The government has issued a gazette on the Mosque Management Policy 2025, paving a way for mosque employees to include them in a structured pay scale, service benefits, recruitment rules and welfare provisions.

The policy was published in a special issue of Bangladesh Gazette on Monday. It was formulated by a committee of the Ministry of Religious Affairs which held several meetings with prominent Islamic scholars and representatives of organisations of imams and khatibs before finalisation.

Religious Affairs Adviser Dr AFM Khalid Hossain attended the meetings as the chief guest.

Under the new policy, a grade-based salary structure has been fixed for mosque employees excluding khatibs whose remuneration will be determined according to contract terms.

However, financially insolvent and mosques where 5-time prayers held have been advised to fix salaries and allowances according to their capacity. As per the new policy, senior pesh imams will receive salaries in Grade 5, pesh imams in Grade 6 and imams in Grade 9.

The chief muezzin will be paid in Grade 10, muezzin in Grade 11, chief khadem in Grade 15 and khadem in Grade 16. Mosque management committees have been asked to arrange family accommodation for staff according to their capacity and introduces a monthly savings scheme for their future welfare. A one-time honourarium will also be provided at the end of service.

Mosque employees will be entitled to a maximum of four weekly holidays per month with committee approval, 20 days of casual leave per calendar year and one earned leave for every 12 days of service, it said. For recruitment, a seven-member selection committee will be formed for each mosque and no direct appointment will be allowed without its recommendation.

Appointment letters must clearly mention salary, allowances, duties and other service conditions, it said .

The policy also creates new posts for security guards and cleaners and instructs committees to arrange separate prayer spaces for women in accordance with Shariah. The size of mosque management committees has been increased to 15 members with scope for adjustment based on mosque income, size and location.

For resolving service-related disputes, aggrieved employees may appeal within 30 days to the Upazila Nirbahi Officer or the relevant city corporation regional executive officer. A three-member committee led by the deputy commissioner will address any complexities in implementing the policy.

Sun News/ra