Supporters of ousted president Mohammed Mursi demonstrate in Cairo for his reinstatement, yesterday.
CAIRO: Egyptian authorities will bar 55,000 unlicensed clerics from preaching in mosques in the latest move against sympathisers of deposed Islamist President Mohammed Mursi, the minister of religious endowments said yesterday.
Egyptian authorities have been cracking down on Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood since the army toppled him on July 3 following mass protests against his rule.
Minister of Endowments Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa said the clerics lack licences to preach and were considered to be fundamentalist and a threat to Egypt’s security.
The ban will mainly target small unlicensed mosques or random praying areas. The idea is to spread a moderate message of Islam and keep Egyptians away from radical ideas. “The decision is only meant to legalise the preaching process during Fridays’ mass prayers and make only those authorised to do it, Gomaa told Reuters. Authorities moved to crush the Brotherhood following the overthrow of Mursi, Egypt’s first democratically elected leader. REUTERS
