Quran for the blind

Sat, June 25, 2016 / 09:26 pm

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A braille Quran is made using a printing machine donated by Helen Keller International, which ordered six to be given to developing countries. The machine in Bandung is the only one still running. JP/Arya Dipa
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Daul sorts through sheets of paper that have gone through a braille press machine to be bound to make copies of the Quran in braille at the printing house of Penyantun Wyata Guna Foundation in Bandung on June 20. JP/Arya Dipa
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Wasca replaces a zinc plate that has braille letters on it before printing the Quran in braille. JP/Arya Dipa
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One braille zinc plate can be used to print up to 5,000 pages. JP/Arya Dipa
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Mumu divides braille pages into chapters and binds them per chapter. JP/Arya Dipa
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The printing house keeps a guideline for converting Arabic letters into braille on the wall. JP/Arya Dipa
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A stereotype machine writes braille script on a zinc plate that is used in the printing machine. JP/Arya Dipa
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Each braille zinc plate is stored according to Quran page order after it is used in the printing machine. JP/Arya Dipa
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The Penyantun Wyata Guna Foundation’s printing house binds braille Quran per juz (chapter). One braille Quran consists of 30 chapters and weighs up to 25 kilograms. JP/Arya Dipa
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A braille Quran is read from left to right while regular ones read from right to left. JP/Arya Dipa
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Workers finish the printing of 200 braille Qurans ordered by non-governmental organization Ummi Maktum Voice at the printing house of Penyantun Wyata Guna Foundation. JP/Arya Dipa

Four men worked on braille versions of the Quran at a braille printing house belonging to the Penyantun Wyata Guna Foundation in Bandung, West Java. The printing house is the only place that prints the Quran in braille using a conventional braille machine.

The printing machine, which has been in use for 64 years, was a donation from US-based nonprofit organization Helen Keller International in 1952. Of the six braille printers around the world donated by the organization, the one in Bandung is the only still running.

There are several steps in printing the Quran in braille. First, copy the script of the regular Quran in braille using a stereotype machine. Second, proofread the copy and then duplicate it using the braille press machine. After going through that step, the braille Quran is bound per juz [chapter].

While the regular Quran is read from right to left, the braille Quran is read from left to right.

One set of braille Quran weighs up to 25 kilograms and sells for Rp 1.5 million [US$107] to Rp 1.8 million. Copies are sold not only in Indonesia but are also exported to Malaysia, Thailand, Kuwait and Iran. [evi]