Agencies | 29 Rajab 1438/27 April 2017

More than 50 000 inmates currently being held in prisons across Indonesia simultaneously took part in a khatam, or reciting the Quran from beginning to end, last Thursday, strengthening their faith while also breaking a record at the Indonesian Museum of Records (MURI).

The event saw 57 360 inmates in 450 detention centres spread across the country recite the Quran.

Centered at the Cipinang penitentiary in East Jakarta, the event was livestreamed and screened on a large videotron.

MURI founder Jaya Suprana handed over the award to Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly in front of hundreds of inmates wearing white attire and white caps.

Yasonna said the inmates inside the prisons had made mistakes that everybody was capable of making.

“We must see them as human beings. We have to empower them, not destroy them,” he said.

The event was held in collaboration with Nusantara Mengaji, a movement that promotes people reciting the Quran. Nusantara Mengaji is led by Muhaimin Iskandar, the chairman of the National Awakening Party.

Yasonna said the program could show the public that even people who were serving time in prison could practice religion solemnly.