Imams go digital in times of Covid

By Judith Mora

London, 6 Oct (efe-epa).- With many mosques closed due to the pandemic, a pioneering online platform is offering Islamic services to Muslims around the world.

ImamConnect has attracted nearly 80 providers and around 500 users since it launched last month and is available in the United Kingdom, Canada, Malaysia, Australia, Germany and Singapore.

Founder Muddassar Ahmed tells Efe it provides an online space where the Islamic community can find tailor-made services, including counseling and financial advice.

From his office in east London, he explains that he came up with the idea because many young Muslims in Western countries do not regularly go to a mosque.

There are around 3.4 million Muslims in the UK, half of whom are under 25 years old, and only 12 percent regularly attend a mosque.

“Most Muslims, the vast majority, don’t go to a mosque regularly but that doesn’t mean that they necessarily become outside of the fold of Islam,” Ahmed says.

“They still need services, they might go once a year to the mosque or they might not but when they get married they’ll want an imam, when they have a funeral they’ll need an imam, when they wanna write their will they need an imam, when they have a child.

“So there are many instances in life where individuals that are un-mosqued still need religious services, so we wanted to create a platform to make it easier for those people that don’t have a connection to a mosque.”

He adds that the pandemic has made the platform even more relevant.