Is There Such a Thing as a Dawah Visa?
As far as I know, there is no such thing as a dawah visa. In other words, expatriates who come to this country are not issued visas for the purpose of engaging in dawah work (the act of preaching Islam). Yet, we see many expatriates who deliver speeches in mosques, involve themselves in dawah work, lead prayers, call out the call to prayer, hold gatherings of Holy Qur’an memorization, issue fatwas, interpret dreams and offer Ruqyah (incantations to ward of illnesses).
We have so many Saudi dawah activists that we often send many of them abroad. So the question is: If there is no such thing as a dawah visa, then why do expatriates who come to the Kingdom on visas as teachers or foreign investors engage in dawah work? Is it not the case that they are violating the Kingdom’s labor laws when they engage in such activities?
The Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Labor should crack down on expatriates who indulge in activities that are different from the ones specified in their visas. Those who violate the Kingdom’s laws, both expatriates and their sponsors, should be penalized by both ministries. Foreign dawah activists not only violate the Kingdom’s labor laws, they also indulge in preaching and are active in campaigns against the intermingling of sexes at women-only stores.
They follow in the footsteps of some Saudis who hold extreme thoughts and are at the forefront of resisting efforts to develop the Kingdom. Moreover, some of them raise funds for wars and conflicts.
I think it is crucial for the Ministry of Labor and the Islamic Affairs Department to pay more attention to the Saudization of those employed in dawah activities and other positions relating to religion. If things continue the way they are, then we will see an influx of expatriate dawah activists who will enter the country and work alongside others like them. We will see them at book fairs and every other possible place where dawah activities take place.
What is more dangerous is the fact that we may in the future even see a large number of unemployed dawah activists, both Saudis and non-Saudis. They might end up on social media sites when they find themselves unable to find work.