Hawzah News Agency (Tehran, Iran)- Hojat-ol-Islam Reza Rostami, director general of the Iranian Prisons Organization’s Cultural and Educational Department, added that more than 90,000 inmates take Quranic classes organized by the department.

The possibility of recidivism and returning to prison after release among those learning the Quran while in jail is less than 2 percent, he said.

Hojat-ol-Islam Rostami also referred to the religious programs held in prisons across the country and said the inmates themselves organize mourning rituals and ceremonies to mark religious occasions.

Earlier, Hojat-ol-Islam Rostami said that there have been extensive programs held in prisons in the field of thematic memorization of Quran.

He noted that last year, a Quranic festival was held by the organization in the southern city of Shiraz.

The cleric went on to say that the organization has set up 294 Dar-ol-Quran centers in the country’s prisons, noting that there is a need for establishing more such centers in prisons and correctional facilities.

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