Hawzah News Agency (Goa state, India) - The Board of Islamic Education, Goa will be organizing a five-day long children’s festival from December 26 to 30 in an attempt to promote Islamic values and thoughts among them.

The festival, named Taare Zameen Par, is aimed at all the Muslim students studying in Goa schools and will be hosted in Ashraf Nagar, Verna.

Between December 23 and Jan 2, all educational institutions of the state get public holidays in view of Christmas, so the festival is also timed at conducively for the children. The festival will see loads of exhibitions, counselling sessions along with a host of extra-curricular activities like azaan, qirat and elocution organised in an Islamic atmosphere for different age groups, and events will be held separately for boys and girls.

The event will try to represent a true picture of Islam and the teachings of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).

Although Goa, the smallest state in India, has less than 5% Muslim population, the organisers are expecting 30,000 people including students, parents and teachers to attend the festival. Goa has five Urdu medium high schools and some English medium schools which are also run by a Muslim management in different parts of the state.

Hafiz Sharafat Hussain, headmaster, National Urdu High School, Valpoi, welcomed this initiative and said that performing on stage is a strong motivation for students. “Extra-curricular activities are also very important part of the education. It helps a child perform much better way at academic front,” he added.

Yusuf Khan, Chairman, and Board of Islamic Education in Goa about their objectives behind the festival said: “We want our children to be good human beings and true servant of the community and nation along with performing well at the academic and cultural front too,” he added.

Shaikh Jamaluddin, father of a student, welcomed this initiative and commented that Muslim children hardly get such an opportunity at the state level. “As a parent, I will ensure that I attend the the festival with my children, he added.

A lady parent from Valpoi town, Tabassum Inamdar, lauded this move and said, “These kind of activities help increase creativity among children. It is really a good opportunity for my kids to get in touch with rich Islamic culture in a friendly environment,” she added.

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