The dozens of Korans in pink jacket covers on display at the Islamic Book Fair highlighted the rising demand for Islamic books in recent years and publishers' targeting of the women's market.
"It's beautiful and very *womanly'. I should buy one for my daughter-in-law," Hartini, a visitor, told The Jakarta Post, when commenting on one of the copies flashing a pink flowery cover.
The fair, held by the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Publishers Association (Ikapi) until March 9 at Bung Karno Indoor Stadium in Senayan, Central Jakarta, features 308 stands and 134 participating publishers.
"In the last three years, the sales of Islamic books, especially the Koran, have contributed to almost 50 percent of revenue in every city's bookstore," said Afrizal Sinaro, head of Ikapi Jakarta.
Ara, a marketing officer at PT Sygma Examedia Arkanleema, the publisher of the Koran for Women series, said the company launched the holy book series early this year to tap into the women's market.
"We have highlighted verses explaining women-related topics, like marriages and families, in pink or brown," Ara told the Post.
She said that the Koran for Women series was expected to follow the success of its preceding Syaamil Hijaz series that featured Arabic-Indonesian translations for every word in the verses and sold 200,000 copies since 2006.
Another publisher, Lestari Book, provides Korans for children, printed with colorful shades allowing kids to read the Koran with tajwid (the proper pronunciation in Koran recital).
Diemas Riyadh from Lestari said that response from parents was huge.
"Our monthly sales reach an average of Rp 1.7 billion with 160,000 copies sold since 2006." (hwa)
