Islamic boarding school strives to help the mentally ill
Islamic boarding school strives to help the mentally ill
ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post/Pasuruan
It was late in the afternoon when two pickup trucks filled with
people arrived at the Menghafal Kitab Al Quran (Learning the
Koran) Islamic boarding school in Rejoso, Pasuruan, East Java.
The school is among thousands of Islamic boarding schools
under the supervision of the Nadhlatul Ulama, the country's
largest Muslim organization.
The students alighting from the trucks were unkempt and
clutched the hands of people in soiled clothing.
"Sit here and don't go anywhere!" said one of the students to
a man he was accompanying, who happened to be mentally ill.
Students from the Islamic boarding school had picked up a
group of mentally ill people in Probolinggo, some 30 kilometers
from Pasuruan on Tuesday. They conducted a similar drive in
Pasuruan on Monday.
At least 60 mentally ill people were taken from the two towns
back to the boarding school.
"It was not easy to persuade them to follow us. Some resisted,
but most simply followed," one of the students, M. Irvan, told
The Jakarta Post.
The moment they arrived at the boarding school, they were
divided into two groups, male and female. Male and female
students who had been awaiting their arrival treated them with
patience. However, there were still some who refused to get off
the trucks.
"No, no, I don't want to get down," cried one woman between
sobs. Gently, a female student hugged her and reassured her that
she would not be harmed.
They received haircuts and the men were asked to take off
their filthy clothing and take a bath.
The women were bathed at the female dormitory located at the
rear of the school. All of them were given clean clothes to wear.
They were then gathered in the yard of the school and given
food and drink. "Do you want some coffee. It's good," said a
student.
According to the caretaker of the boarding school, Abu Bakar
Kholil, the school had decided something should be done about the
large mentally ill population in East Java.
"I don't know the exact numbers but I saw so many of them,
which led me to take the initiative to care for them," he told
the Post.
"According to Islamic teaching, they are also God's creations
and our brothers and sisters who must be taken care of regardless
of their gender or religion," he said.
Abu Bakar Kholil found that many of the people brought back to
the school by the students were quite lucid and simply required
care.
"When I communicate with them, many of them are reasonably
aware of their surroundings, but because they have been cast out
by society they prefer to wander around and dig for food in the
trash," he said.
"If they're treated normal, God willing, they will return to
normal," he said.
Every mentally ill person at the Islamic boarding school is
treated by the students as an equal, including when performing
religious duties.
When prayer time arrives, all students and all of the mentally
ill people who are Muslim are obligated to perform their prayers.
"We encourage those who want to pray, but it's not required
for non-Muslims," he said.
Unlike other Islamic boarding schools where students are
required to read the Koran at strictly imposed times, students at
the Rejoso Islamic boarding school are free to read the Koran
according to their own schedule.
"We don't mind if they are not in the mood to recite the
Koran. That is precisely the way to make Islamic teachings
accepted," he explained.
Through these unique methods, students feel at ease at the
boarding school, which is attended largely by former drug
addicts, unmarried pregnant women and the mentally ill.
One mentally ill man who was taken to the school some time ago
says he is happy there.
Abu Bakar Kholil said he had to finance this unique program
out of his own pocket.
"But if we are sincere, there will certainly be benefits from
God," said the father of three who provides a free education for
the students.