Algeria dismisses imams who did not perform funerals prayer in absentia for military plane crash victims

Algerian religious affairs ministry punished imams who refused to perform funeral prayer in absentia for the military aircraft crash victims by dismissing some of them and introducing others to disciplinary hearings.

In an official letter issued by the ministry, religious executive directors were ordered to take punishing measures against some imams for not performing funerals prayer in absentia on Friday, February 14^th.

The ministry dismissed all the voluntary, contractual, pre-employment contractual and temporary imams. They will not be allowed to conduct any voluntary action in the Algerian mosques.

Permanent imams will be introduced to disciplinary hearings as they did not implement the ministry’s instruction without acceptable justification.

Earlier, more than 70 people were killed in an Algerian military transport plane crash in the mountainous north-east of the country.