The interim government has launched a new initiative to introduce a moral education programme for inmates in 68 persons across the country, Religious Affairs Adviser AFM Khalid Hossain said on Sunday.
"We will run a moral education programme for 70,000 for jail inmates across the country to infuse among them human values," he said this during an exclusive interview with BSS.
He said the initiative was taken to help inmates return to normal life on expiry of their jail terms as part of schemes taken by his ministry following the ouster of the past Awami League regime in the July Uprising last year.
"And for this (moral development), everyone needs religious education," Hossain said adding until now there was no such initiative for moral education in the prisons and after the interim government came to power, initiatives were taken towards that end.
Hossain said 2,500 inmates were given lessons from the Holy Quran in Keraniganj Prison in recent months.
The adviser said the prisoners' moral standard would be heightened if they received religious education according to their own faiths while great men's biographies could as well instill into them the sense of ethics, ideals and values.
"So, we are going to take some more steps towards that end. For example, distributing more books and hiring teachers in prisons. Currently, there is one teacher in a prison from the Islamic Foundation. This number will be increased," he said.
The adviser said his ministry was now conducting some programmes in prisons engaging the Islamic Foundation which was running libraries and providing religious education to inmates.
He said a huge number of religious books would be handed over to the home ministry in the first instalment for the prisons in a few days.
The adviser said the Interim government was always striving to protect the prisoners' human rights as "everyone in the prison is not a criminal."
"Many have been imprisoned even in false cases. We cannot call anyone guilty before the court verdict. We want to make prisons real correctional facilities," he said
The adviser recently visited the central jails in Chattogram and Dhaka.
He said his ministry recovered huge areas of out of possession "waqf" properties and provided grants to mosques and madrasas alongside continuing to provide religious education in thousands of maktabs in the past one year.
He further mentioned that the religion affairs ministry recently started appointment of religious teachers, arrangement of prayers in wards, distribution of morality-based books, and prayer mats.
Hajj management
The adviser said Bangladesh has set a world record for good Hajj management this year with sincere cooperation and instructions of the chief adviser.
"This year's Hajj arrangement by the Ministry of Religious Affairs of Bangladesh set an example in the (Muslim) world," he said.
"87,100 Hajjis are the partners in this achievement as they performed the holy Hajj in Saudi Arabia following the proper rules and regulations," he added.
He further mentioned, even after performing the holy Hajj safely this year, Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims have received a refund of Tk 82 million from the government.
Development initiatives
He said the absence of any political pressure enabled his ministry to reach various services to the people's doorsteps around Tk 11 crore was provided to the helpless, poor and sick under the Zakat Fund in 2024-25.
"Some 4,620 people were given Tk 2.31 crore from the Imam Muazzin Welfare Trust while each of them received Tk 5,000. A total of 600 people were given interest-free loans of Tk 1.80 crore," he said.
The adviser said in line with the ministry's social commitment it was working for development of life in Haor areas and conservation of biodiversity there engaging imams.
The ministry also is carrying forward a programme of delivering speeches in pre-Friday sermons in mosques in the relevant districts and upazilas to create public awareness about terrorism, militancy, drug addiction, women and child abuse, human trafficking, dowry and child marriage.
The adviser said this year, his office provided financial assistance of around Tk 17,1 crore to Muslim religious institutions for the renovation and development of religious places of worship while Tk 5. 83 crore were given to 1,043 madrasahs and orphanages while over Tk 3.97 crore to 733 for renovation and development of the Eidgahs and cemeteries.
"Financial assistance of around Tk 1.44 has been provided for the renovation and development of 307 Hindu temples while Tk 29. 90 lakh was given for development of 57 crematoriums in Hindu religious institutions," he said.
In addition, financial assistance of Tk 56 lakh has been provided for the renovation and development of 112 pagodas and Tk 15. 50 lakh for was given for development of 29 Buddhist crematoriums in Buddhist religious institutions.
Financial assistance of Tk 14.50 lakh has been provided for the renovation and development of 29 churches and one cemetery in Christian religious institutions.
An amount of over Tk 4.43 crore was provided to 3,140 destitute to improve their living standard.
On 24 May 2025, a project titled "Mosque-based Children and Mass Education Program (8th Phase)" for the development of morality and religious values was approved in the ECNEC meeting.
Under this project, Holy Quran education, pre-primary education and adult education are being provided to over 1. 46 crore students.
"The religious affairs ministry has also created jobs for 76,670 imam, muajjen and educated men and women," he said.
The adviser said they took measures to introduce an automation system to give all the services online about the timeframe of Mutawalli and board of directors of around 17,000 waqf estates.
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