THE INDEPENDENT: An Islamic reality TV show that made its contestants counsel promiscuous teenagers and bury corpses has named a mosque prayer leader as Malaysia's top role model for young Muslims.
Producers voiced hopes yesterday of launching similar versions of Imam Muda, or "Young Leader", in other Muslim-majority countries after the Malaysian show's first season became the most-watched programme to ever air on the Islamic channel of the Astro pay-TV network.
Muhammad Asyraf Ridzuan, 26, beat Hizbur Rahman Omar Zuhdi, an Islamic schoolteacher, to win the competition late on Friday in an event broadcast nationwide from an auditorium packed with spectators who had secured the highly coveted tickets. It was the culmination of a 10-episode run to find a man whose religious devotion could inspire other Malaysian Muslims of his generation.
Ridzuan's victory earned him prizes that mixed the spiritual – a new job as prayer leader at a prestigious Kuala Lumpur mosque and an all-expenses paid pilgrimage to Mecca – with the secular, including a car, iPhone, laptop and 20,000 ringgit (£4,000) in cash. >>> Sean Yoong in Kuala Lumpur, AP | Monday, August 02, 2010
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