Khatib meaning

The larger mosques have two imams: one is called (in Arabia and Egypt) the khatib, and he preaches the sermon on Fridays (the Moslem Sabbath); the other, the ratib, reads the Koran, and recites the five daily prayers, standing close to the mihrab, and leading the congregation, who repeat the prayers with him, and closely follow his postures.

The student who has passed his examinations at Constantinople or Cairo may take up the purely religious office of imam (president in worship) or khatib (preacher) at a mosque.

The reader of the khutba is also called khatib.