The "family imam project", subject to a controversial discussion for quite some time, was now implemented for the first time in Sarıçam, a central district of the south-eastern city of Adana.
The Adana Provicial Mufti, Ali Canbolat, explained that it is not the only duty of an imam, an Islamic prayer leader, to perform the ritual prayers at the mosque and give the call to prayer. Additionally, the imam is important in terms of taking care of the people's worries, trying to ease their troubles and ensuring that related officials will be provided to take care of their problems, he claimed.
The official website of the Department of Religious Affairs quotes the website of the Sarıçam Mufti's Office, saying that with the implementation of the "Family Imam", the religious attendants not only look after the members of the community but after all people in the vicinity of the mosque.
"We will not neglect the ones outside the mosque"
Adana Provincial Mufti Canbolat said that the religious attendants are going to visit the homes in the environment to take care of the problems of the citizens from a close distance.
Canbolat defined the duties to be fulfilled as determining the poor in the district, visiting the sick or offering condolences to families who lost a relative.
Canbolat indicated that people needed to be encouraged to go to the mosque. One should not be contented with the people who come to the mosques only but the people outside the mosque should not be neglected either, he said.
Imam calling for attention
A delegation made up of the district mufti, the preacher, the district imam and the head of the mosque foundation is going to visit the homes of the Sarıçam district and will inform the people on more than religious issues only.
The representatives of the delegation will give ideas on religious topics as well as the use of alcohol, cigarettes and narcotics; they will take an effort to drive the citizens away from bad habits.
The family imam and the delegations will advise parents on observing their children's friendships, stating that alcohol, cigarettes and narcotics might even trigger a suicide attempt.
"We won't miss a single door"
The Mufti of Sarıçam, Murat Demir, highlighted that the duty of the imam is not limited to performing the prayer but that he will listen to the problems in the district and stand by the families in good and bad days. Demir described their aim as conveying the religion of Islam to the society in the soundest manner.
Demir claims that they are not going to leave out a single door in the scope of the project. "Our aim is to visit every single home and talk to the citizens one to one, to discuss certain issues of religion and to find solutions for problems. In fact, this is the Sunna of our esteemed Prophet".
"Adding the colour of religion to society"
Abdullah Karatay, President of the Social Service Experts Association, talked to bianet about the topic. He said that even though the people who are running this project say that they are not working on behalf of "social services" but in the scope of a "development project on religious services", it is evaluated as a slide to the field of religious ideology.
Karatay emphasized that this sort of service should be provided by people who have been trained in the field of social services. Even though the project is not considered as a "social service", Karatay thinks that religion is widely used in social life and that they are trying to imprint the colour of religion on the society. In Karatay's opinion, this cannot be accepted as a very ordinary thing to do.
"I do not think that they possess competence on topics like approaching a husband who is inclined to violence, the meaning of a family system or finding solutions for disputes between spouses. My father taught me about the imam. If I don't say that I am going to preach at the mosque, they will not provide any social service in any other field. (EKN/EÖ/VK)
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