Non-Formal Religious Education in Malay Muslim Community in Terengganu, Malaysia

Abstract

Terengganu is known as one of the center of religious traditional educations since many decades. The emergence of several traditional religious schools known as pondok has had a great impact on Muslim community in the area. The school used traditional mode of teaching methods and commonly handled in a study circle or halaqah guided by kitab kuning or old book as text books. Up to the present day, though some pondok schools are gradually replaced by modern schools receiving financial supports from the government, the traditional mode of teaching in the pondok are still popular including in some mosques of the state. This paper discusses the forms of teaching methods of religious education in the mosques and the pondok, besides looking at some roles of religious education to the Malay community. Data for the study were collected through unstructured interviews with key informants, coupled with participant observations conducted in selected mosques and pondok, besides published materials from secondary sources. All the data were analyzed using thematic approach. The study shows that there are various forms of classes and teaching methods conducted in the mosques and pondok schools whilst students attending the religious classes divided into two categories, the young and the older person. With the continuing efforts by the government particularly in providing the infrastructures and financial supports, it is hoped that religious education may again showing its attraction to the surrounding Malay community. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n3s2p189