Imams and muezzins in Madaripur live on three to four thousand taka

The honorarium they receive from the mosque committee is far from enough to support their families. In the current market, this honorarium is not enough. They cannot buy good food. Due to financial crisis, they cannot even send their children to a good educational institution. Even then, the imams and muezzins of Madaripur are forced to perform the duty of performing the five daily prayers at the prescribed time with a smile on their faces. Some of them also do other jobs to meet the needs of their families. As a result, the imams and muezzins have demanded salary and allowances from the government.

Talking to imams and muezzins in various unions of Madaripur Sadar Upazila, it is learned that the imams and muezzins of the mosque perform their duties despite various natural disasters and social obstacles including floods, droughts, cold, storms and rains. The mosque committee gives them three thousand taka as honorarium every month. However, they do not receive it properly every month. Some months it is two thousand and some months it is two and a half thousand. Whereas a person needs four to five thousand taka every month for their daily expenses. So how does their family survive? Some have chosen agriculture as another way to run their family. Many also work in agriculture along with being imams of the mosque. Somehow their family survives. The situation of imams and muezzins of most mosques is the same.

According to the Islamic Foundation of Madaripur, there are more than 5,500 mosques in the district. Although there are imams and muezzins in the city-level mosques, only one performs all the duties in most village mosques. Therefore, the number of imams and muezzins in the district is about 6,500.

Hafez Maulana Enamul Haque's wife, his mother and the locals said that it is a great hardship for them to run their family with such little money. Only Allah Himself runs their family.

Where a person cannot even spend his hand on 5000 taka, their salary is 3000 taka. We want the government to provide them with an allowance every month.

Imamati Asha Imams from different districts in the same area regretfully said that the honorarium we are given is far from allowing us to run our family, it is difficult for us to even live on it. Whenever we talk about this honorarium, tears appear on their faces. The price of everything in the world increases but our salary does not increase. The government should provide us with an allowance every month. Then it will be a little easier to live with our children.

Meanwhile, in the same village, Asha Maulana Shahjalal Islam from Kotalipara and Maulana Saidul Islam Osman Gani, Zubair, Mahmudur Rahman, Tauhid and several others from Bagerhat district lead the prayer. They are living a subhuman life with their families by working for a small salary. They are afraid of Allah and are unable to tell anyone. They are dependent on Allah alone like a mute cry.

Imam and Khatib Hafez Md. Enamul Haque of the Jama Masjid in Hogalpatiya Akon Bari said, it is very difficult to run a family with the honorarium given in the mosque, so I work in agriculture.

I have to run a family even with 2000 taka a month. I have never been able to tell anyone because of shame. If the government looks into the matter, we will be able to run well.

Several people including Wazed Sardar, Zakir Akon, Mujibur Rahman Hawladar, Malek Akon, and the presidents of various mosque committees in the same area, said that it is very difficult for them to live with the respect given to Imams from the mosque. But in fact, mosques are not synonymous with us in rural areas. It would have been better if the government had provided them with this.

Abdur Razzak Roni, Deputy Director of Madaripur Islamic Foundation, said that the Imams and Muazzins of all the mosques in this district do not receive any allowance or honorarium from the government. Only the Imams, Muazzins and Khadems of the model mosques of the district have come under the government's salary and allowance. We are writing to our senior officials so that the Imams and Muazzins of the rest of the mosques receive salary and allowance. We actually know that the Imams and Muazzins have been living in extreme hardship. We are working on this.