Morocco’s plan to standardise the khutba, or Friday sermons, has ignited widespread controversy, prompting a clarification from the Supreme Council of Ulemas. The council has confirmed that while a unified sermon will be available, it will not be mandatory for imams to adopt it.
According to a report from Yabiladi, the council stated that the proposed sermon would be published on the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs’ website every Wednesday at 2pm, giving imams the option to use it.
The Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs introduced the “Guiding Communication for a Good Life” plan to unify Friday sermons, aiming to improve public morality and involve religious leaders in promoting positive values. However, the decision has faced mixed reactions.
Critics argue that unifying sermons diminishes the role of preachers, reducing them to mere readers of pre-written texts and hindering their ability to address current issues. “There will be a standardised sermon, but imams are not obliged to use it; they have the option to deliver another sermon,” a source from the Supreme Council told Yabiladi.
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Said Bihi, a regional president of the Scientific Council, explained to Al Jazeera that the initiative aims to counteract the superficiality of current religious communication. “Efforts, time, and resources are being wasted,” he said, highlighting that approximately 9 million people attend mosques every Friday without sermons significantly impacting their lives.
📢 تفاعلا مع موضوع توحيد خطبة الجمعة بالمغرب وتنميطها بشكل مرفوض يجعل المنابر مجرد رجع صدى لصوت واحد، وانطلاقا من واجب الدفاع عن مكانة المسجد، ورفضا لمزيد تقييد للخطب والسعي لتأميم المنابر… دعوة للتدوين تحت هاشتاغ:#تقييد_لا_تسديد#لا_لتأميم_المنابر
— hassan bennajeh – حسن بناجح (@h_bennajeh) July 5, 2024
The ministry’s delegation in Tangier recently dismissed Ahmed Agendouz, a preacher at the Grand Minbar Mosque, after he criticised the move. This in turn fuelled further debate, with many Moroccans expressing their objections on social media using hashtags like #Restriction_not_improvement and #No_to_nationalising_pulpits.
In response to the backlash, the ministry has explained that the standardisation is a temporary measure, intended to build awareness and responsiveness to the project, and that preachers retain their freedom and responsibility in delivering sermons.