RIYADH – Saudi Arabia has detained a prominent imam and preacher at theGrand Mosque in Mecca, activists said, after he reportedly delivered asermon criticising mixed public gatherings, Al Jazeera has reported.
The social media advocacy group Prisoners of Conscience, which monitors anddocuments arrests of Saudi preachers and religious scholars, said on Sundaythat Sheikh Saleh al-Talib was arrested after he delivered a sermon on theduty in Islam to speak out against evil in public.
Khaleej Online reportedlinkthatin his sermon, Talib, who also serves as a judge in Mecca, derided themixing of unrelated men and women at concerts and other mixed entertainmentevents.
While there was no direct criticism of the Saudi royal family in hisspeech, the kingdom has in recent months relaxed laws on female attendanceat public events.
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Saudi Arabia has yet to issue an official statement on the issue.
Hours after his reported arrest, both of al-Talib’s Engish and ArabicTwitter accounts were deactivated.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Yahya Assiri, a UK-based Saudi human rightsactivist, said the kingdom’s “authorities are looking at everyone that’sinfluential and has a presence on the scene”.
He added: “Even those that have kept quiet or pledged allegiance to thestate, even those that have been drumming up the authorities and theirinitiatives, even these are not safe.”