The Friday prayer sermon was going on in the mosque. A gentleman in shirt and pants came and sat in the first row (row) next to the Imam. Before starting the prayer with Iqamat, the muezzin asks the gentleman to move away from his place next to the imam and give him a place. But as the gentleman objected to move, the Imam also requested him to move a little.
After the prayer, the Imam came out of the mosque and found out that he did not have a job. Because the worshiper who was told to move was Lalmai Upazila Executive Officer (UNO) of Comilla. Forkan Elahi is incomparable.The imam who lost his job complained that the UNO was angry about the incident at the mosque and threatened to drown the imam in the water of the mosque pond several times.
The incident took place on Friday (October 13) at Bhatra Kachari Central Jame Masjid near Perul Union Land Office of Comilla’s Lalmai Upazila.Since the morning of the incident, UNO was fishing with a fishing rod in the government pond adjacentto the mosque. The matter was announced on Saturday (October 14). Several worshipers of the mosque confirmed the truth of the incident. They expressed regret about the matter.
Maulana Abul Bashar, the imam and khatib of the mosque, said, “At the end of the sermon, a man wearing a shirt and pants came and sat in the first row next to the imam. At the end of Iqamat, while standing for prayer, the muezzin asked the gentleman to move a little. Then I pray. When I left the mosque after the prayer, the gentleman called me and the muezzin to the south of the mosque to the government pond.
Someone present there asked me, do you know him? I said – no. Then he said, he is our upazila executive officer. I immediately said, sir we did not recognize you. Then the UNO sir got excited and said, there is nothing to say. I will dip you in water now. How big Maulana you have become, I will interview you.’Then he called local UP chairman Khandaker Saifullah and member Golap Hossain on mobile phone.
After they came, UNO sir asked me, why did he ask me to move? In which book is the muezzin to stand next to the imam? Then I said to sir, if the imam fails to lead the prayer for any reason, then the one who is with the imam has to perform the duties of the imam. Apart from that we did not recognize you.’He also said, ‘At one stage he told the chairman-member, when I say, he will bring the imam, muezzin and committee people to my office. In reply, the UP Chairman said, “If it goes like this, it will go, if not, I will bring it.”
After about two hours of interrogation, when I went from the pond to the paved road to go home, a worshiper of the mosque came and told me that I did not have a job. UNO Sir and Chairman said he was sent.
Zahirul Islam, secretary of the mosque management committee, said, ‘I prayed in another mosque on Friday. I was not present in our mosque. But in the afternoon I heard that the executive officer had a problem with the imam after the Friday prayer.’ Hafez Parvez Hossain, Muazzin of the mosque said, ‘I did not recognize UNO sir and asked him to move. Because of that, UNO sir asked me and Imam Sahib many questions about Pukurpad after the prayer. Excited, he said to dip Imam Sahib in water several times.
Local Perul South Union Parishad (UP) chairman Khandaker Saifullah said, ‘I have not heard whether UNO sir asked Imam to immerse himself in water. But the Imam-Muezzin did not do the right thing. UNO has forced Sir to move the time of prayer. They can’t do it. Apart from that, Imam’s elem (knowledge) is very less. Imam could not answer many simple questions of UNO sir. That’s why I asked the people of the committee to exclude the imam.Lalmai Upazila Executive Officer (UNO) said. Forkan Elahi Anupam said, ‘Imams of mosques are not appointed from the upazila.
