Young Imam: Malaysia’s Answer To American Idol

“The U.S. has American Idol. Britain has The X Factor. Malaysia, one of the world’s more progressive Muslim nations, has something rather different – a televised search for the country’s most eligible young religious leader. … Instead of a record contract or a million-dollar prize, though, the last imam standing wins a scholarship to the al-Madinah University in Saudi Arabia, a job leading prayers at a Kuala Lumpur mosque and an expense-paid trip to Mecca to perform the Haj pilgrimage.”