohammed Rasooldeen & Yousuf Muhammad,

RIYADH, — Mosques across the Kingdom have made extensive preprarations to accommodate additional worshippers during the holy month of Ramadan following a statement issued by the Department of Mosques, which functions under the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance.

The department maintains nearly 1,500 mosques in Riyadh alone. Last week, a leading Saudi company, was contracted to maintain 900 mosques in the capital.

Imams and muezzins have been instructed to keep mosques tidy and ensure they maintain an adequate supply of power and water. The directions are aimed at meeting the requirements of the increased number of worshippers who go for night (taraweeh) prayers, which follow regular Isha prayers.

Improvised partitions for women are also being built in mosques that do not have separate prayer halls for them. Some of the mosques are busy replacing carpets with new ones and others are being color-washed to give them a fresh look.

Last week, Friday sermons at mosques throughout the Kingdom focused on the significance of the holy month. Welcoming the advent of Ramadan, imams appealed to their congregation to strictly adhere to Islamic teachings.

Speaking to Arab News after Friday prayers, Abdul Aziz, imam at a mosque in the Sarafiya district, said, “We expect a larger congregation for taraweeh prayers since every Muslim likes to come for the special prayers during the holy month.”

Tents are being constructed adjacent to some mosques to enable worshippers to break their fast.

In Madinah, the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice is undertaking some special duties during Ramadan, a commission official said yesterday. “The commission will focus on stopping moral violations at public places in Ramadan,” Abdullah Al-Zahrani, director of the commission’s Madinah branch, told Arab News.

“The commission’s field activities will bolster the spiritual character of the month. Our organization will strive to stop all unlawful activities. It will step up awareness campaigns for the local community and visiting pilgrims in a way that suits the sacredness of the city,” Al-Zahrani said.

A special program for Ramadan, “Discover Happiness,” is being held on the Sultana Street, which is mainly aimed at the youth. He said 41 commission members have been trained to hold these programs. “Our men will make a heavy presence at large commercial centers and markets particularly on the streets of Sultana, Quba and the Central Region, as they are the places where shoppers of both sexes crowd in huge numbers.

About 110 commission members and 30 patrols would be watching for situations that lead to immoral conduct, harassment of women and young women behaving immodestly. The members will counsel the erring people and arrest those who warrant detention,” he said.

He added that special teams have been set up to undertake these tasks. One of the teams is responsible for maintaining the dignity of the daytime in Ramadan. This team would see that no one eats or drinks in public during the day.

A second team would ensure that women are not harassed in the streets or near girls’ schools. A third team will inspect Internet cafes, mobile phone shops and satellite channel stations for immoral contents. “Violators would be handed over to the concerned authorities for further action,” he said.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=101073&d=11&m=9&y=2007

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