Korankinder

Twelve hours a day, learning texts by heart in a foreign language – that is the everyday reality for children who attend the Koran schools, or Madrasas, of Bangladesh. These pupils’ goal is to be able to recite from memory the over 6,000 verses of the Koran word-for-word in their entirety. This is the way to become a “Hafiz” and secure yourself not only a job but also a place in paradise for yourself and your family. But is this purely religious fanaticism on behalf of the parents or simply a necessary means of being able to afford an education for ones children? The German-Bengali filmmaker Shaheen Dill-Riaz offers us unprecedented access into a hidden world inhabited by beleaguered parents, browbeaten children and authoritarian teachers. Filming is normally strictly forbidden in the Madrasas. He also explores the history and significance of the Coran Schools in the Indian subcontinent. What emerges is a complex picture of the director’s homeland, full of contrasts – between religious austerity and secular ideologies, ignorance and education, rich and poor. (DOK.fest München)