Quraanic Braille Workshop - Mumbai, India - April 2009
All praise to Allah (S.W.T.) who gave us the opportunity to conduct a second Qur’aanic Braille workshop in India. We had previously conducted a workshop in 1995 at Madrasa Arabia Islamiya, Jamnagar, Gujarat. Recently some senior officials of the Deeniyaat (Fine Touch) organisation which is based in Mumbai and has a highly developed syllabus and administrates over 18000 Makaatib throughout India visited Madrassa An-Noor for the Blind in South Africa and expressed their wish to introduce the Braille Qur’aan and the system of teaching the blind to the Ulema of India also. Our team of 3 members left for Mumbai on the 3rd of April. About 37 Ulema accompanied by their respective management officials from the states of Maharashtra, West Bengal, Jummu and Kashmir, Assam and Karnataka etc gathered for the 5 day workshop that was held between the 6th and 10th of April 2009. There were also 11 blind students from Mumbai who attended.
The workshop was held in the old Alexandria theatre that is situated near the infamous Safed Galley (Red Light area). This theatre has now been transformed into a Madrassa where the words of Allah and his Prophet (S.A.W.) are being echoed from its walls by students studying the Qur’aan and Hadith.
Presentations were delivered through PowerPoint. The teachers and students had the opportunity of observing practical presentations and participated in hands on learning. The beauty and genius of the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.)’s teaching methods and techniques by its effective results were being rediscovered in its application to the disabled. An ophthalmologist and Orientation and Mobility instructor explained respectively the different eye conditions related to blindness, and demonstrated the usage of the cane and emphasised the importance of orientation and mobility for the blind. Our blind friends lamented to us the lack of support structures in the Muslim community for the blind and to us of some of the challenges facing them whereby they are pressured by other faith based organisations who deliver excellent facilities to renounce Islam in order to obtain their assistance. At the end of the workshop, an examination was conducted and attendance certificates were presented to all participants. Alhumdu lil Allah, the establishment of Madrassa classes for the blind have blown a new breathe of confidence and enthusiasm for learning about Islam in India. May Allah accept our efforts and reward everybody for their assistance in organising this workshop. Ameen
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