CAIRO: Minister of Endowment Mokhtar Gomaa suspended an Imam and an employee over allowing an unlicensed preacher to deliver Eid el-Fitr (feast of breaking Ramadan fast) sermon Friday in Upper Egypt’s Minya, Youm7 quoted the minister.
Osama Hafez, a senior Gamaa Islamia member, delivered a sermon at el-Rahman Mosque in Minya governorate without prior permit from the ministry in violation of the law.
Hafez reportedly replaced a preacher who was late to the sermon time early morning on Friday, according to Youm7.
The two suspended employees will be investigated after Eid e-Fitr vacation.
Egypt issued a decree in 2014 banning unauthorized preachers from giving sermons or teaching Islam in mosques and public places in an effort to curb radical Islamist influence and politicized sermons. However, some licensed preachers have also been suspended for delivering sermons that the ministry did not approve.