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| Southeast Asia |
| Malaysian reality TV show seeks female imams |
| 2011-06-18 |
| An upcoming Islamic reality television show in Malaysia wants to find the best women preachers and change traditional mindsets on the role of women in Muslim societies. The 13-episode prime time program called "Solehah", an Arabic word meaning "pious female", is a talent contest that will feature charismatic young Muslim women judged by clerics on their religious knowledge as well as their public speaking skills and personality. "If American Idol can help their contestants develop as singers, our show aims to help Muslim women develop as Islamic preachers," said Zulkarnaen Mokhtar, a manager for the private television station which produces the show. The show is scheduled to start airing in October and follows on the heels of the hit Islamic themed show "Imam Muda," or Young Imam, which is shown on a rival TV station and seeks the best imam. Imam Muda is set to begin its second season. The women will be judged primarily by their ability to "da'wah," an Arabic word literally meaning to spread Islam. In practice, it usually means delivering sermons to an audience of Muslims to get them to be better Muslims. The first of two days of auditions for Solehah, open to Muslim women aged between 20 to 30, was held in the capital city on Saturday and drew a group of women clad in colourful headscarves, some chaparoned by their mothers. They were tested by a panel of judges on their skills, including reciting the Quran and delivering impromptu three-minute religious lectures on the responsibility of Muslims to help victims of natural disasters. Prizes have not yet been decided. The prize for the Imam Muda men's program are a job as an imam, or mosque leader, a car, a cash prize of 30,000 ringgit($9,922), and a four-year scholarship to Al-Madinah University in Saudi Arabia. |
| Posted by:ryuge |