The Ministry of Religious Endowments referred a preacher in the Matariya neighbourhood to investigations on Saturday, following alleged violations in his Friday prayer sermon.
Saad Abo Zeid, who worked as an Imam in Al-Nasr mosque in Matariya, deviated from the unified topic of the prayer and went over the time limit assigned, according to an official statement by the ministry on Saturday. Investigations are still ongoing in the matter.
The Endowments Ministry decided in early November 2014 to unify the Friday prayer topic across all mosques in Egypt. The decision followed calls for protests on 28 November 2014 against the government and regime. The first unified Friday prayer sermon was about protests; all mosques were warned against participating in those protests.
The ministry has also been taking further measures that serve the state strategy to “counter terrorism” following the ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood regime in 2013.
The religious discourse, whether in Friday prayers, conferences or speeches, has been focusing on ways to counter terrorism and fight radicals.
On 19 August, the ministry requisitioned two mosques in the city of Fayoum, allegedly belonging to Al-Jamia Al-Shariya, an NGO accused of having links to the Muslim Brotherhood.
