RIYADH — The Minister of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance Sheikh Abdullatif Al-Sheikh issued an order to create a separate department under the ministry for the protection of mosque facilities and services, which will be directly linked to the minister. Al-Sheikh also decided to establish separate units for the protection of mosque facilities and services in the branches across the Kingdom, and these units will be directly linked to the manager of each ministry branch. The minister issued these decisions within the framework of his efforts to protect public wealth, prevent waste and abuse of mosque properties and facilities as well as their exploitation. This is in addition to encroachments on mosque electricity and water supplies and everything related to mosque facilities and services. The move aims to achieve the ministry's mission, keeping pace with the Kingdom's Vision 2030. The new department will be entrusted with several tasks, including proposing policies and procedures to follow up the infringements and submitting them to the minister for approval; and automation of the department's functioning in a way contributing to the speedy completion of work and communication with other concerned parties. It was also decided to submit periodic reports from the branches on the extent of the infringements of electricity and water networks and their locations, and to prepare appropriate recommendations so as to submit them to the minister, as well as to restrict infringements and prevent violations, in coordination with the relevant authorities. According to the minister's decision, the unit for the protection of mosque facilities and services in the branches is responsible for monitoring and following up on infringements on mosque facilities and services in their respective jurisdiction. These units have to make continuous communication with mosque administrations in the governorates to submit periodic reports about violations and infringements, and those related to the unit's work, achievements, and problems encountered, and the necessary proposals to improve their work. The minister's decision recommended automation of the unit's work to speed up the completion of work and communication with other departments in order to achieve the Vision 2030. As a follow up of a previous decision, the minister appointed Amjad Al-Ghaith as director of the Department for the Protection of Mosque Facilities and Services for a period of one year. This step comes as a continuation of the ministry's efforts to protect public wealth, as it had directed the investment of alternative energy in a large number of mosques in the Kingdom, by launching a project to install insulating glass panels in mosques that reduce waste and reduce electrical energy consumption to a large extent. It is noteworthy that the ministry annually pays approximately SR1 billion to cover the electricity needs of mosques. It is expected that the new decision would contribute to saving large sums of money from the budget of the ministry and the state, by controlling violations related to encroachment on mosque electricity and water meters. This is in addition to the exploitation of land and buildings associated with mosques and the criminalization of perpetrators in accordance with the provisions of the law.
