During the holy month of Ramzan, a period of fasting and charity, Muslim community groups have asked for guidelines to ensure that Imams who perform religious duties at mosques receive a living wage.

The issue was raised by a former Member of the Legislative Assembly, Yusuf Abrahani, who said that the Imams, who lead prayers, the muezzins, who issue the call for prayers, and the khadims or the mosque attendants receive poor compensation for their work. "The Imams are the religious heads of the mosques. They are not paid salaries, but get hadiya (gift). The mosque trusts do not pay a fixed amount. However, the pay is poor. The Imams have no security and can be removed at will," said Abrahani.

According to data from the Maharashtra State Wakf Board, there are around 3500 registered mosques in Mumbai. Altaf Patel from the Muslim Pressure Group said that over the last few decades, there has been a change in the composition of the Imams who work in the city's mosques. "Earlier, most of them were from Kerala or Bengal. The majority are now from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, or Bihar. They come from poor backgrounds and have no qualifications for any other job. They leave their families behind and work for Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 a month," said Patel.

Not all mosques pay such low compensation to their Imams. The Jama Masjid near Kalbadevi, one of the major mosques in the city, said they pay Imams a starting salary of Rs 30,000. "I agree with Abrahani who is a senior community leader. Our mosque provided Imams with good living quarters, food, travel allowance, and other facilities. We pay them an extra monthly compensation during Ramzan. However, Imams are often neglected. Other mosques should provide these facilities," said Haseeb Kirkire, trustee of Jama Masjid.

There are demands that the government create some guidelines so that the Imams and other mosque attendants get a minimum wage. "We call them Imams, but they are paid lower salaries than municipal sweepers. Maharashtra can create guidelines," said Abrahani.

Patel said he did not support the idea of the state paying salaries to the staff of religious places. "We are not asking the government to decide salaries. However, some guidelines can be made so that the mosque staff get decent salaries. Many of them survive on donations of food and clothes. This is an insult," said Patel who suggested that zakat - the mandatory annual donation of 2.5% of personal wealth that believers are asked to donate towards charity - should be used for their welfare.

"Earlier, zakat was distributed locally to poor relatives, neighbours, locality, and to Imams. Now the collection goes out of the city. Zakat collected in Mumbai should be spent here," added Patel.

Abrahani agreed that a part of zakat donations should be used to help mosque staff. "People are large-hearted during Ramzan. They should pay hadiya to the Imams. I will ask the government to consider guidelines for the welfare of mosque staff," Abrahani added.