How It All Began

Potein is the ‘adopted hometown’ of the Mufti of Cambodia. He arrived there in the 70's alone, while fleeing from persecution by the Pol Pot regime. He was taken in by the villagers who restored his health and gave him shelter. To their delightful surprise, they discovered that the young man whom they saved was very well versed in religious knowledge. Quickly the young man became the religious master of the village.

After the downfall of the Pol Pot regime, a mosque and a school of timber were built in Potein. Slowly but surely Potein became famous because of his presence and influence. Villagers all over Cambodia and Vietnam started to send their children for religious education under the guidance of the young religious master. A new mosque of concrete and bricks were built. A hostel for male students was also added. The old timber school remained.

This modest school has since produced scholars and teachers who continue to guide and elevate the status of Islam and the Cham Malays in Cambodia. The young religious master was then invited to Phnom Penh and conferred the status of Mufti by the Administration. Young scholars like ustaz Musa, Abdul Wahid, Yusof and Gozali, who were former students of Potein, are assigned different regions of Cambodia to support the work of the Mufti.

The Mufti said that after his tenure he would return to Potein to continue to build the Cham Malay ummah from there. He said in passing that the old school needed to be rebuilt. I could not agree more after seeing its dilapidated condition. That is how this school project started. Also in the pipeline for Potein is a hostel for female students. Other villages also have similar needs.