Guard turns mosque in Riyadh into warehouse for car parts

RIYADH — The Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance has opened an investigation into an expatriate worker who allegedly turned part of a mosque in Riyadh into a storage for car parts in which he was trading. Director of the ministry's branch in Riyadh Abdullah Al-Nasser said the ministry has reacted to a video clip on the social media about a mosque guard in the industrial city east of Riyadh keeping car parts and cartons filled with accessories in the mosque's courtyard and other areas. The director said the mosque does not have accommodation for the imam or the muezzin and therefore no one applied for the jobs despite repeated announcement of the vacancies. He said the guard was detained and the mosque's supervisor was taken for questioning. A committee has been set up to clean up the mosque and remove all the debris. Nasser said punitive measures were taken against the cleaning company that was contracted to maintain the mosque. The guard confessed that he increased income by trading in car parts, which he stored everywhere in the mosque's yard, including toilets and minaret. He said he was paid SR300 a month for cleaning the mosque, but he made handsome money from the trade, which he started three years ago. Meanwhile, residents of Darmah, near Riyadh, have complained that a historic mosque in their area has been turned by a number of expatriate workers into a warehouse for fodder. They said the mosque has been neglected for many years but it is still an important landmark in the area.