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.