14 September 2012

On ‘child brides’ and irrelevant imams

.... Still, the article is right in that some imams do need to address the needs of the youth better and stop hiding under the sand on matters of politics.

They may well be thinking that mosques are houses of Allah and are meant for quiet prayer and contemplation, not political arguing, and certainly spaces need to be set aside for the former (and they may also be keen to stop HT- and Muhajiroun-type agitation), but historically, the imam was also the political leader who gave sermons on Friday in which politics were mentioned prominently.

The mosque is also, often, the only community centre, and to entirely ban discussion about politics is to deprive the community of a much needed space to talk about the issues that affect it, including their relations with the police and wider society. [Indigo Jo] Read more