About 12 thousand Hafez in one year A bus march to memorize the Holy Quran in Turkey

Kadir Deng, General Director of Educational Services within the Turkish Religious Affairs Directorate, announced that 11,773 students completed Quran memorization in 2021 and gained the right to obtain a Hafiz certificate.

During the life of the Turkish Republic, which is nearly 100 years old, the mosques in all Turkish states, which numbered nearly 90,000 until the end of last year , continued to be the first qiblah for students wishing to memorize the Qur’an and learn its interpretation, rulings and teachings.

In addition to the mosques scattered throughout Turkey, there are also imams and preachers schools that entered the line and began to be concerned with memorizing the Qur’an for students who wished, in addition to teaching them to the curricula, whether scientific, literary or professional, and whose number during the academic year 2022-2021 reached 1,673 secondary schools attended by approximately 667 thousand students.

Bus rally

Last summer, the head of the Turkish Religious Endowment announced the start of face-to-face courses for memorizing the Noble Qur’an without interruption in 81 provinces, equivalent to 1,679 Quranic courses with the participation of 6,839 teachers and about 71,437 students. He pointed out that during the first months of last year, 12,000 students completed their memorization of the Book of God and obtained the Hafiz certificate.

Meanwhile, Kadir Deng, General Director of Educational Services within the Turkish Religious Affairs Directorate, stated that Hafez training continues throughout the year in schools and day courses besides boarding schools.

Ding stated that the duration of students obtaining the Al-Hafiz certificate varies according to their abilities, and said: "77,190 of our students continue their training to complete the memorization of the Holy Qur'an through the memorization training program. This program extends over a period of approximately three years, one year of preparation and two years of memorization." .

Noting that 9,000 children attend school and receive training in Quran courses, Deng said that the trainings are provided by teachers who are also memorizers.

Deng pointed out that they have taken a decision to compel memorizers of the Holy Qur'an to learn the Arabic language during the stages of completing their memorization. In an interview with Anatolia , he explained that this step aims to become familiar with the meanings of the Qur'an in addition to its memorization.

The number of memorizers is increasing

The Head of Religious Affairs, Ali Erbash, stated that there are approximately 200,000 Hafizs who have obtained his certificate across Turkey, and that nearly 80,000 students are continuing their training for Hafez certification during Quran memorization courses spread across the country.

The Qur’an learning sessions are spread in Turkey for different ages and for men and women, especially illiterate ones, and they vary between lessons in recitation, memorization, interpretation, jurisprudence, and others, and they are not limited to Turks only, but also include Arabs and Turks, and for children, men and women.

The Turkish Directorate of Religious Affairs seeks to increase the number of memorizers of the Noble Qur’an from 0.02% and to reach 1% of the population, i.e. 840 thousand memorizers . Erbas also pointed out that the percentage of those who can read the Qur'an in Turkey is 41%, and stressed that efforts should be made to increase the percentage to higher levels.

Schools of imams and preachers

The Turkish Directorate of Religious Affairs is working hard to increase the rate of Quran memorizers and the number of students who are able to read it through the optional Quran courses in schools in general and imams and preachers schools in particular, as these courses have received great attention from students and their families in recent years.

According to the latest data , training for memorizing the Noble Qur’an is provided in 194 high schools of imams and preachers schools all over Turkey. So far, 18,536 students of memorization have been included in the project, and among these students, 2,611 students have succeeded in obtaining a Hafez certificate.

Qadir Ding stated that the Holy Quran memorization programs have recently diversified, and courses have been made available for children between the ages of 4 and 6 years, and others for young people and adults. In the summer of each year, other Turkish states witness the launch of institutes for memorizing the Holy Quran for all age groups, from children to young people and the elderly, under the supervision of the Presidency of Religious Affairs.