News of official permit for new mosques around Grand mosque fake: Saudi govt

Riyadh: The authorities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) have rubbished claims circulated on social media platforms that several plots of land within the boundaries of the Grand Mosque in Makkah have official permits to build mosques on them.

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance (MoiaEN), “This information is completely incorrect.”

The ministry added that it is the official agency responsible for building mosques and issuing related permits in the Kingdom.

The ministry warned of “circulating this undocumented information from persons who have no official capacity and from unreliable sources, exploiting people’s sympathy, goodwill and readiness to contribute to mosque construction” to collect donations.

The ministry appealed to members of the public to consider accuracy and be on their guard not to be misled by rumours.

The ministry said that it has begun taking legal action against those behind “these illegal acts” to be questioned and given “deterrent fines for these offences”.