Saudi Arabia’s Cabinet on Tuesday approved the establishment of an independent body called “The Presidency of Religious Affairs at the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque” that is linked to King Salman. The body will be responsible for supervising the affairs of  imams and muezzins of the two holy mosques and all matters related to their religious affairs including seminars and Islamic lessons, Saudi Press Agency reported. The General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques will be transformed into a public body called the “General Authority for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque.” The body will be financially independent, linked to the king, and will undertake tasks, services, operations, maintenance, and development related to the two holy mosques.

The General Authority for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque will have a board of directors whose chairman and members will be appointed by royal decree. Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Sudais was appointed head of religious affairs at the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque by royal order. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah was appointed, by royal decree, chairman of the board of directors of the General Authority for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque. The Cabinet also discussed talks on the Ukraine crisis that were held in Jeddah last week. More than 40 countries, including China, India, the United States and European countries took part in the talks.

The talks were part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s efforts to reach lasting peace and mitigate the effects of the crisis. The Cabinet also reaffirmed its support for precautionary measures by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, to stabilise the oil market.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)