DUSHANBE, March 30, 2012, Asia-Plus  -- More than 300 imam-khatibs, who have been given time to improve their knowledge, will go through re-attestation in the second half of April, an official source at the Committee on Religious Affairs (CRA) under the Government of Tajikistan, told Asia-Plus today.

According to him, the imam-khatibs have been informed of the upcoming re-attestation and they are currently sitting for a test.

 We will recall that a special commission vetted the professionalism of 3,356 imams and imam-khatibs last year; 106 of them failed a test and more than 300 others were given time to improve their work.

The law stipulates that imams and imam-khatibs of mosques are selected by the appropriate state bodies in charge of religious affairs.  The government has organized attestations of imams, quizzing them of their knowledge of Islamic principles since 2007.