Clowning around to teach the Koran
(SOUNDBITE) (Betawi) TEACHER WHO DRESSES AS CLOWN TO TEACH KORAN TO YOUNG ORPHANS, YAHYA EDWARD HENDRAWAN, SAYING:
"My name is Yahya Edward Hendrawan. I am 38 years old. I am a 'Sharia clown'. There are many clowns out there but I teach and motivate children to recite the Koran, and who want to read books cheerfully together with the Sharia clown. Yeah."
This ‘Sharia clown’ teaches orphans lessons from the Koran
Location: Tangerang, Indonesia
Yahya Edward Hendrawan is a full-time teacher at an orphanage
He dresses as a clown during the month of Ramadan
to teach children Sharia, Islam's legal and moral code
(SOUNDBITE) (Betawi) TEACHER WHO DRESSES AS CLOWN TO TEACH KORAN TO YOUNG ORPHANS, YAHYA EDWARD HENDRAWAN, SAYING:
"When we ask children to recite the Koran, it is a bit difficult. But if there are clowns, they feel they go to class with some purpose. Sometimes they want to recite the Koran because there are clowns, and that's their 'goal'. Sometimes I give them presents too. The most important thing is they want to go to school first, and be happy. Whether or not you want to read is not so important. How can they read when they don't want to come? So, they must have a purpose. So we try to get them to join first, we need to understand the children's world."
