Sheikh, Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowment, Islamic Call and Guidance, admitted his ministry's failure in developing the skills of imams. Addressing a gathering at an Iftar party hosted in his honor by Mazen Baterji, chairman of Al-Ber Philanthropic Society, here on Sunday, Sheikh Aal Al-Sheikh said only two percent of the imams passed the training courses during the Ministry's rehabilitation program for Imams in Jizan, Riyadh, Al-Jauf and Asir. The trainers said that the rest of them had no potential for improvement, he said. Aal Al-Sheikh attributed this to the differences in their abilities and skills especially as some of them were appointed more than 50 years ago. Now it is difficult for them to adapt to new courses, the Minister said. “Strenuous efforts are needed to rehabilitate and remold them in terms of their dealing with others,” the minister said. Aal Al-Sheikh also criticized those imams who deliver lengthy sermons. “We are calling for a shortening of the time as the sermon should be short and condensed,” he said. He said the ministry maintains only 28 percent of the total mosques in the Kingdom. There are 88,000 mosques of which the ministry supervises 77,000 and the rest are run by owners of these mosques, he added. __
