Youngest Imam in US is a Chippa boy from Gujarat

“I am enjoying it. It is a great experience,” said Aman, who wants to be an Islamic scholar. “Initially I was nervous, but as days passed, I gained confidence.” Nihad Awad of the Council on American Islamic Relations says there is no official record but Aman is possibly the youngest Imam in the country.

It all began on Friday, September 22. An Imam from South Africa who had been leading Ramadan prayers at the mosque for the last three years had been deported on arrival and other mosques in the region couldn’t spare an Imam.

Some mosque officials suggested that Aman and his friend Uzair Jawed, 16, lead the prayers as a stop-gap arrangement, for both had earned the title of hafiz by memorising the Koran—Aman by 10, and Jawed by 13. “We thought, let Aman give it a try. If he’s not successful, we will drive down to the other mosque nearby,” said his father, a director of the centre.

The first day Aman led the prayers, hardly two dozen people turned up. But over a few days, word spread that the new Imam was as good as the previous one. Now the mosque fills to capacity-about a hundred turn up daily.

His father says that ever since Aman was born, he wanted him to become a hafiz. When he was four, Aman was taken to an Islamic centre in Buffalo, near Niagara Falls. The centre refused to admit him. After three years, another one in Pennsylvania admitted him. And before he was 10, Aman had memorised the Koran.

At the same time, Aman continued with his normal schooling. He is interested in computers, loves computer games, and would like to become a game designer when he grows up. “Now, I feel confident,” says Aman. And the Muslim community in America feels the same way too, for this could a sign that they won’t have to rely on Imams from abroad in the future.