Maharashtra: Imam Selling Groceries Inside Mosque In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Sparks Debate On Clerics' Low Wages

Images of an imam sellings eggs and other groceries to devotees in the compound of a mosque in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, formerly Aurangabad, has started a debate whether a cleric should be forced to moonlight as a hawker to sustain himself. While some Muslims say that imams are allowed to supplement their income by practicing other trades, others argue that the work degrades the dignity of the job.

Many Muslims, like Shuaib Khatib, trustee of Mumbai's prominent Jama Masjid, who noticed the imam in a mosque in Aurangabad's old city during a visit there, said other mosques should replicate the idea, especially if their imams are poorly paid.

"After leading the prayers, the imam at the Aurangabad mosque sells the goods for a small profit. Salaries of imams are low and the trustees of this mosque have considerately allowed the imam to sell the goods in the mosque outside the prayer area. I think other mosques should replicate the idea," said Khatib.

According to data from the Maharashtra State Wakf Board, there are around 3500 registered mosques in Mumbai. Mosques have imam to lead the prayers and to read the kutba, the sermon during the Friday noon prayer. They are assisted by naib imams. Jama Masjid, one of Mumbai's oldest mosques, is run by a wealthy trust that has income from rented properties.

"We pay salaries between Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 per month to our imams, apart from living quarters. However, salaries can vary between Rs 7000 to 15,000 per month at smaller mosques. This is hardly sufficient to take care of a family," said Khatib.

The low wages mean that there are fewer local takers for the jobs. According to Altaf Patel from Muslim Pressure Group, a community association, a  majority of imams working in Mumbai are from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, or Bihar. "Coming from poor backgrounds and with no qualifications for any other job, they leave their families in their home towns and work in Mumbai for Rs10,000 to Rs12,000 a month.

The poor economic condition of imams promoted Samajwadi Party leader and former MLA, Yusuf Abrahani to request Muslims to help imams during the Ramzan fast when families give in charity. Abrahani said that cases have been reported about imams killing themselves because of financial difficulties. "Suicide is considered haram in Islam. It must have been a crisis for a man of religion to take a prohibited step," said Abrahani who added that Islam recommends that imams should work to sustain his family.

"During the rule of the second caliph, there was the concept of paying imams from the Baitul Mal or community corpus or share meat and other food with him. The imam has to look after his old parents, feed his family, and finance the education of his children. Even the biggest mosques in Mumbai pay low wages. That is the reason why I ask the community to help the imams," said Abrahani.

There are also views that a imam hawking groceries is demeaning. "I do not like the idea of an imam leading prayers and then selling goods to namazis. Yes, inflation is hurting imams. But this is true for any profession. The solution is to increase salaries. People will do their duty well if they are adequately compensated. They should not be forced to take up a second job to sustain themselves," said Maulana Mohammad Arif, a religious scholar from Mira Road.

Abrahani said that he was considering moving the courts to ensure that imams get a wage that adhered to the Minimum Wages Act 1948, an act of parliament concerning Indian labour law that sets the minimum wages that must be paid to skilled professionals.

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