The House of Saud clearly takes a top-down approach to ruling. Under mounting pressure from the West to confront religious fundamentalism, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs plans to retrain some 40,000 imams.


BBC:

Saudi Arabia is to retrain its 40,000 prayer leaders – also known as imams – in an effort to counter militant Islam.

Details of the plan were revealed in the influential Saudi newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat.

The plan is part of a wider programme launched by the Saudi monarch a few years ago to encourage moderation and tolerance in Saudi society.

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