Endowments and Islamic Ministry has distanced itself from the controversy over wrong qibla – the direction a Muslim should face when offering prayers, in several small mosques in Qatar. Mohammad Hamad Al Kuwari, the head of mosques at the ministry said that they are not in charge of small mosques on private property, following a string of complaints about wrong qiblas in small mosques. However, the ministry said that it was ready to assist anyone for determining the right qibla direction when they build a mosque or seek to fix the direction. Under the qibla rule, Muslims must orient themselves towards the Kaaba when offering prayers. Most mosques contain a niche in a wall that indicates the qibla in the direction of the Holy Kaaba in the Grand Mosque of the sacred city of Makkah. However the qibla was determined in an approximate manner in some mosques, especially at petrol stations and in new shopping malls, sometimes resulting in an unwanted direction. Qatar Chronicle

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