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 CAIRO - With the knock-out rules of reality TV and Islamic
principles, eight mosques in Britain are vying for the country's Model
Mosque 2007 in a televised contest aimed primarily at highlighting
mosque contributions to society and clear stereotypes on Muslims, the
Guardian reported Saturday, October 19.

"There is so much disparity between mosque standards and the show is a
way for mosques to see the positive work that is already being done,"
said Abrar Hussain, producer of the Model Mosque TV contest.

Hussain said it was thanks to a model mosque supervised by one of his
friends that he initiated the contest.

"I wasn't too keen on my local mosque and my friend's one sounded
better, it was doing stuff that mine wasn't and I was a bit jealous,"
said the 29-year-old Muslim activist.

The eight contesters have reached the final stage after a tough
competition with about 500 mosques.

The finalists hail from Bradford, Birmingham, Cricklewood, Croydon,
Glasgow, Haringey, Leyton and Manchester.

Over the past 14 months, representatives of two rival mosques used to
appear every week in a live show on Britain's Islam Channel to be
grilled by a presenter on their contributions to society and the
Muslim minority.

After the presentation, viewers vote in a reality-TV style for their
favorite, knocking out the second.

The final voting will be held in November in front of the 25,000-
strong Muslim crowd attending the Global Peace and Unity event at
London's Excel Centre, and it will be broadcast to a potential
audience of billions worldwide.

It would also be broadcast worldwide to be viewed by a potential
audience of millions.

The winner would be rewarded £35,000, which will support mosque
funding and training proposals.

No X-Factor

Participating mosques are assessed according to their contribution to
interfaith activities, the women and youth representation and their
financial and administrative transparency.

"It's not the X-Factor because there is no singing and dancing and
it's not mosque idol because worshipping idols is forbidden," said
Mohammed Ali, chief executive of Islam Channel, which broadcasts the
contest.

The X Factor is a British television music talent show contested by
aspiring pop singers drawn from public auditions.

Hussain added that the contest is not about "horrible and embarrassing
bad mosques."

"There's no nastiness," he laughed.

He said the contest is meant to dispel stereotypes about mosques and
how people there are helpful not radicals as right-wing media often
claims.

"We did internet research, looked at press coverage, spoke to regular
worshippers, prayed there ourselves - like mystery shopping. We did
our homework," he said.

"We did not find any evidence of this radicalization that's supposed
to be everywhere. The big surprise is how many good mosques are out
there. I was also surprised to see how willing people were to help
out," added Hussain.

The organizers also hope that the popularity of the show would lure
Muslim youths to participate more effectively in mosque activities and
pick the torch from the old generations.

The mosque contest judges include Salma Yaqoob, vice-chair of Respect
party and a Birmingham City Councilor, and Sir Iqbal Sacranie, the
former Secretary General of the umbrella Muslim Council of Britain.

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