Radio Islam International | 15 November 2018

Restrictions on several Muadhins and Imams at Masjid al-Haram in Makkah that had apparently been placed by Saudi authorities in September, have reportedly been removed.

Several online sources have reported that all six Muadhins who were suspended from their positions, as well as Imam, Sheikh Bandar Baleela have been reinstated.

Photos posted showed President of the Haramain, Sheikh Abdur Rahman Sudais on Sunday meeting with all Muadhins of the Haram including those previously suspended. Sheikh Bandar Baleela who last had led a congregational Salaah on September 16, also began leading Salaahs again at the Haram Sunday.

Further reports indicate that Sheikh Khalid al-Ghamidy who has been absent for an even longer period may return next week.

The reasons for the apparent original suspensions or the subsequent reinstatements have never been clarified by Saudi authorities. Some had surmised the actions to be linked to a wider crackdown on perceived dissent by activists and religious figures in the Saudi Kingdom

The anonymous Saudi social media advocacy group Prisoners of Conscience in September was among the first to report on alleged measures taken against Sheikhs Khaled al-Ghamidy, Faisal al-Ghazawy and Bandar Baleela.

In what was reportedly the worst of that purge, Sheikh Baleela was claimed by the group to have been detained “in an abusive manner that does not fit the status of the Sheikh.”

The activists had further alleged that Sheikh al-Ghamidy had been banned from delivering Khutbahs and was subsequently disallowed from teaching at the Umm al-Qurra university.

Detentions continue

The latest moves shed no light on the fate of another Makkah Imam, Sheikh Saleh ale Talib, who is alleged to have been detained by the Saudi regime in August. As per Prisoners of Conscience’s latest listing, the Sheikh remains in prison.

Another prominent Saudi preacher, Dr. Mohammed al Arifi, has reportedly been slapped with a new ban preventing him from leaving Riyadh. He was also previously stopped from performing Hajj and delivering any public sermons.

Following a new wave of crackdown from September 2017, scores of Ulama, intellectuals and activists have been arrested by the Saudi regime. A series of secret trials saw the prosecution calling for harsh penalties against some of the most prominent of the Ulama and activists – including the death penalty.

Leaked information indicates that many detainees have been subjected to serious abuses, including torture, to get them to confess to crimes they have not committed or to abandon their positions that are deemed critical of the authorities.