Banten Provincial Government Distributes IDR 233 Million Assistance to Religious Teachers and Quran Instructors

Serang (ANTARA) – The Banten Provincial Government has distributed social assistance worth IDR 233 million as part of efforts to strengthen support for ustadz (religious teachers), marbot (mosque caretakers), Quran teachers and Islamic boarding schools (pesantren). Banten Governor Andra Soni, in a statement in the city of Serang on Tuesday, said that mosques should be strengthened as centres for social and religious activities. The assistance, provided during the 1447 Hijri Ramadan Safari, which was centred at the Al-Bantani Grand Mosque in Serang City on Monday (23 February), targeted 300 recipients with IDR 30 million, educational assistance for high school students worth IDR 18 million, and assistance for facilities and infrastructure for two religious educational institutions and two mosques/mushalla, each worth IDR 20 million. The government also distributed assistance for two uninhabitable houses, each worth IDR 50 million, and the construction of five clean water facilities in Serang City, worth IDR 75 million. Symbolic assistance was also given to the A’l Arbain Islamic Boarding School in Curug District. He said that the Ramadan Safari serves as a momentum to strengthen social concern and expand the benefits of zakat (Islamic alms) and religious assistance. “Hopefully, this Ramadan that we are observing together will not only bring rewards but also blessings,” said Andra Soni. To this end, the Banten Provincial Government is collaborating with the Indonesian Mosque Council (DMI) and the National Zakat Amil Agency (Baznas) of Banten Province in carrying out the Ramadan Safari in various regions, with activities centred in mosques or mushalla. In addition to distributing assistance, the Provincial Government is also encouraging the acceleration of land certification for mosque and mushalla waqf (endowments) through collaboration with the Ministry of Agrarian and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency (ATR/BPN), DMI and religious institutions. “In Banten, there are about fifteen thousand mosques and mushalla, and only about nine thousand have certified waqf. In order for everything to be completed quickly, we must collaborate,” he said. Chairman of the DMI of Banten Province, Bunyamin Hafidz, stated that the collaboration helps to meet the social needs of mosque administrators and religious staff. “From the marbot to the Quran teachers and those who perform the ritual washing of the deceased, who have been working with only sincerity as their capital, it turns out that the government is very concerned and provides assistance to them,” he said. Through the Ramadan Safari, the Banten Provincial Government aims to strengthen social protection for those involved in religious services and accelerate the legalisation of waqf assets to support better and more sustainable mosque management. Copyright © ANTARA 2026 It is strictly prohibited to take content, crawl or automatically index for AI on this website without written permission from the ANTARA News Agency.