Early life and education

A proud and practising Muslim, daily namaz and fasting during Ramadan were integral to Kalam's life.[9][130][131] His father, the imam of a mosque in his hometown of Rameswaram, had strictly instilled these Islamic customs in his children.[9] His father had also impressed upon the young Kalam the value of interfaith respect and dialogue. As Kalam recalled: "Every evening, my father A.P. Jainulabdeen, an imam, Pakshi Lakshmana Sastry, the head priest of the Ramanathaswamy Hindu temple, and a church priest used to sit with hot tea and discuss the issues concerning the island."[128][132] Such early exposure convinced Kalam that the answers to India's multitudinous issues lay in "dialogue and cooperation" among the country's religious, social, and political leaders.[130] Moreover, since Kalam believed that "respect for other faiths" was one of the key cornerstones of Islam, he was fond of saying: "For great men, religion is a way of making friends; small people make religion a fighting tool."[133]