Turkey’s first “family imam” service, in which Sunni Muslim religious leaders pay house visits to hear concerns and discourage people from bad habits, has been launched in the southern province of Adana’s Sarıçam.
The beginning of the service, which is being run as part of a project under the aegis of the Directorate of Religious Affairs, was recently announced by the Adana Mufti’s Office.
“Religious personnel must in the framework of the ‘Family Imam’ [project] pay visits to citizen’s homes and deal with their concerns,” the office said in a statement. “They must identify poor people in neighborhoods and visit ill people, if any, as well as give condolences and [provide assistance] in funeral ceremonies, if any. They must read the Qur’an and encourage people to come to the mosque. We cannot just deal with people who come to the mosque and ignore all others,” Adana Mufti İsmail Canbolat said Wednesday.
A committee including district muftis, preachers, neighborhood imams and chairmen of religious associations will pay visits to families on certain days during the week, according to Canbolat.
Sarıçam District Mufti Murat Demir said the family imam project was first applied in Turkey in Adana two years ago. “We are continuing our work and visits in this regard and will visit all [the district’s] families.”
Demir said their aim was to meet face to face with each citizen and discuss religious issues with them as well as listen to their problems while trying to generate solutions.
“We warn families on bad habits such as drugs, smoking and alcohol. Young people who become drug addicts experience many difficulties in attempt to get rid of such an addiction,” Demir said.
“Some commit suicide, some get treatment in hospitals, and others are left with no hope,” Demir said, adding that they would work together with families to avoid such situations.
The directorate has not only commissioned family imams to work in their communities but also aims to reach families who suffer from domestic violence or other family-based problems as part of another project.
After receiving many calls from people who faced domestic violence, the Istanbul Mufti’s Office decided to train their officials to appropriately respond to calls from couples.
“The main problem between couples is a lack communication,” said an unnamed official, adding that the directorate was trying to tell couples that a wife and husband were not in competition, but complete each other.
The directorate also offers ideas for how couples can be a happy family, while officials also said they wanted to support family institutions by adding religious ideas to the mix.
Men who call the directorate’s information hotline often complain about their mothers-in-law and their wives’ Internet addictions. The officials reportedly said people also called them to say they had previously faced domestic violence.
“If I prevent my husband from entering our house, am I committing a sin?” one woman reportedly asked officials.
Not : preventing a husband from entering the house is a sin ? GOOD QUESTION !