An Egyptian preacher, Amir Mounir, has been arrested after he promoted an application that charges users for Umrah by proxy.
Amir Mounir was arrested after a lawyer Hani Sameh lodged a complaint with the public prosecutor, accusing him of “committing crimes of receiving money, donations and Islamic preaching without a license from the Ministry of Endowments.”
Mounir recently sparked controversy after posting a Facebook video (now deleted), where he explained and encouraged his followers to use a mobile phone app called Umrah Albadal (Umrah by proxy).
According to the Google Play Store, the app, launched in 2019, has been downloaded more than 10,000 times and has an average rating of 3.2 stars.
He also promised that he would get further discounts by using his promo codes.
Additionally, the app claimed to allow the pilgrimage to be performed on behalf of deceased loved ones or sick family members.
Critics argue that Mounir’s app commercializes religious rituals for financial gain, and it promotes the unacceptable practice of allowing individuals to perform pilgrimages as proxies for others who cannot.
Egypt’s Al-Azhar Fatwa Global Center issued a religious ruling against the monetization of Umrah by proxy, referring to “religious brokers” as defying religious ritual purposes.
“The general public’s disapproval and denunciation of such new ideas is evidence of the public’s awareness and their refusal to turn rituals and worship into a job or profession that is performed without spirit or invoking reverence,” the statement said.
