Al-Azhar launches trial Braille version of Qur’an to help the blind

Web Desk:

According to Arab News, an experimental copy of the Qur’an written in Braille for the blind was recently displayed by Al-Azhar Al-Sharif at its stand at the 53rd Cairo International Book Fair, which ended on Monday, Feb. 7.

Al-Azhar Press, under the guidance and patronage of the Grand Imam Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, Sheikh of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, took on the project of printing the Qur’an in Braille using the latest printing systems.

Al-Azhar said in a statement that this trial version of the Qur’an featured the written words of the Qur’an alongside prominent Braille letters to achieve societal cooperation between the sighted and the blind in memorizing and reading the Qur’an.

According to the statement, this step was taken by Al-Azhar due to its belief in taking care of people with disabilities including the blind, and as an extension of Al-Azhar’s mission in spreading the Qur’an and its sciences.

The experimental version that Al-Azhar displayed in the exhibition is characterized by its large size and special thick cardboard, where the dots are clear and prominent so that they can be easily read using the fingertips.

Production manager at Al-Azhar Press, Hossam El-Din Mounir, told Arab News that the idea of implementing the Qur’an in Braille came from a desire to help the blind.

“We designed a trial version to gauge people’s opinions first, and then we will start in its final implementation,” he said.

Dr. Eman Karim, general supervisor of the National Council for Persons with Disabilities, thanked Al-Azhar in her statements to Arab News for making the Qur’an available in Braille for people with visual disabilities, who represented 5 percent of the Egyptian community, according to the 2015 census.

Karim called on state education authorities to follow the example of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif by making cultural publications available to people with disabilities, contributing to raising awareness, especially the process of religious education to combat