In connection with the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, the President of the United Arab Emirates adopted a new law on behavior in mosques.
The UAE President, in commemoration of the beginning of Ramadan, has signed a new federal law that will affect every mosque in the country.
According to the new normative legal act without the corresponding license it is forbidden to do the following:
- give out or eat at the mosque,
- give lectures or sermons, organize seminars, recite the Qur'an,
- to collect donations or other help,
- appoint a person from temporary or permanent staff to organize religious or social events.
The law stipulates that only a UAE citizen can be a job seeker. A candidate applying for a position in the past should not have arrests, leads to police, convictions, or be involved in precedents that have stained his honor and dignity, or at the time of receiving a vacancy all charges must be dropped.
However, as an exception, in the absence of suitable candidates among UAE citizens, expats can take vacant positions if they meet the requirements of the mosque.
Persons working in mosques should not be members of any criminal group, be involved in political or organizational activities of any kind.
The law prohibits mosque workers from preaching and reciting, conducting religious teachings and publicly reciting the Koran outside the mosque. Mosque employees cannot speak in the media without the appropriate permission of the competent authority, as well as receive donations and financial assistance of any kind from third parties.
It is also forbidden by law to ask alms in mosques, or to commit any actions that could threaten the safety of a mosque, undermine its sacredness. It is worth noting that petition for alms in the UAE is already prohibited at the legislative level, but despite this, cases of begging often increase during the holy month.
