The livelihood patters of the imams in rural Bangladesh: a qualitative analysis

Abstract

The Imams of the mosques are woefully lagged behind from the development in rural areas. Therefore, the author aimed to conduct this study for generating knowledge on the living standards of Imams in the context of rural areas of Bangladesh. In this case, he applied the qualitative research method and collected data based on the observation and the Focus Group Discussion methods. In consequence, this study identified that a student can be appointed as an Imam of the mosque as usual by studying at the religious educational institutions. Along with they are far away from many activities, banned by religion, society, and the country’s law. As a result, they get the highest honor from all and sundry in the society. But as a matter of fact, the economic conditions of them are vastly lowest among all professionals, signaling inequity towards them. Even so, it is worth noting that they are poor members of society. Therefore, the rich people and policymakers have to pay all attention to reduce the economic vulnerabilities of them so that they can exist to serve the people as usual