Surabaya, NU Online
Deputy Governor of East Java H. Saifullah Yusuf (Gus Ipul), launched the Internet Religious Texts Studies program which is part of activities of Maghfiroh Ramadan Festival 2012 organized by the National Mosque of Al-Akbar Surabaya (MAS).<>

"That's progress for using technology with current themes, moreover the MAS also held religious texts studies which are the most typical tradition of pesantren (Islamic boarding schools)," Gus Ipul said here on Friday (20/7), adding the long-standing "tradition had proven able to give birth to great Islamic scholars."

Accompanied by the Director of MAS, H Endro Siswantoro, Gus Ipul opened the Ramadan festival by beating tambourines, in addition to opening the MAS Ramadan charity fair by releasing balloons with some 25 orphans.

"Ramadan festival regularly held by MAS every year is important to animate and enliven (the holy month of) Ramadan for being capableof giving economic value added to SMEs," Gus Ipul who is also chairman of the MAS Board of Trustees said.

"Studying religious text books (popularly known Kitab Kuning) is amazing, because the yellow book studies using limited facilities could give birth to great Islamic scholars, such as KH Bashori Alwi, the late KH Abdurrahman Wahid, and many others," he said, adding the book used during the MAS Ramadan festival was Riyadhus Sholihin.

Therefore, he said, the East Java provincial government would pay special attention to religious schools (madrasah diniyah) having so far escaped the attention of government.

Editor : Sudarto Murtaufiq