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The Maldives government has taken several initiatives to expand Quran education and memorisation programmes across the country, with more than 2,000 students currently enrolled in various programmes.
The initiatives are part of the government’s efforts to expand Quranic education nationwide, Islamic Affairs Minister Dr Mohammed Shaheem Ali Saeed said in a post on X on Monday (September 7).
“President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has prioritised the expansion of Quran-based education. As part of this effort, state allowances for hafizs have been increased and the scope of Quran memorisation programmes has been expanded nationwide,” he said.
“Our goal is to increase the number of hafizs to 500 during this term,” the minister added.
Most students are currently receiving Quran memorisation training through the National Centre for the Holy Quran and Ilm Institute.
The minister said the government was also advancing its decentralisation efforts to take Quran education to the islands. Branches of the National Centre for the Holy Quran have already been registered and started operations on 30 islands, while registration is underway for another 20 centres. In addition, 38 new centres are currently under construction.
The government aims to introduce Quran memorisation and education programmes on every island within the next two years.
Meanwhile, changes are being made to the responsibilities of island imams to expand access to Quran education at the local level. Under the new arrangement, island imams will also be responsible for teaching Quran at local branches.
Dr Shaheem said the Maldives currently has 322 certified hafizs. He expressed hope that a significant number of new students would complete their memorisation and receive hafiz certification by the upcoming Ramadan.
He said the government aims to raise the number of certified hafizs in the Maldives to 500 before the end of the current president’s term. To achieve this target, the government is taking steps to further expand Quran education infrastructure and training programmes across the country.
As part of these efforts, President Muizzu announced last year that government land had been allocated for the reconstruction of the National Centre for the Holy Quran. He also announced plans to establish two more waqf-based centres, named Darus Salam and Darul Arqam, to promote Quranic knowledge and education.
Quran memorisation is considered an important part of religious education in the Maldives. The government’s initiatives aim to strengthen the Islamic education environment nationwide by expanding Quran education infrastructure, establishing island-based centres and involving local imams in teaching.
The Maldives is an Indian Ocean island nation with a population of more than 500,000. Its capital is Male. Islam is the state religion, and the religion holds a special status under the country’s Constitution and legal framework. The Maldives gained independence from British rule in 1965 and is among Asia’s smallest countries in terms of both area and population. The vast majority of its population is Muslim.
