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.