People reciting Qur’an in a Brunei mosque

By Kazi Mahmood, IOL Southeast Asia correspondent

KUALA LUMPUR, November 8 (IslamOnline.net) - Muslims in the tiny sultanate of Brunei, bordering the South China Sea and Malaysia, flock to the Istana Nurul Iman mosque in the capital city every night for Tarawih prayers and Qur’an recitation.

The Royal Palace, where the mosque is located, beckons about 10,000 Muslims from around the country in a mass gathering to glorify and enliven the holy month of Ramadan with prayers and recitations of Qur’an, said Radio Television Brunei Friday, November 7.

Istana Nurul Iman becomes the focal point for Muslims who gather there every night, clad in their Malay dress.

The mosque is filled soon after breakfast for the Isha prayers which is as usual followed by the Tarawih.

“The atmosphere is extraordinary and it is a sight to behold,” said one of the TV commentators covering the event.

The TV station said such scenery was unimaginable in Brunei since the palace is seldom opened to the public for prayers.

“By all accounts the palace is now hosting the largest single congregation of Muslims in the entire country,” Lilly, a female student, told IslamOnline.net.

Women are also seen in smaller prayer halls learning and reciting Qur’an in groups late in the night.

These groups come from the association of women officers and teachers of primary schools and the Kampong Perpindahan Mata-Mata (villages).

At another hall, men from the primary schools department, Ministry of Education, touch the hearts and souls of those gathered with their recitation of the Qur’an.

Qur’an recitation as well as the complete reading of the Qur’an during Ramadan has always been part of the activities of Muslims in Brunei, probably the smallest state in the South East Asian region.

Brunei King Hasanal Bolkiah owns the state and distributes the wealth of the state to the people.

The sultanate produces oil and is one of the major exporters in the region and oil remains its main source of revenue.

It has a population of less than half a million, hailing mainly from Malay origin, and 90 percent of them are Muslims.