preacher program in the Kingdom is unregulated and should have more staff, according to Sheikh Saleh Bin Muhammad Aal Al-Sheikh, Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowment, Call and Guidance. He was addressing a press conference Sunday in Makkah. “This needs the employment of a large number of women specialized in Islamic affairs in order to supervise the women's propagation programs,” he said adding that a study is currently being conducted by the ministry to determine what will be needed to upgrade the program. “If we want to have full [control] over the women's Dawa programs, then several posts for women are needed. We need to create lots of jobs and a special system for women in this sector.” He said male preachers currently choose the topics for their work. This will also apply to women in the program, he said. Al-Sheikh said the ministry oversees all awareness campaigns for domestic pilgrims. This is to ensure the information conforms to the Shariah. He explained that the ministry has specialized institutions assessing the ministry's enlightenment activities in Haj. These institutions have already submitted their reports about the performance of the ministry over the last eight months. Al-Sheikh said the ministry has launched a website to answer pilgrims' questions. There are more than 60 field interpreters and 500 preachers on duty during this year's Haj. Meanwhile, he said the ministry is currently developing a plan to expand and renovate mosques in the holy sites, including those at the Meqats' – the borders of Makkah. He said this will be done to match the expansion of the Two Holy Mosques.
