The Council has stressed that the General Authority for Islamic Affairs and Awqaf (GAIAA), in coordination with other concerned authorities, should ensure that the jobs of imams and preachers are filled in by UAE nationals.
At the second session of its 16th Legislative Chapter, the NCC yesterday lamented that the percentage of UAE nationals employed as imams and preachers was very low in the emirates.
Ghaith bin Ghaith Al Hamli, an NCC member said: "It’s time the Awqaf authorities set up an Islamic institute to train UAE nationals to take up jobs as imams and preachers."
In a heated debate yesterday, the Council also exhorted the GAIAA to establish a local council to supervise all the mosques and other Islamic bodies in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, including issuance of ‘fatwas’ and appointment of imams and preachers. The NCC also urged the GAIAA to put in more efforts to ensure cleanliness in the mosques in the capital.
Reviewing a report of the GAIAA, the NCC mentioned that there are 2,004 mosques in the UAE, out of which 1,870 are supervised by the GAIAA. The rest 877 mosques are private (owned by nationals or private or government companies).
