Despite the ongoing war in Sudan, certain aspects of daily life have been ongoing in Central Darfur State’s Zanlingei Town which witnessed the graduation of students from Quranic schools known as Khalwas on Tuesday.
Amid the conflict, fighting, and artillery shelling, many students persevered and continued memorizing the Quran and learning skills such as spelling and writing.
Sheikh Fayez Mohamed of the Al-Wihdah neighborhood told Radio Tamazuj that their educational activities have never ceased for more than 24 hours except for Thursdays and Fridays. He said the Quranic schools teach several sciences and content that the parents of the displaced children appreciate.
“The parents of our pupils have praised the content provided by the Khalwas and consider it better than what schools offer, such as the spelling skills,” he said. “I emphasize the need for other Khalwas in Central Darfur to follow our lead in this unique model. I also requested Radio Tamazuj to publicize this event (graduation) so that people can have a clearer understanding of what they are doing under these circumstances.”
For his part, Sheikh Nazeer Al-Selaik, the head of El-Thawrah the neighborhood mosque in Zalingei, emphasized the importance of celebrating the graduating batch of Quran memorizers, saying that this success is the result of the local people’s interest in the Quran, its Sharia sciences, and other academic teachings.
“I thank the sheikhs leading the initiative, headed by Sheikh Dr. Mudather Younis Arabab, who is a lecturer at the University of Zalingi and the founder of the Khalwa Nour Al-Huda’a, as well as the honored girls who completed memorizing the Quran,” he said. “I want to emphasize the importance of focusing on religion and its sciences and adopting the same approach in other neighborhoods.”
Meanwhile, another sheikh, Ismail Ibrahim, praised the event and thanked those responsible for organizing it, including the teachers and parents.
“I call for the event to be publicized on social media platforms so that others can benefit from it,” he stated. “In the shadow of the war that has affected almost all aspects of life, including education, it is necessary to make use of time and replace school activities and language institutes with Khalwa activities and teaching all sciences to boys and girls.”
Sheikh Ibrahim said that during his visits to various parts of the state, he discovered that many khalwas and religious teaching houses have been reopened.