Other than the complete lack of a sneering judge with an English accent, it seems that the first series of `Imam Idol’ has been a great success, at least if the BBC report is anything to go by.

Scholar wins Malaysian TV’s Young Imam contest

A 26-year-old religious scholar has been chosen as the winner of a Malaysian TV talent show searching for a top young imam, or Muslim leader.
In Friday’s live TV final, Muhammad Asyraf saw off the last of nine other contestants vying to win Young Imam.

He had survived 10 weeks of written and practical tests, which included reciting Koran verses, washing a dead body for burial and slaughtering sheep. The prime time TV show, which followed the reality-TV formula of programmes like the X-Factor and American Idol, had proved a popular hit in Malaysia and had gained worldwide attention.

On being chosen as the winner by the programme’s judge, an Islamic scholar and former imam, Mr Asyraf was “crowned” with a white Islamic skullcap. “I feel good. Thanks to my parents, my wife and my fellow villagers who have been supporting me,” AFP quoted him as saying.

Mr Asyraf’s prize package includes a scholarship to al-Madinah University in Saudi Arabia, a job as prayer leader in a major mosque in Kuala Lumpur, a car and an all-expenses paid pilgrimage to Islam’s holiest site, Mecca.

Read More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10822752

So Islam has reasserted its place in the cultural avant garde for the first time since the Middle Ages.

Get with the program, guys. Time to catch the cultural wave.

American Christianity has rested smugly on the laurels of its megaconferences, soul patches, bo-lo (sp?) ties, megaspeakers, those trendy ear-piece mike thingies, mullet haircuts, dark suits, torn jeans, Scotch drinking, and militant total abstaining (delete where denominationally appropriate) for far too long.

Time for Preacher Idol, Bible Conversation Facilitator Idol, Youth Pastor Idol. If you’re not on the train when it leaves the station, you’re doomed to be left in the irrelevance of suburban Palookaville.

Rodney Trotter is a regular contributor to the Reformation 21 Blog where this item first appeared and it is used with their permission. However, The Aquila Report has it on good authority that ‘ Rodney Trotter’ is a pseudonym for one of the regular Ref21 contributors who would not want his polished following to know that he’s really into pop culture and therefore remains anonymous!