Not informing people of the misconduct of an imam and teacher despite knowing of it

Question

A man knows of the misconduct of the imam of a certain mosque and teacher of a madrasa, yet does not inform the people of the village about his conduct, while all the people pray behind him and the boys and girls of the village go to study at the madrasa — and this man knows this imam to be a person of bad conduct. What fatwa applies to such a man?

Answer

If his aim is that the imam’s fault should not become public and he should not be disgraced in people’s eyes, but rather that he should counsel him in private so that the imam desists from his misconduct and repents, then this man’s way of acting is correct and better. If he has some other aim, then it should be stated.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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