Authorities in Saudi Arabia are developing a phone app which will monitor sermons and prayers in mosques to allow worshippers to know if the preacher is likely to go on too long.
According to the country’s Minister of Islamic Affairs, Abdul Latif Al-Sheikh, the application will allow for the monitoring of mosques, with the length and quality of sermons “assessed by the minute and second”, Saudi newspaper Al-Watan reports.
It’s not made entirely clear who exactly will be doing the monitoring, but it’s thought that regular mosque-goers will be able to rate their preacher on a number of aspects of their work.
Saudi Arabia is currently mulling the reform of religious teachings, and there’s been debate on unifying the content of sermons to steer people away from “foreign, partisan or Muslim Brotherhood” thought.
The minister said that religion “is not a field to tamper with people’s minds, nor should it compromise the security and stability of this blessed country”.
News Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-45097440
