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Removing obstacles to faith: Improving mosque accessibility for differently abled
In Indonesia, we can hardly find mosques that provide sign language interpreters for deaf individuals, despite the fact that listening to sermons is mandatory in Friday prayers.
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Reading the unseen: Blind people read the Quran written in Braille during a gathering in Medan on March 30, 2023. The event was part of religious activities held in conjunction with Ramadan. (Antara/Fransisco Carolio)
I
ndonesia is home to the world's largest Muslim population, according to Pew Research Center (2011), yet the country still struggles to provide adequate access to Muslims with disabilities or are diffable (differently abled).
It is common to see diffable Muslims requiring assistance to enter a mosque or perform ablution due to the lack of accessible infrastructure. Additionally, many diffable Muslims sit quietly during a sermon because there is no sign language interpreter in the mosque.
In Indonesian mosques, majelis taklim (Islamic study groups) are a common occurrence. However, we have observed that many of these gatherings are still not accessible to diffable Muslims.
We need to begin transforming mosques to make them accessible for diffable individuals, as they have the right to participate in mosque activities. In Indonesia, mosques play a vital role in disseminating Islamic teachings at the grassroots level (Hasanain and Muslimatusshalihah, 2021).
Law No. 8/2016 on Persons with Disabilities stipulates it is mandatory for every building, including places of worship, to have an accessible infrastructure. Failure to comply with this obligation can result in administrative sanctions, ranging from warnings to building demolition.
However, despite being enacted seven years ago, the implementation of this law is still incomplete. Many Indonesian mosques fail to provide adequate facilities to Muslims with disabilities. For instance, research suggests many mosques in East Java still lack accessible infrastructure for diffable Muslim individuals (Franssen et al., 2020).
Such situations also occur in other regions. In the Grand Mosque of West Sumatra, there have been cases where individuals with wheelchairs were denied entry into the mosque, despite the existence of a ramp (Hamid, 2020). This situation is particularly ironic, given that the Grand Mosque already has the necessary infrastructure in place.
