Indonesia to Create Sign Language of Qur’anic

Jakarta, MINA – Indonesian Ministry of Religion is preparing guidelines for reading sign language Qur’anic manuscripts for people with hearing and speech sensory disabilities (PDSRW). The production of this cue mushaf will take three years, starting from making reading guidelines to making 30 juz of cue mushaf.

“If the (current) mushaf has not been made, we have just compiled the guidelines, this year we want to compile guidelines on how to read it like Iqra and Juz Amma, next year we will only compile the mushaf,” said the Coordinator for Pentashihan Quran Mushaf at the Ministry of Religion, Ustaz Deni Hudaeny Ahmad Arifin, as quoted from Republika Online on Monday.

He conveyed that the guidelines for reading the sign manuscripts had been completed this year. Next, make juz Amma and the cue Mushaf in stages.

“It is possible that one juz of the Quran will be made in one volume because it will be thick. So, 30 juz of the Quran will be made in several volumes,” he said.

Besides being in the form of a book, this cue mushaf will be made in the form of an android application and in the form of an electronic book (e-book) so that later it can be used more massively. The description of this Qur’anic manuscript is that at the top of the text there is a verse of the Qur’an, while at the bottom is a picture of the hand sign.

“For example, bismillahirahmanirahim, bismi later the sign will be ba, sin, and mim,” he said.

To make this cue mushaf, the Ministry of Religion involved 12 teams of experts from several institutions that have been nurturing people who are deaf and mute.

There are those from Yogyakarta, Temanggung, Bekasi, and Jakarta. The Ministry of Religion also synergizes with the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Ministry of Social Affairs.

“So, to make the Quran (sign language) 30 juz the target is three years, this year the guidelines for reading it or Iqra and juz Amma, in 2023-2024 make 30 juz of the Quran mushaf,” he said.

Deni also revealed the background of the sign manuscript for PDSRW. One of them, he said, was because so far Muslims were considered not to be present for people with deaf and speech sensory disabilities.

Meanwhile, for people with visual impairments, the government since 1984 through the Ministry of Religion has established a Braille standard Qur’anic manuscript.

“We LPMQ as representatives of the government have an obligation, because according to the mandate of the Law on Persons with Disabilities, there is one article that says that people with disabilities have the right to receive services for holy books and other religious literature,” he said. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)