Young Imam ( Malay: ''Imam Muda'') was a

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

n television series that commenced broadcasting in 2010. The show featured young men competing for a post as the

imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

of a mosque and a scholarship to study at the

Islamic University of Madinah The Islamic University of Madinah () is a public Islamic university in Medina, Saudi Arabia. Established by King Saud bin Abdulaziz in 1961, Sayy’id Abul Ala Maududi had played a significant role of establishing and running of Islamic Univers ...

Competition

10 men entered the show as contestants, aged between 19 and 27. Over 1,000 people auditioned to enter the show. Each week of the show, the contestants were tested by undertaking ritual tasks (such as delivering sermons) and on their religious knowledge. The head judge was former imam of Malaysia's

National Mosque Lists of mosques cover mosques, places of worship for Muslims. These lists are primarily arranged by continent, with the exception of lists for the largest, tallest, and oldest mosques. Asia * List of mosques in Asia ** List of mosques in Afghani ...

, Hasan Mahmood. The prize for the competition's winner included a scholarship to study at Islamic University of Madinah in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

, a posting as

of a mosque, 20,000

Malaysian ringgit The Malaysian ringgit (; plural: ringgit; symbol: RM; currency code: MYR; Malay name: ''Ringgit Malaysia''; formerly the Malaysian dollar) is the currency of Malaysia. Issued by the Central Bank of Malaysia, it is divided into 100 cents ( M ...

and a new car. The two finalists were Muhammad Asyraf Mohd Ridzuan and Hizbur Rahman Omar Zuhdi. On 30 July 2010, Muhammad Asyraf, a 26-year-old religious teacher, was announced as the winner. The two finalists for the 2011 season were Mohd Hassan Adli Yahaya and Nazrul Izwan Zolkiflee. In July 2011, Mohd Hassan, a 26-year-old, was announced as the winner.

Ratings and reception

The show was the highest rating show in the history of

Astro Oasis Astro Oasis is a Malaysian television station owned and operated by Astro. The channel broadcasts Islamic-related programmes. Its highest rated program is the reality TV series, '' Imam Muda''. Astro Oasis is currently available for free-to-v ...

, a television channel dedicated to religious programming.

References

{{reflist Astro Malaysia Holdings Malaysian reality television series 2010s Malaysian television series 2010 Malaysian television series debuts 2011 Malaysian television series endings Malay-language television shows