ABU DHABI // Improving the image of religious teachers is as important as increasing financial incentives to attract more Emiratis to the job, say UAE nationals.
FNC members this week questioned Hamdan Al Mazrouei about the reason only 4 per cent of imams and muezzins in the country were UAE nationals. Mr Al Mazrouei is the chairman of Awqaf, the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments.
He said factors such as the long hours and perceptions about low wages were part of the problem.
But some Emiratis said they believed there were other reasons as well.
Khalfan Al Muhairbi, 32, the chief executive of the Gulf Arabian Group, said the social commitments of Emiratis made it hard for them to be imams, so providing them with a personal assistant was essential. “The imam needs to be at the mosque an hour before each prayer and stay for half an hour after, fives time a day, which is a lot,” said Mr Al Muhairbi.
However, he voiced optimism that the Government’s support to improve the working hours of religious teachers would result in more Emiratis leading prayers and preaching.
Mr Al Muhairbi said he was incapable of becoming an imam or muezzin regardless of shorter working hours, but he would be happy to help anyone who chooses to become an imam.
“From my position I will also try to give the support I can to make this work,” he said.
Zainab Amer, a 30-year-old Emirati, said more should be done to change public perception about the profession.
Ms Amer said many people thought that the role entailed political interference at times.
“Imams don’t feel safe with everything going on in politics. If I’m going to be monitored all the time I don’t think I’m going to be comfortable in doing this job,” she said.
Ms Amer said there should be further rewards if imams are inspirational in their sermons.
“They could assign them to mosques with a high number of attendees, based on their skills and interesting preaching skills,” she said. Having Emirati imams was important to the country, she added, as they could deliver sermons “more effectively”.
“When you have the Friday sermon recited by an expat, you sometimes find that the locals are not focused and they don’t get influenced as much by the message,” said Ms Amer.
She also suggested brainstorming sessions with imams to select relevant discussion topics.
Ali Al Abbadi, a 43-year-old Emirati lawyer in Abu Dhabi, said higher salaries were necessary but more could be done to offer imams emotional and social support.
“[Awqaf] should meet with them [to discuss] their problems and try to solve them,” he said.
“So, if someone needs to get married, they could help him find a wife and settle down.”
A UAE University professor, who asked not be named, said the university had a degree in Sharia studies but it could not qualify graduates to become imams. “To graduate from this degree the student should have memorised a number of parts from the Quran,” said the academic.
But an imam needs to have memorised the entire Quran in tajweed and have thorough knowledge of related studies. And although there is a compulsory subject called “the fiqh of da’awa [preaching] and worship”, it is not sufficient either, so the professor suggested introducing a specialised course to prepare people for a career as an imam.
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Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
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"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Getting there
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.
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Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Jimmy Sheirgill, Mahie Gill, Chitrangda Singh, Kabir Bedi
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PlayStation 4, Xbox One
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Director: Athale
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