By Mohamed al-Khatem

DARFUR, Sudan

Traditional Quranic schools are attracting thousands of students from across Sudan to learn the Quran and acquire religious teaching.

Locally known as khalwas, these schools are playing an important role in eradicating illiteracy and promoting religious education in a country where Muslims make up the majority of the population.

Khalwas in Sudan's western province of Darfur, however, retain a special reputation.

At these khalwas, children study and memorize the Quran, read and write Arabic and study Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence).

One of the most famous khalwas is the khalwa of al-Ihsan in al-Fashir, the capital city of North Darfur, where 30 students have gathered to study Islam's holy book.

At the khalwa, students spend between 2-4 years studying Quran, Arabic and Islamic jurisprudence. They are also taught how to perform prayers.

Students start their day around dawn and keep taking lessons throughout the day until early night.

At the start of their day, students write down a number of Quranic verses on wood tablets to memorize them, before narrating them in front of the chief imam.

"The war has not put out the fire of education in Darfur," the khalwa's chief imam, Sheikh Abdul-Rahman, told Anadolu Agency.

Since 2003, Darfur has been the scene of a simmering conflict between the Sudanese government and three rebel movements, which, according to the UN, has left some 300,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced.

In 2009, the Darfur conflict prompted the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir amid allegations that Sudanese troops and allied militias had committed atrocities in the troubled region.

Special role

The khalwa of Om al-Kheir in al-Fashir accommodates more than 300 students, most of whom come from nearby refugee camps.

"Students learn some parts of the Quran as well as how to perform prayers," chief imam Salman told Anadolu Agency.

Some students at the khalwa also attend regular schools in Sudan.

"Most families now tend to send their children to regular schools," Ahmed Yaacoub, a student, told Anadolu Agency. "These families, however, are keen on sending their children to khalwas with a view to deepening their faith."

Over the past two decades, regular schools have sprung across Sudan with the blessing of the government of Omar al-Bashir.

In 1990, the government opened a university for providing regular education to students.

For Yaacoub, this will not diminish the special role being played by khalwas in the life of the Sudanese.

"Though the khalwas no longer receive thousands of students as in the past, they will keep their stature in a society where religion remains a driving force," he said.