Inmates Find Faith Behind Bars

Hisham (not his real name) would probably not have got the chance to read the Quran had he not been imprisoned.

Nine months after he was in prison for substance abuse, the 34-year-old had memorised two chapters of the Holy Book. He is also learning Tajwid (rules governing the pronunciation of Quranic verses) so that he could be an Imam in mosques when he finishes his 33-month sentence.

"I am putting my past behind me and working towards building my career to be a Tahfiz (memorization)  teacher who is well-accepted by the community."

Another prisoner, Muhammad Firdauz, 19, said he learned to pray and read jawi characters in prison.

"I was mixing with the wrong crowd and never bothered to pray or read the Quran. Prison had changed my perspective on life and I have learned a lot about my religion here."

Hisham and Firdauz were among 40 inmates who enrolled in Kluang Prison's Sekolah Agama Khotimah, the first such school in Malaysia.

The religious school, fully funded by the state government with the support of Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, and the Johor Islamic Development Department (JAIJ), was established in September, and has nine trained religious teachers. It was the brainchild of the state Religious Department adviser Datuk Noh Gadot, whom upon visiting the Kluang Prison with the department's delegation, felt the lack of religious knowledge was one of the main reasons for the inmates' wrongdoing.

With religious knowledge imparted by the school, the department aimed to develop the characters of the inmates to enable them to lead more fulfilling lives.

Prison director Mat Rashid Jahlil said the inmates would be awarded with a certificate by JAIJ upon completing their three-month religious studies.

"With the certificate, the inmates would qualify to continue their diploma in any religious school in Johor. Those who excelled would be given the chance to further their studies at the Al-Azhar University, fully-funded by the Johor state government."

He said the school could accommodate up to 200 inmates, taken in on a voluntary basis.

"For now, we have 20 male inmates over the age of 21 who are taking the Tahfiz al-Quran studies and 20 inmates under the age of 21 taking the Fardu-Ain studies. The inmates here are able to memorise one chapter of the Quran every month compared with other places where the students could only memorise three chapters in a year."

Source: New Straits Times