Forbidding imams without Al-Azhar credentials from taking the pulpits of Egyptian mosques, and closing down mosques of less than 80 square meters (862 square feet) in size during Friday prayers, were decisions that have had quite an impact lately. The Egyptian Ministry of Awqaf (Islamic Religious Affairs) considered the move necessary to stop the exploitation of pulpits for political motives, and allowed it to put an end to the phenomenon of using the Egyptian pulpits for the dissemination of political speeches, through the implementation of strict measures that the ministry adopted in prosecuting and preventing preachers with known political orientations from giving sermons. The facts on the ground, however, demonstrate that the phenomenon, which for years remained the most useful tool for the forces of political Islam to gain popularity, has not been completely eradicated, and was only temporarily sidelined.
Barely weeks passed since the Ministry of Awqaf took the decision to ban approximately 47,000-55,000 monthly remunerated imams and preachers of mosques and prayer circles from taking to the pulpit on Fridays, before most of them returned to practice their activities through the innumerable prayer circles that dot the Egyptian landscape.
