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Ngaji.ai: Revolutionizing Quran learning with artificial intelligence
"Read" is the first verse revealed to Prophet Muhammad, emphasizing the importance of reading in Islam. Yet, a large amout of Muslims still unable to read the Quran properly. Hence the creation of an app on how to read the holy book properly.
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Lightbulb moment: Vokal.ai chief executive officer Martijn Enter (left) explains about the ngaji.ai app during a press conference at Cyber 2 Tower in South Jakarta on March 5, 2024. Enter got the idea to develop the app when one day he was standing on his balcony and listen to Quran recitation from a nearby mosque (JP/Sylviana Hamdani)
R
eading is fundamental in Islam, as evidenced by the first verse revealed to Prophet Muhammad in the Holy Quran: Iqra, “read” in Arabic.
Apparently, Indonesian Muslims also acknowledge the significance of this verse. According to recent research by the Indonesian Mosques Council (DMI), 91 percent of respondents consider Quranic reading skills to be essential. Furthermore, 71 percent of Muslim parents emphasize the importance of teaching their children to read the holy book.
However, finding time and tutors for this crucial skill can be challenging in today’s fast-paced world. Many parents return home exhausted, lacking the energy to teach their children to read the Quran. And locating an available ngaji (Quran reciting) tutor can also prove to be difficult.
Consequently, many children grow up without the ability to read the Quran.
Sutarto Hadi, a mathematics professor at Lambung Mangkurat University (ULM) in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, discovered this reality during his tenure as the university's rector from 2014 to 2022.
"When I was serving as the university's rector, our religious studies lecturers reported that approximately 60 to 70 percent of our students were unable to recite the Quran," Sutarto said during a press conference in Cyber 2 Tower, Jakarta, on March 5.
"This revelation was quite surprising, considering Banjarmasin’s quite a religious region and the parents are usually very concerned with their children's religious education."
