Not everyone dressed in a ‘kanzu’ and ‘kofia’ is an imam or sheikh

A mosque. An imam is the person who leads prayers in a mosque. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • A survey of the literature shows the term imam can also be an honorific for eminent scholars of Islam, or leaders of Muslim communities or villages.
  • Depending on the usage of the word and whether or not it is written with a capital “I”, it can have many different meanings and connotations.

This is my belated New Year message: Not everyone dressed in a kanzu and kofia is an imam or sheikh. We can find many applications for this wisdom, not just in the world of Islam.

But the aphorism is not mine. It is from the high priest of media affairs at Nairobi Jamia Mosque.

Abu Ayman Abusufian took umbrage at the following story published by the Daily Nation last year.

A Malindi court sentenced a man to life imprisonment for sexually abusing his nine-year-old stepson. The assailant’s name was not given, but he was said to be a madrasa teacher, an imam, 37 years old.

SCHOLAR

Was the Nation trying to protect the imam by not naming him? That was not Mr Abusufian’s concern.

The Jamia Mosque head of media was concerned that the “imam” may not have been an imam, after all.

One can’t be an imam without a mosque, he says. “An imam is a Muslim scholar attached to a mosque, where he leads the prayers and also has a larger role in providing spiritual advice and leadership to the community.”

I checked everywhere. I found at least the Nation Stylebook agrees with him, defining ‘imam’ as “leader of congregational prayer in a mosque”.

Mr Abusufian’s beef with the Nation is that the story, headlined Imam gets life sentence in child sex assault case, emphasises the fact that the sexual offender is an imam but does not name his mosque.

MEANINGS

In the body of the story, published on November 16, we are told that he is “an imam in Malindi”. But there are many imams and mosques in Malindi.

The sexual offender might very well have been a madrasa teacher, but that didn’t necessarily make him an imam.

Some madrasa teachers, Mr Abusufian said, “only possess a basic understanding of Islam and cannot be referred to as imams or sheikhs”.

However, a survey of the literature shows the term imam can also be an honorific for eminent scholars of Islam, or leaders of Muslim communities or villages.

Depending on the usage of the word and whether or not it is written with a capital “I”, it can have many different meanings and connotations.

Examples: “Muhammad Swalihu is the imam of Nairobi Jamia Mosque,” “The Aga Khan is 49th hereditary imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims,” “Imam Mohammed Al-Bukhari is one of the most distinguished scholars of Hadith in Islamic history.”

DISTINCTION

However, in the context of the Nation story, Mr Abusufian is right. An imam is the person who leads prayers in a mosque.

“Unfortunately, it has become the trend for the media to describe anyone dressed in a kanzu and a kofia, who is associated with a Muslim institution, as a sheikh, an imam or Muslim leader,” he says.

“It’s important for a proper distinction to be made regarding these titles by your journalists to avoid misrepresentation of facts.”

I think we can agree with Mr Abusufian. A sheikh is also a Muslim honorific for heads of religious orders, organisations and colleges, chiefs of tribes and headmen of villages.

IDENTITY

It’s also applied to Muslim scholars recognised as having specialist knowledge of Islamic law and theology, and men who are important or wealthy.

Examples: “Sheikh Khalifa Mohamed is the organising secretary of the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya”; “Former Chief Kadhi Sheikh Hammad Kassim led the mourners in the final prayers before the burial of Mombasa billionaire Twahir Sheikh Said”; “Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume was the first president of Zanzibar,” and so forth.

But what Mr Abusufian did not consider — and this does not nullify his argument — is that, if the Nation had named the mosque where the offender held prayers, that could have led to his identification — and hence that of his stepson.

USAGE

The NMG editorial policy forbids the identification of children in sexual offences cases.

According to the policy, editors have a moral obligation to ensure they leave no margin whatsoever that could lead to identification of such victims.

This is also in conformity with the Children’s Act. But, when all is said and done, Mr Abusufian is asking journalists to use Muslim honorifics correctly.

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