By Mohd. Faisal Fareed, TwoCircles.net,
Lucknow: The Imam Council of India (ICI) will hold a one-day convention in Lucknow on Saturday to press for their demand regarding the payment of respectable salary to Imams of mosques under Waqf Boards.
The demand also received support from the Brahmin Sansad whose chief Pandit Amarnath Mishra justified the demand on grounds that the Imams are in pathetic condition with many of them getting less than Rs 300 per month as salary. There are estimated 3.25 lakh Imams in various mosques which are governed by the two Sunni and Shia Waqf Boards. “We are united for the demands for Imams. The Brahmins and Maulanas had fought the British during the independence struggle. We will again repeat it and the Imams will get their rightful due,” said Mishra. Incidentally the ICI has appointed Mishra as their general secretary for spearheading its battle.
The demand for increasing the salaries of the Imams is based on an order passed by Supreme Court in 1993 which stated that the income of Imams should be proper and worth living. “The apex court order has been implemented in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi and their Waqf Boards are now paying salaries to the Imams of the mosques which are under their control. It is around Rs 9000 per month which is atleast respectable,” said the president, ICI, Maulana Hifzur Rehman Meeruti. He also stated that nearly eight lakhs acres of Waqf land was under the possession of the state government in UP and if the government released it, it would be sufficient enough for the Waqf Boards to pay salaries to the Imams.
Meeruti even offered a bargain of political support from his organisation if any political party comes forward in addressing their demand. “Earlier Congress chief Rita Bahuguna and Pramod Tiwari had met the state governor for our demand. If any political party fulfils our demand we will surely support it,” he said. As per him, his demand has support of both the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and the All India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB). The maulana also stated that salary to Imams was correct even as per the Islamic shariah. “It is job with lots of responsibility and the Imams should get their due,” he added.
The convention will be held at Baradari in Qaiserbagh, according to reports.
The convention will be attended by Imams of mosques from all sects of Islam, said eminent Shia cleric and Imam-e-Juma Maulana Kalbe Jawwad in another press conference. He also did not rule out the possibility of again approaching the court for implementation of the apex court’s directives.