Moroccan youths have devised a new occupation for the holy month of Ramadan: bus preaching. The new controversial practice has garnered the approval of religious scholars and the criticism of sociology researchers
Young men get on buses and start delivering religious sermons for free while others sell booklets and tapes containing lectures by famous Moroccan and Arab preachers. Sometimes, they recite parts of those lectures to the passengers to talk them into buying their merchandise.
Bus preaching follows the prophet’s advice who asked, in a hadith (saying), that all Muslims spread the word of Islam, said Moroccan preacher Sheikh Mohamed al-Sahabi.
"When they distribute tapes and booklets that contain prayers and advice, they are in a way spreading the word of Islam," he told Al Arabiya.
Sahabi added that those youths could have a deeper influence than many people think since they could help guide people into the right path.
"One sermon could make a delinquent repent or a thief ask God for forgiveness. The preachers will also berewarded by God for their efforts in guiding Muslims."
When asked if there is a problem with preaching on buses, Sahabi denied any problems. He argued that spreading the word of God is permissible anywhere.
"The most important thing is that they do it for the sake of God and Islam and not out of greed or for the sheer purpose of gaining money in an unfair manner."
For preacher Lahssen Abou Ewees, bus preaching youths are making use of modern day demands and adapting to change.
Buses as mosques
"It is not necessary that the preacher delivers sermons in a mosque," he told Al Arabiya. "On the contrary, preaching in a bus could be more influential than a mosque since it contains a variety of people who are not necessarily worshippers."
On the other hand, sociologist Idris Karam views bus preaching as purely commercial and argued that the majority of youths who sell the books and tapes do not understand their content.
"They just learn parts of them by heart and recite them to passengers to lure them into buying their," he told Al Arabiya. "They do this only to promote their good."
Bus preachers choose buses because they have a variety of people that cannot be found anywhere else giving the youth a bigger chance at making a profit, added Karam.
"A bus is like a small community. It has the rich and the poor, the employed and the unemployed, the illiterate and the intellectual."
Another good thing about buses, Karam argued, is that they are closed places. This makes it easier to influence people. Passengers also don’t travel for a long time in buses inside the city, so they do not get the chance to think before buying.
Karam objected to the name "preachers" given to these youths since, he argued, they are not qualified to preach.
"A preacher has to have a specific place and a regular audience who can go back to him when they need to. This does not apply to the passengers in buses."