200 Quran Memorizers Participate in Recitation Event in Gaza Camp

About 200 Quran memorizers gathered in the Shati refugee camp in western Gaza City for a recitation event titled "Quranic Narration Day," organized by the Quran and Sunnah Council. Participants took turns reciting memorized portions of the Quran in a communal setting, part of an effort by religious educators in Gaza to keep Quranic instruction and memorization circles running despite the ongoing war. Shati, also known as Beach Camp, is one of Gaza's eight refugee camps, established in 1948 to house Palestinians displaced from Jaffa and other coastal towns during the Nakba. It is among the most densely populated areas in the Gaza Strip and has been repeatedly struck and partially destroyed during the current war, which began in October 2023 and has driven the overwhelming majority of Gaza's population from their homes. Quran memorization circles, known as halaqat, have long been a fixture of religious and educational life in Gaza, often run out of mosques and community centers rather than formal schools. Organizers and participants describe such gatherings as a means of preserving continuity in religious education for children and young people whose schooling has been disrupted by the destruction of school buildings and the displacement of families across the territory. The Quran and Sunnah Council, a Gaza-based religious body focused on Quranic instruction, has continued to hold recitation and memorization programs throughout the war, presenting them as evidence that community and cultural life persists even in areas that have suffered heavy bombardment and repeated displacement orders.