JAKARTA — Lajnah Pentashihan Mushaf Al-Qur’an (LPMQ) Balitbang Diklat of the Ministry of Religion (Kemenag) has succeeded in compiling a Mushaf Al-Quran Isyarat or MQI for Persons with Deaf Sensory Disabilities (PDSRW). In 2022, MQI began to be printed for distribution.
Mushaf Al-Quran Isyarat comes as a form of government commitment to provide inclusive religious literacy services for people with disabilities. The Law on Persons with Disabilities Number 8 of 2016 Article 14 Paragraph C on Religious Rights states that persons with disabilities have the right to obtain holy books and other religious literature that is easily accessible based on their needs.
Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in 2022, Indonesia has more than 4.9 million people with deaf disabilities. When referring to the percentage of Muslims in Indonesia, as many as 4.5 million of them are Muslim. This is the basis of Dompet Dhuafa and ESQ Kemanusiaan’s attention to fulfill the need for a specially designed Al-Qur’an for those with hearing problems.
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On the last Friday (5/4/2024) of Ramadan 1445 H, Dompet Dhuafa and ESQ Kemanusiaan signed a partnership commitment “Help Teman Tuli Bisa Mengaji” at Menara 165, South Jakarta. This collaboration also marks the launch of the program, campaign, and distribution. Dompet Dhuafa and ESQ Kemanusiaan also symbolized the handover of Quranic Mushaf Isyarat to 15 beneficiaries, from students to adults.
The signing of this cooperation was carried out by Etika Setiawanti as Secretary of Dompet Dhuafa Republika Foundation and Lea Sri Endari Irawan as Chairperson of ESQ Kemanusiaan. Also present to witness the launch of this program were Ida Zulfiya as the compiler of MQI from LPMQ Kemenag RI and Rama Syahti as the Chairperson of the Indonesian Muslim Deaf Association (ATMI), as well as representatives from the ESQ Alumni Communication Forum and children from SLBN 01 Jakarta and the Teman Tuli Community.
“This collaboration program is specifically aimed at special friends who have hearing loss. We hope this will be well received by the whole community. Because in 2022, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs, as many as 72 percent of the total Indonesian Islamic population will experience hijaiyah illiteracy. So one of Dompet Dhuafa’s da’wah pillar programs, through this program with ESQ Kemanusiaan, wants to more widely provide the Qur’an, especially for deaf friends, to be able to read the Qur’an, including training for teachers, “said Etika.
Later, Dompet Dhuafa will try to reach the distribution of MQI in remote areas of Indonesia through data and Dompet Dhuafa’s da’wah ambassadors. Dompet Dhuafa’s da’wah ambassadors such as Dai Cordofa, Dai Ambassadors, Dai Pemulia, Dai Tapal Batas, and other da’wah programs, have spread to even the most remote places.
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Lea Sri Endari Irawan believes that the Qur’an was revealed with all forms of ease. This means that this holy book from Allah Swt should be able to be learned and practiced by anyone, even in any condition. This has been proven by ESQ Kemanusiaan, which has successfully distributed thousands of MQIs and trained teachers.
“We really want our deaf friends to be able to read and practice the Qur’an. Because we believe, the holy book of Muslims was revealed by Allah easily, meaning that it can be learned by anyone. Together with Dompet Dhuafa, we will reach out to our brothers and sisters everywhere to carry out more massive distribution as well as training for the teachers at the same time the mushaf is distributed,” Lea explained.
To date, ESQ Kemanusiaan has successfully trained more than 250 teachers. Meanwhile, the Mushaf that have been distributed have reached more than 6,000 Mushaf. Of course, this is still very little. Therefore, it is hoped that this collaborative program will reach more Deaf friends who are so enthusiastic about learning the Qur’an. According to Lea, there are still around 14 thousand Deaf friends who are waiting for the Signed Quran Mushaf to arrive in their hands.
In addition to symbolically distributing MQI to the deaf friends present, Dompet Dhuafa and ESQ Kemanusiaan also gave gifts in the form of food packages, as well as compensation to each of them. Afterwards, before breaking the fast, Ustaz Ahmad Pranggono was present to give a sermon and pray together for the success of the program to be implemented.
“Congratulations to ESQ Kemanusiaan and Dompet Dhuafa for launching the Mushaf Al-Qur’an Isyarat program in this glorious month of Ramadan. May this good intention always get the blessing of Allah Swt. This collaboration will greatly support the government program in an effort to spread the Signed Quran Mushaf throughout Indonesia, even the world. This MQI is the first and only sign-language Mushaf in the world,” said Ida Zulfiya, expressing her appreciation to Dompet Dhuafa and ESQ Kemanusiaan.
As the next concrete step, Dompet Dhuafa will soon provide special channels to gather people who want to contribute to this program. Let’s support this program together with Dompet Dhuafa and ESQ Kemanusiaan through the channels that will be provided. (Dompet Dhuafa)
Text and Photo: Riza Muthohar
Editors: Dhika Prabowo, Ronna