Imams, muezzins call for pay raise

AMMAN — Imams and muezzins on Sunday demanded a 100 per cent raise claiming they were promised it by the government.

Husni Awad, a member of the Imam and Mosque Workers Association, said that the Prime Ministry approved the 100 per cent raise back in 2011, but that “the law has not been applied yet”.

“It has been eight years. Our patience has run out,” he told The Jordan Times over the phone.

The association is also calling to be officially recognised, as it is not licensed as an association in government documents despite the fact that there are “hundreds, even thousands, of imams and mosque workers”, according to Awad.

The Ministry of Awqaf’s Spokesperson Yousef Qudah said that “government employees are not allowed to form associations, and since all mosque workers are assigned and employed by the ministry, the government cannot license their association”.

The ministry and the protesters will meet on Monday to discuss the demand, although, according to Qudah, the meeting in the eyes of the government is one of “employees voicing their demands to their employer, not an association meeting with the government”.

For Mohammed Homsi, also a member of the association and an imam of a mosque located in Irbid, the government “should do more than just approve the 100 per cent raise”.

“Our salaries are no more than JD400 maximum, and all we get in benefits is a small room inside the mosque. That is not enough for a decent living, especially given that we put in more than just being imams. Some of us organise Koran groups and give lectures outside of our working hours for the community as well, which we are not paid for,” he added.