KLUANG, Sept 22 — Learning about Islam should start at an early age so that the faith of Muslim children does not deviate from the true path, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Rural and Regional Minister, said Islamic education based on the Quran could guide children to live their lives as complete Muslims and prevent them from being led astray.

He said religion does not belong to political parties, individuals, or organisations, but it is the responsibility of leaders and the ummah.

"Allah will not accept if the knowledge is deviant and misused, especially when it is used to achieve political aspirations... and we must rectify this situation and stop it from continuing,” he said at the launching ceremony of the Pre-Tahfiz Programme of the Johor Department of Community Development (KEMAS) here today.

Also present were Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi and state Islamic Religious Affairs Committee chairman Mohd Fared Mohd Khalid.

On the pre-tahfiz programme, Ahmad Zahid said the initiative, implemented at KEMAS kindergartens, uses the fun learning approach guided by Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris to help children memorise Quranic verses accurately and quickly.

Meanwhile, KEMAS, in a statement said that to date, over 62,175 children from its kindergartens have participated in the pre-tahfiz programme nationwide, including 7,758 in Johor involving 552 classes from 1,161 total classes of KEMAS kindergartens in the state. — Bernama