Mosques and Imams watchdog launches in UK

Joined: 15 Jun 2006 Posts: 39 Location: Bangladesh

A national advisory council for all mosques and Imams is being launched in the United Kingdom to ensure that preachers provide Muslims with true Islamic teachings, BBC reported.

The proposal for a Mosques and Imams National Advisory Body (Minab) was one of more than 100 recommendations proposed by a government-backed Muslim task force formed after the July 7 London bombings.

The launch of the advisory body has been initially dismissed by the Home Office after a row over its independence from the government. Many mosques were also resistant to the idea of a watchdog, fearing that they would ultimately be controlled by the government.

But members of the Muslim task force insisted that the advisory council is crucial, stressing that its establishment will improve all Islamic institutions.

According to Minab founders, the watchdog will ensure that all Imams are qualified enough to give guidance to young Muslims. It will also focus on developing the careers of British-born educated preachers who can contact young Muslims in English.

"There are problems of governance within mosques and we need to build their capacity and make sure they are properly resourced,â€ said Khurshid Ahmed, of the British Muslim Forum, one of the four national organizations backing the advisory council.

"We need to be very realistic and honest with ourselves. The vast majority of our imams lack the capacity to intellectually engage with our young people. We need to help them build that capacity,â€ Ahmed added.

Minab will also grant more access for Muslim women in all mosques, and demand Imams to ask highly-educated Muslims in professional positions, such as lawyers and teachers, to help run Islamic institutions.

Yusuf Al-Khoei of the Al-Khoei Foundation, which represents Shia Muslims in the UK, said that the launch of Minab united British Muslim leaders.

"Four organizations have come together for the first time and reached a consensus. It's a very positive move because the voice of moderation is coming up loud and clear. We are trying to decouple Islam from images and allegations of violence,â€ he said.

"We need more involvement of the youth, of our women - and more involvement in our neighborhoodsâ€¦.We need our mosques to be more than places of worship, they need to be proper community centers,â€ Al-Khoei added.

your brother
Jareer Zafree