Indonesian Catholic schools organize Quran classes for Muslim pupils

Published: 2004-11-09

PADANG, Indonesia (CNS) -- Two Catholic-run schools in Padang have organized after-school Quran classes for their Muslim students during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Don Bosco Senior High School and St. Mary Junior High School in Padang, the West Sumatra provincial capital, are offering a Quran study program for the first time. The provincial government had issued an instruction urging all schools to arrange such an activity, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. The study program is a long-standing local tradition. Muslim parents traditionally send their children to a "pesantren," or Islamic religious school, to study the Quran during Ramadan. Normally schools shut during the first week of Ramadan and for about 10 days beginning with Eid al-Fitr, the feast that marks the end of the holy month. During Ramadan, which began Oct. 15 in Indonesia and ends Nov. 14, Muslims fast from food and drink daily from dawn to sunset.

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