Mohammed Wajihuddin, TNN, Feb 25, 2011, 07.18am IST

MUMBAI: Thanks to a fresh initiative to tutor the imams, Friday sermons in several mosques in the city will be more inclusive.

Imams who lead namaz five times a day and also deliver Friday khutba (sermons) command respect. But fed stories about Muslim persecution, real and imaginary, many imams use incendiary language. This, scholars complain, has helped reinforce a ‘victimhood mentality’ among Muslims. But soon loudspeakers at the mosques will amplify more mature voices.

A group of 20 imams and 30 madrassa teachers attended a day-long session on Wednesday where they learnt and unlearnt many a thing. They were told how to use their Friday sermons to promote communal harmony. Called Minorities’ Initiative for Learning and Partnership (MILAP), the project, in association with Iqra Education Foundation, an NGO, engaged the imams and clerics to sharpen their skills.

“Friday sermon is a good platform to reach out to community members. Our resource persons tell the imams how to make their speeches cogent, concise, topical and inclusive,” said Uzma Naheed, Iqra Education Foundation’s director. Naheed says her emissary, a senior cleric, met dozens of imams across the city over the past two months before 20 of them agreed to participate in Wednesday’s training camp. “We faced resistance as many thought we were trying to interfere in the duties of imams. But the response to our first workshop is encouraging,” she said.

The imams said they had never been exposed to any such session before. “We know our Islam as we graduated from madrassas, but for the first time, someone told us that our sermons should include not just the qualities of our religion, but we should also speak of good things in other religions in a multi-cultural country like India,” said Maulana Mohammed Abdullah, imam of a Govandi-based mosque.

Normally, Friday namaz is preceded by two addresses—a speech in the local language (Urdu in mosques of north and west India) and a mandatory khutba in Arabic. Most devotees don’t understand Arabic language, but hear the khutba nevertheless. Now efforts are being made to provide translations of the khutba to namazis. Delhi-based NGO Zakat Foundation of India (ZFI) has taken an initiative in this regard.

Meanwhile, MILAP will hold a week-long (February 25 to March 3) programme for 15 madrassa students who have just graduated or are in their final year.

Read more: Imams in Mumbai undergo training to deliver inclusive sermons – The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Imams-in-Mumbai-undergo-training-to-deliver-inclusive-sermons/articleshow/7567717.cms#ixzz1F14WYRPu

Printed from