By Zaidul Haque, TwoCircles.net,
Kolkata: A conference of All India Imam Organization was held on 7 December at Hafiz Hotel complex, Zakaria Street, Kolkata. The Imams hailing from various mosques and institutions all over the country gathered to discuss the role played by the clerics for better prospects of Muslim welfare.
Speaking on the occasion, AIIO state secretary Maulana Abdur Rahman said, “Imams engage in a noble deed of propagating the message of Allah (SWT) and our beloved Prophet (pbuh) through Quran and Hadith with the intention of building a humane society. They are also acting as couriers of various government schemes which are there to muslims. Greater co-operation on the part of the government is what is required now.”
“We stressed on how Imams and Muazzins can come forward and play more active role in fulfilling their social responsibilities for the greater good of the community,” said Mohammad Shafique, Imam of Nakhoda Mosque.
“We should also forge cohesion with the state government if needed in order to expand our reach to the people through our activities. But we also want that Imams should get justified remuneration from the state Waqf board similar to that of the Group-D employee of Government of West Bengal,” he pointed out.
He further elaborated the demand of a just renumeration by stating that Imams are financially weak and if the government would not lend its ears to our demands now than it would become difficult for us to manage various states of affairs.
He lauded the joint role of Imams and the state government in the eradication of polio. “It is a matter of immense pride for us that we teamed up with the government for such an important cause. Imams always take lead in any welfare programme of Muslims taken up by the government as we feel that the onus of building a good society is on all of us,” he extolled.
He also reiterated the demand of land for building proper homes for Imams. “At an Imam-Muazzin meet held on 3rd April, 2012, our chief minister Mamta Banerjee had made us a promise that every Imam will get a piece of land for building pucca homes and that the government will bear all the expenses of the education of the children of Imams including higher education. We expect the CM to keep her word,” he reminded the gathering at the conference.
A slew of other important demands were made at the conference which also included the arrangement of allowances to the divorced women from the Waqf board.
Other dignitaries present at the conference were ex MLA Muhammad Sohrab, Maulana Ashraf, Mufti Muhammad Jalil and many Imams from different districts of West Bengal.