WASHINGTON, May 15 (IslamOnline) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered his chief of staff on Sunday to appoint a full-time imam to serve the spiritual needs of Bedouins and other Muslims serving in the Israeli Army.
Sharon's instructions came after Israel Radio reported that the funeral of a Bedouin soldier had been delayed for several days because the army could not find any imam willing to lead the Janaza prayer.
Soon thereafter, Sharon reportedly called Lt.-Col. (ret) Hassan al-Haib, head of the forum of Bedouin Councils, and urged him to find a suitable person for the full time imam post, which would be equivalent to that of a Jewish rabbi in the IDF Chaplainry Corps.
A border policeman of the Israeli army, Sami Suwed of Shfaram, was killed in a gun accident at his base last week. No one was willing to perform his Janaza prayer for a week when finally an imam from south of the country finally agreed to conduct the service.
Haib, in an interview with Israel Radio, said that the Bedouin Council has been assured that a full time imam would appointed either by the Defense Ministry or the Religious Affairs Ministry, or directly by the IDF.
"We see the [lack of an appointment] as a very serious matter," he said.
Haib also criticized those imams who refused to perform the religious rites at the dead soldier's funeral.
"We denounce Muslim leaders, among them those of the Bedouin in the north of the country, who refused to come and pray for a young man who lost his life serving in the security establishment," he said.
He then went on to say that, "Nowhere in the Qur'an is it written that they should do something like this, and I therefore appeal to Israeli citizens, [both] Arabs and Jews [to rectify this matter]."
