Young boys dressed in sarong and white peci caps prepare for Friday prayers at Pesantren Markaz Al Ishlah Al Aziziah, a religious boarding school in the village of Lueng Bata in Banda Aceh.

Rahmat Fadil, a fifth grader at the Lueng Bata elementary school, was among the group of santri. The 10-year-old, dressed like the rest of the students in sarong and peci and a prayer mat strung across his shoulders, eagerly looked forward to the weekly communa