Saudi Arabia is to retrain its 40,000 prayer leaders - also known as imams - in an effort to counter militant Islam.However, it may not be as easy as running a few "remedial sessions" down at the local mosque...
Details of the plan were revealed in the influential Saudi newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat.
But critics are sceptical about whether such initiatives would work as long as the powerful, and ultraconservative, religious establishment in Saudi Arabia continues to exert enormous influence over society.Hmmm... this could be a long night.
Only last week, a prominent cleric called for the beheading of two liberal writers who had questioned the orthodox view that Muslims can not change their religion.
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