Egypt moves to restrict Ramadan sermons
CAIRO - Egypt will restrict Ramadan sermons to topics of faith and morality, the state's top official in charge of religious affairs said Sunday, in the latest move limiting political speech in the deeply polarized country.
Mohammed Mokhtar Gomaa said the decision should ensure that sermons during Islam's holy month of fasting "unite people, not divide them," compared to what he described as a more politicized past when the country was run by an Islamist president.
"The religious speech was politically driven, which affected the moral side," he told reporters at a news conference on the first day of the observance. "Now we're in a race against time trying to restore morals." (AP)
