Confusion reigns over the status of Makkah Hai'a chief Sheikh Ahmad Al-Ghamdi with website rumors and telephone text message services insisting Tuesday that he had been removed from his post as President of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (the Hai'a) in Makkah following his interview with Okaz earlier in the week. The interview, reproduced by Saudi Gazette last Friday, witnessed Al-Ghamdi praise the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and make declarations on the subject of the mixing of genders – “ikhtilat” – which raised the eyebrows of many observers. The source of rumors concerning his dismissal appears to have been prompted by the presence over the last two days of Taif Hai'a chief Abdulrahman Al-Juhani in Al-Ghamdi's office in Makkah, and a reported confrontation between the two over who was the rightful occupant. Sources said that Al-Juhani had been led to believe that his appointment to Al-Ghamdi's post was “imminent”, but Al-Juhani himself said that he had not received any official confirmation of the promotion. As Sheikh Al-Ghamdi left his workplace at 2.45 P.M. Tuesday, he had still received no new information concerning his position. Some observers said that Al-Ghamdi's dismissal was “merely a matter of time” while others believed the whole affair to be rumor-mongering and nothing more. The Vice President General for the Hai'a in the Kingdom, Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Huweimil, failed to put the matter to bed. “The person authorized to speak and reveal details is the Hai'a spokesman,” Sheikh Al-Huweimil said. Efforts to contact the spokesman concerned failed. The regional spokesman for the Hai'a in Makkah, however, said that no decision had been announced confirming or denying the reports of Sheikh Al
