Interview with Haji Musa of Madrasatul AnNur at Masjid Jamiul Anwar, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

Bismillah.

With the help of Brother Mohd Nour whom we met by chance on our first day in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) we got to visit the largest Muslim (Malay) settlement in HCMC - the Village of Jami'ul Anwar, popularly known as Kampung Melayu (Malay Village).

The video below features my interview with Haji Musa, deputy principal of Madrasatul AnNur which is co-sited at Masjid Jamiul Anwar in Kampung Melayu, a 30-minute drive from Ho Chi Minh city center.                       

According to Haji Musa, the Malay Village has 330 families that is about 1400 residents and is home to Madrasatul AnNur. The madrasa plays an important role in educating Muslim children and youth in Vietnam especially HCMC. There are 6000 Muslims and 10 mosques including Masjid Jamiul Anwar in the city. A big majority of the Muslims in Vietnam is of the Malay Cham roots.

The madrasa is a boarding school for 120 students and eight teachers. The students' room and board and the faculty's remuneration are funded by public contributions. Despite the challenges faced in sustaining the school's administration, they are resolved in providing essential foundation for young Muslims. Upon graduating from Madrasatul AnNur, a good number of the students would further their studies in Malaysia, particularly in Kedah and Terengganu where students typically get sponsorships from Malaysians. After having spent five or six years in Malaysia, they would return to Vietnam and become teachers.  

There are 74,000 Muslims and a total of 64 mosques in Vietnam. Muslims in Vietnam are lacking in education and lacking of Islamic books. There are not many ulama. The last time the Muslim community in Vietnam had a mufti was 15 years ago. There is just no suitable candidate, said Haji Musa. But they are grateful that the Government of Vietnam does not prohibit the Muslims from building mosques, schools and practising Islam. The government is friendly towards all religions in the country but Muslims and everyone else must be financially independent. Seventy four thousand Muslims are able to live peacefully in a communist country of 90 million people.

Concluding the interview, Haji Musa asked for prayers from Malaysians so that Allah would grant hidayah and tawfik for all Muslims especially Vietnamese Muslims and pray so that Islam in Vietnam could grow stronger. Haji Musa said he was happy to receive guests from Al Falah TV as it would further foster the relationship between Muslims of the two countries.   

Haji Musa
Madrasatul AnNur/Masjid Jamia Al Anwar
Ho Chi Minh City

Madrasatul AnNur welcomes donations for Malay textbooks either romanized or in Jawi script. They are in need of quality Islamic textbooks for 60 students in primary school and 60 students in secondary school.

Textbooks used by students at Madrasatul AnNur

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The interview was conducted in Malay. We hope our English speaking viewers would just hang in there. Give us some time to employ people to work on the English subtitles InshaAllah.

Mohd Nour
Our tour guide is a graduate of Madrasatul AnNur.
He now runs a tourist services company in HCMC

NOTE:
Bismillah. Anyone who wishes to offer any kind of assistance to the madrasah, may contact:
Ustaz Haji Mousa at 0902 742 290