The supply of Braille Qurans for visually impaired Muslims is still inadequate.
"Currently, the number printed is indeed limited," said Abdul Djamil, Director General of Islamic Community Guidance at the Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag), on Thursday, December 5, 2013. According to him, this number is disproportionate to the number of visually impaired individuals who need Braille Qurans. He made this statement during the launch of the 30-juz translation and an exhibition of products from the Ministry of Religious Affairs' Research and Development and Training Agency.
This situation arose because the government only completed this project in mid-2013. The previous year, they had only completed the first 15 juz and their translations. Two years prior, Juz 'Amma had already been made easily readable for the visually impaired. Machasin, Head of the Ministry of Religious Affairs' Research and Development and Training Agency, added that its availability is still very limited to visually impaired care homes and foundations; it is not yet available outside of these access foundations.
This is a result of government development supported by the Wiyata Guna Benefactor Foundation in Bandung. The head of the foundation, Ayi Ahmad Hidayat, also stated that the supply is indeed still insufficient.
"To date, only about 10,000 units of the Quran have been produced in total," Ayi said. Meanwhile, there are approximately 2 million visually impaired Muslims in the country. Ayi hopes that the government can soon realize its plan to print Braille Qurans, as their quality is better and they are easier to learn. References: Republika Khazanah, page 25, published Friday, December 6, 2013.
Note: May Braille Qurans reach all communities, be widely distributed, and become available in general bookstores, amen.