Saudi Arabia Launches Nationwide ‘Building Faith’ Programme for Mosques

DID Press: Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance has launched a nationwide programme aimed at strengthening religious and intellectual awareness through activities in mosques and prayer halls across the Kingdom.

The programme, launched in Riyadh by Islamic Affairs Minister Sheikh Abdul Latif Al Alsheikh, will run throughout the year in cities and governorates across Saudi Arabia. According to the official Saudi Press Agency, it includes educational programmes, sermons, religious lessons and awareness lectures focused on what authorities describe as sound Islamic doctrine, monotheism, moderation and balance.

Saudi authorities say the initiative includes 156 outreach activities across the Kingdom’s regions, with 12 programmes planned annually for each regional branch. The programme is expected to reach more than 10 million direct and indirect beneficiaries over one year.

The initiative comes against the backdrop of broader changes in Saudi Arabia’s religious governance over the past decade. Under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the government has promoted concepts such as “moderate Islam” while expanding the role of official institutions in regulating religious activities and public religious discourse.

From this perspective, the programme can be seen as part of a broader effort to centralize the administration and dissemination of religious messaging through state institutions and the Kingdom’s extensive mosque network.

However, the description of the initiative as an expansion of “state control” over religion is an analytical interpretation, rather than the official characterization of the programme. Saudi authorities present it as an initiative to strengthen religious awareness and promote moderation.