Can the Sultan change the imam of the mosque?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : And I speak. Okay, was he a caliph or not?
The Shaykh : Yes, he praised you.
The questioner : That if someone were to take precedence over him, it would be a matter of concern, meaning it would be like a reduction in his rank or something? That this is under the authority of the Supreme Sultan, and the Supreme Sultan can change this imam and appoint another imam?
The Shaykh : Yes, the imam of the mosque is actually under the authority of the Sultan, so he is more entitled to it than he is.
The Shaykh : Yes, he praised you.
The questioner : That if someone were to take precedence over him, it would be a matter of concern, meaning it would be like a reduction in his rank or something? That this is under the authority of the Supreme Sultan, and the Supreme Sultan can change this imam and appoint another imam?
The Shaykh : Yes, the imam of the mosque is actually under the authority of the Sultan, so he is more entitled to it than he is.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 3079التعليل في أن السلطان أولى من صاحب البيت وإمام...؟📔 الشرح الممتع على زاد المستقنع - ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.