Jakarta, Indonesia - Dressed in traditional Muslim garb and cuddling her Winnie the Pooh doll as she takes to the stage, six-year-old Ridha Nurul Haq urges Indonesians to fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Ridha is part of a fresh and religious take on the storm of reality TV shows blowing in to Indonesia from abroad. Children aged six to nine team up with one of their parents to pit their preaching talents against each other.
"O, ye who have faith!" Ridha intones to millions of television viewers.
"Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may guard yourselves!" she cries, quoting verses from the holy Koran.
Her mother, Arum, takes Ridha's lead.
"As fasting is God's order, we have to perform it, so that we can get reward from God, and our sins will be removed," she tells her viewers.
A panel of judges who will select the winners at this stage questions the team next.
Ridha's innocent answer to a question about her own fasting habits wins laughter -- she breaks her fast as midday, she confesses, just like many her age in the world's most populous Muslim nation.
Adult Muslims should refrain from food and water from dawn to dusk during the holy month of Ramadan, with leniency granted to children before they reach puberty.
The top-rating "Pildacil," or "Competition for Little Preachers," debuted in 2004 with a format that saw only the pint-sized preachers sparring against each other in a bid to win two tickets for a pilgrimage to Mecca.
The influential and conservative Council of Indonesian Ulemas, or Islamic teachers, named the show the best children's television programme in 2005.
This season parents are joining in "Keluarga Dacil," or "Family Little Preacher". Programme producer Heribowo Agus said the duos present an ideal model for Indonesian families wanting to educate their children.
"Children's achievements depend on how their parents teach them. Our mission is to show good examples to the Indonesian public," Agus told AFP.
"We have so many examples of Indonesia's young generation going off the rails: moral degradation, illegal drugs," he said.
"The show will set an example in teaching Indonesia's young generation in an Islamic way," he said, noting it was inspired originally by US-imported shows such as "American Idol" but given a purely local twist.
Auditions are held in several large cities across Indonesia to select contestants who will then spend two weeks at a camp where they learn how to preach in between ordinary sports and games sessions.
Rizal Purnama, a nine-year old boy, is here for his fifth bid to win -- and it's his last chance as next season, aged 10, he will be too old to compete.
Despite his repeated losses, Rizal's father Junaedi proudly says his son has been invited to preach at Islamic events since his oratories have been beamed round the country.
"Even though he didn't succeed in previous shows, thank God many people admire him and have asked him to deliver sermons at religious ceremonies and weddings," he says, declining to say whether the boy is paid.
"Some pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) have become interested in him and have asked me to send Rizal there for free so that he could have a better education on Islam," he adds.
Boarding school, however, is only a distant thought for now, Junaedi says.
Despite its winning ratings, the show has its critics.
Sarlito Wirawan Sarwono, a psychologist at the University of Indonesia who deals with children's issues, says the show is modelled on an adult concept that children should not be forced to play a role in.
Children the contestants' ages should be engaging in play instead of memorising the Koran and developing preaching styles, he says.
"The kids don't understand for sure these kinds of teachings," he said, referring to the Islamic lessons in the sermons they are delivering -- such as warning adults not to commit adultery.
Moeslim Abdurahman, an Islamic studies academic who works at several universities, considers the show a reflection of the explosion of Islamic culture in Indonesia since the 1998 downfall of dictator Suharto.
"Religion is becoming everything," he said. He considers the show "ironic, as kids have become the victim, speaking things which are not suitable for their age".
Back at the TV studio, the five contestants representing West Java province line up nervously on the stage to hear the names of the winners going through to the next round.
Ridha is named, along with another young boy, who rushes to press his forehead to the floor, a typical way to express one's thanks to God. Ridha mimics him, as the parents comfort the three losers, who have burst into tears.