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Image Credit: Gulf News

Riyadh: The Ministry of Islamic Affairs is working on a special mechanism for  women preachers in the kingdom.

"All women, who want to involve themselves in Da'awa work, should strictly abide by the rules and regulations being enacted by the ministry,' a ministry source told Gulf News.

The move comes in the wake of reports that some women are engaged in spreading deviant ideology and extremist views under the cover of Da'awa work.

"It [The law] is aimed at broadening Da'awa work among women as well as ensure their active participation in combating deviant ideology. This also aims at preventing any unqualified women or those lenient to Al Qaida from wearing the mantle of a preacher," the source said.
 
Under the new mechanism, the ministries of interior and Islamic affairs will restrict Da'awa work to only those women, who secured licence and formal card from the authorities.

The move is significant in the wake of the recent revelations about Al Qaida's plan to use Saudi women for spreading their ideology.

The Ministry of Islamic Affairs had earlier published two lists of licensed women preachers.

The first list consists of 190 preachers while there were 180 women in the second list. Some of these preachers use the Internet for Da'awa work.

Majida Al Homaid, a well-known woman preacher, said that there no new licences have been issued for women preachers and those women .

Amal Zahid, a noted Saudi woman writer, said that there has been tremendous response for Da'awa work recently.