Malaysia's got (Islamic) talent

[N.O.R.F]

Reality show concludes hunt for 'ultimate young imam'

 

 

Malaysia's latest reality television star is brimming with boyish charm, quiet confidence and stage presence. Crowned last Friday, Muhammad Asyraf Mohd Ridzuan is no run-of-the-mill entertainer. He is Malaysia's next top imam.

 

Over 10 weeks, the 26-year-old ousted nine others in the reality TV programme Imam Muda, or "Young Imam", to clinch the coveted prize of a job at a prestigious Malaysian mosque, an all-expenses-paid pilgrimage to Mecca and a scholarship to al-Madinah International University in Saudi Arabia.

 

Oozing the same razzmatazz appeal as Britain's 'The X Factor', Imam Muda is the brainchild of the Muslim lifestyle cable channel Astro Oasis and JAWI, a branch of the state's Islamic affairs department.

 

Instead of the song and dance routine though, contenders face weekly challenges such as performing the Islamic ritual of cleansing two unclaimed corpses, preaching to young delinquents hauled in after a police raid and counselling unwed pregnant girls at a woman's shelter.

 

Chosen from a pool of over 1000 applicants, 10 aspiring imams were housed in a mosque hostel with no access to the outside world for a period of three months as they underwent training in public speaking, Qu'ran recitation and Islamic doctrines.

 

The show's creator Izelan Basar hopes that Imam Muda will make Islam more appealing to the nation's young Muslims by portraying it as a religion that is relevant to modern times.

 

To this end, its producers were guided by feedback from a survey about the type of imams that the young wanted at their mosques.

 

Izelan summarises its target audience's views thus: "They said, 'We want someone who can talk on the same wavelength, who can be one of us, an imam who can play football, can talk about the World Cup, can talk about the environment and UFOs, for example'".

 

Judging from its official Facebook page which has garnered nearly 65,000 fans as I write this, the show is a runaway hit. Thousands who tuned in to last Friday's finale would have been delighted to find out that season two is scheduled for next year

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/aug/03/young-imam-malaysia

[Valenteenah.]

What a fantastic idea - I love it.

[N.O.R.F]

^Great idea. Job well done.

[GaroweGal]

MashaAllah

I have heard so much great stuff about International Malaysia Islamic university, any nomads attending there? I suspect that naqabi Ibti maybe

[BOB]

I love Malays...I'm lucky to have met so many wonderful Malays in S.A and I can sincerely say that they're wonderful people with a truly golden heart...in all my 12 years in S.A I haven't met a bad person that I disliked.

 

in Capetown there's very large Malay community who has been in S.A for centuries, they've Welcomed the Somali community with open arms and luckily for us we've rewarded them with some good Sheikhs who to this day still teach Qur'an and Arabic to their kids at the Mal'amas and of course quite a few husbands as well.

 

 

it seems like in the next few years Malaysia will be the shining light of the Muslim world and something tells me the Muslims around the world will benefit from their progress.

 

 

Peace, Love & Unity.

[Khayr]

The hadith comes to mind about following the nasaar and the yahuud, even if is to a fox hole.

 

This is a baaastradization of the islamic scholarship. Taqwa and righteousness are not measured by votes and popularity. The majority do not dictate what is good or bad, or who is righteous or not, contrary to modern society. The Islam paradigm is based on revelation and the sunnah of the rasul (Salallahu caliyhe wasilm) and the sayings and teachings of the great ulama (1400yrs worth of islamic scholarship).

 

This is a pure farce and a mockery of the deen.

[Som@li]

Great Stuff, Masha Allah

 

Malaysia is a role Model for Muslim countries.