Skip to main content

Friday Sermons Used to Incite At Iraqi Mosques

With the liberation afforded by the fall of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein’s regime, Friday sermons at Iraq’s mosques have become platforms for oftentimes escalatory political discourse.
Shi'ite Muslims attend Friday prayers in Baghdad's Sadr City, June 28, 2013.   REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags: RELIGION) - RTX114LH
Read in 

There are no clear standards that govern the substance of Friday prayer sermons in any of Islam’s branches, particularly with respect to the political aspect of the sermon. In fact, only some oppressive Middle Eastern countries have ever established such standards and limited sermons to the offering of spiritual guidance. For example, former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein forbade Shiite Muslims from holding Friday prayers and restricted Sunni sermons to religious content, barring the raising of political or critical issues having to do with people’s lives and problems, while also compelling preachers to pray for him at the end of each sermon.

Friday sermons changed radically for both Shiite and Sunni Muslims after 2003, when they began to largely revolve around a weekly discussion of political issues. The spiritual aspects of sermons greatly diminished, and were replaced by purely political speeches.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.