Religious teacher ahead of his time

Helping hand: Deputy Minister at the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Dr Ashraf Wajdi Dusuki (right) sharing a light moment with pondok teachers in Kota Baru after handing out RM12mil to pondok schools registered in Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang. — SAZUKI EMBONG / The Star

KOTA BARU: For a man born in 1868, he was way ahead of time, introducing English to fellow Kelantanese in an era where people viewed the language as haram (forbidden).

Tok Kenali or Muhammad Yusuf Ahmad (pic), a revered religious teacher who founded religious pondok schools, was the first person in then Malaya to open English schools at a time when religious scholars felt that English Language should not be learnt as it was the language of the colonialists.