More than 50 older working people in Kamarkhanda upazila of Sirajganj have taken up learning the Holy Quran late in life. Many could not learn as children because of poverty, the struggle to earn a living or family responsibilities; now, past the age of 50, they are carefully spelling out its words every day and learning to perform the five daily prayers correctly.
On Friday night (2 October), at the Kamarkhanda upazila central mosque, 42 older learners who had completed a free course in the Madani method run by the Sheikh Abdus Salam Foundation were each given a copy of the Quran. The day labourers, small traders and vegetable sellers had been taught for more than a year by the mosque’s imam, Abdul Momen.
One learner had a special surprise: in a lottery, a travel agency, Sam Travels and Tours, gave 70-year-old Shafiqul Islam Tara a free Umrah pilgrimage. He was overcome with emotion.
Maulana Qari Muaz Nomani, a director of the Bangladesh Quran Shiksha Board, said this was the second batch of the programme, which began on 9 July 2025. Classes run every day from after the Maghrib prayer until the call to Isha prayer, and the learners came to the mosque every evening after a full day’s hard work.
Three months remain in the current batch, and a third batch will begin once it ends, he said. The organisers plan to keep the free programme going to spread religious education among older people in the area.
Guests spoke on religious topics at the ceremony, which was attended by Kamarkhanda assistant commissioner (land) Abdullah Al Mamun, foundation officials, Belkuchi Ulama Oikya Parishad secretary Hafez Md Rafiqul Islam and local dignitaries.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report