The ministry clarified that the imams, all of whom were based in Ismailia, were terminated on December 16, with the Ministry asking that mosques in the area prohibit the preachers in question from delivering sermons and/or leading the congregation during prayer times.
The termination of their contracts was in accordance with Civil Service Law no 81 of 2016 and the executive regulation, the ministry clarified, adding that the decision was circulated throughout the ministry’s directorates and a copy of the notice was received by the ministry’s inspectors and staff.
In November, the ministry terminated the contracts of nine imams in Sohag and Qalyubiya and prohibited them from giving Friday sermons in mosques, again over charges that they had joined a “terrorist” organization.
