Egypt's mosque minders: The rise of surveillance cameras in places of worship
Since the overthrow of Mohammed Morsi, the Egyptian Ministry of Religious Endowments has been trying to quell the spread of extremism in mosques, but critics warn these steps could threaten basic rights.
CAIRO — Egypt is adding mosque surveillance, private security and book bans to its efforts to control extremism and support moderate religious thought.
On Aug. 13, Minister of Endowments Mohamed Mokhtar Jumaa decided to install surveillance cameras in mosques across the republic to protect them from terrorism and bombing attempts and to monitor the preaching of extremist ideas. The ministry began distributing surveillance cameras to the mosques in three stages, starting with the major mosques, followed by the main mosques that hold Friday prayers in provinces and then the mosques that are most frequented.
