Muezzin in Kuwait warned for giving call to prayer clad in shorts

He had served for 30 years without committing any infringement

Kuwaiti authorities let a muezzin, who gave the call to prayer wearing a pair of shorts, off with a warning after he admitted his mistake following an outcry.

The Awqaf Ministry responsible for mosques in Kuwait warned the man against repeating the act and ordered him to comply with the mosque code of conduct. Earlier, the ministry suspended the muezzin from duty and referred him to an inquiry after he appeared in a video giving the call to prayer inside a mosque while wearing shorts and a T-shirt,

“The muezzin admitted his mistake. He explained that he was volunteering to clean the mosque library when the time for adhan [the call to prayer] came around. He did so before changing his clothes,” head of the Mosque Imams Syndicate Mohammad Al Fawzan told Al Rai newspaper.

The paper quoted prominent cleric Abdullah Al Sharika as defending the muezzin, saying he had served for 30 years without committing any violation. “He is known for his honesty and good manners,” he added.

In June last year, Kuwait reopened mosques for congregational prayers after three months of closure due to the global coronavirus pandemic.