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In a revolutionary move, Ministry of Islamic Affairs has announced it will outsource Friday Prayer and Eid Prayer leading on contract basis. Up to now these prayers were conducted by imams employed by the Ministry, who have now been given notice.
The Ministry has not revealed the details of the bidding procedure, or how the bids will be evaluated. However it is likely that the Ministry will employ a prequalification process. Permanent Secretary Mohammed Didi indicated this when he said 'capable' imams will be selected. Even though Didi did not spell out what he meant by 'capable,' Shaikh Ibrahim Fareed should not be very surprised if he does not find his name in the list of 'capable' people.
As of now it is unclear whether the bidding is open to foreign imams from countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt, who will face difficulty in reading the Dhivehi parts of the sermons. However, this should not preclude them totally, as it can be circumvented by using Arabic transliteration. With transliteration they would do considerably better than Maldivian imams of the Latin Khutuba era.
For those not familiar with 'Latin Khutuba,' a little explanation may be in order. During the 1970s President Ibrahim Nasir abolished Thaana script and replaced it with Latin script (basically the English alphabet.) As a consequence, Friday sermons were also changed to Latin script. Old imams had difficulty reading the sermons and some could not finish even by Asuru Prayer.
[For details of the news in Dhivehi click here]
14 comments:
Who says Islamic Ministry is backward? they are leading the way.
I thought the ex-justice minister Jameel was being sarcastic when he said that religious affairs in Maldives has gone to the extent of being "contracted"... hahhah.. guess he was right, nonetheless unintentionally...
what an achievement by the islamic ministry, I think our islamic ministry has revolutionised the whole sermon delivery system. Indeed its major achievement to the whole islamic world. we are truly impressed.
To Anon 11.43. You are right. This is indeed a great sucess that will reverberate thoughout the Islamic world again and again. Next we must export our imams to Afghanistan and Swat in Pakistan. Congraltulations.
woaah. people, people...dont get too excited about this alight. i dont think this is progressive. who do you think will evaluate and approve these 'contractors'? ofcourse the adaalat band of sheikhs. groups like jamiyyatussalaf (ali rameez and co.) will go for it, there are other isamic groups too. and with this kinda opportunity, im sure the jihadists too will try to get hold of something.who knows what foriegn group will try to take this opportunity throgh local imams and spread their venom. to this day, maldivian mosques are just places of worship mostly,unlike other countries where a mosque is like a community with an imam (scholar) they follow. now this is about to happen in maldives too. well, we havent seen the details of this yet. but i bet this aint going anywhere pretty.
and here is a thought; how about we privatize and outsource our government. im sure there are more capable people who would love to run this country and profit from it.
Maintennace of mosques must also be outsourced. This can be done with voluntary contributions from worshippers instead of government budget.
To anon 11.48= I agree about exporting imams to Afghanistan. But please make sure they are given only a one way ticket.
wat if someone hires a Jehudic Imam...a rabbi?
This is a strange move, this means that the gov could not directly accountable for what the Imams say.
If they are gonna go about it i think a they should publicize the criterion by which the bids would be evaluated.
Am I reading the haveeru article wrong?
Due to civil service commisions requirement that no one can have two jobs, they are just doing it on a contract basis. Is this any different from other contract jobs that government utilises?
How is it any more privatised, than having an imam on a contract job, rather than as civil service commision job?
Bloody hypocrites.What else can we expect from our newly formed "Islamic Sainthood"!May Allah save us from their evil clutches.
you have completely got this wrong...
ministry said whoever has been given notice will be prefered...
and if you didnt know what 'capable' means then you should find out...it means you have the permission or sanadhu to read khuthubaa or to give sermon...is that so much to discuss about...its a qualification...written in a paper...
and if you think this is like building a house and contracting by bids...
you have got it wrong again!!!AGAIN!!
its not like that...it will b set...its like before just the name contact to suit the law...
i think when you start talking like an ignorant like hilath, simon...you really become ignorant..
im sure islamic ministry or most of the dhivehin wont contacts you or accept your bid ..because you so "drawkcab"..even if you prose just 1 laari for a sermon...coz what you talk makes no sense...this is no more than a bakhabaru
When the first church opens in Maldives in mid August, Arch Bishop of Canterbury will be coming to open it, we will then see if the mosques or churches are better? functioning of churches will be 1000 times better and organised.
I like our new Islamic Ministry for allowing imaams freedom to give unedited sermons.Now I know if i visit a friend and finds his wife attractive,the Islamic nice way is for my friend to give his wife to me. This is what i learnt from a recent Friday prayer sermon.Long live Bari for giving us enlightnment.
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