`AlQuran Seluler' offers different way of studying the Koran<\/p>\n
Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Time or distance may no longer be an excuse for busy working
\nMuslims to avoid studying the Koran or listening to the recital
\nof the Koran, especially given that an innovative Koran preaching
\nprogram is now available and accessible through both cellular and
\nfixed telephone lines anywhere, anytime.<\/p>\n
Introduced for the first time in June this year, AlQuran
\nSeluler (AQS), as the program is called, is the result of
\ncollaboration between PT Spotcast Consulting, a computer-based
\ncommunication consulting company, and Manajement Qolbu
\nCorporation owned by renowned West Java-born preacher Abdullah
\nGymnastiar, or Aa Gym as he is popularly called.<\/p>\n
\"It offers you six minutes of compact yet practical analysis
\nof the verses of the Koran daily, along with a murotal, or
\nrecital, and a plain translation of the verses analyzed,\" AlQuran
\nSeluler president director Craig Abdurrohim Owensby, who is also
\nthe president director of Spotcast Consulting, told The Jakarta
\nPost recently.<\/p>\n
Spotcast has invested US$250,000 for AQS and provides the
\ncompany with the media and management technology, while MQ
\nCorporation provides it with preaching materials.<\/p>\n
The daily six-minute sermon is divided into three segments
\nconsisting of one minute of an Indonesian translation of the
\nverses of the Koran, three minutes of analysis of the translated
\nverses, and two minutes murotal of the verses.<\/p>\n
Four famous Indonesian preachers including Aa Gym himself,
\nIhsan Tandjung, M. Arifin Ilham, and Didin Hafiduddin, have been
\nselected to present the sermons.<\/p>\n
Each preacher presents different themes. Each verse is
\nanalyzed differently by the four preachers according to the main
\nthemes they have selected.<\/p>\n
Aa Gym, for example, offers The Spirit of the Koran in Your
\nLife as the main theme of his preaching, Ihsan Tandjung offers
\nthe theme Knowing the Essence of the Al-Qur'an in Daily Life, M.
\nArifin Ilham presents The Daily Dzikr (remembering Allah) and
\nContemplation on the Al-Qur'an, and Didin Hafiduddin offers A
\nThematic and Practical Interpretation of Al-Qur'an.<\/p>\n
Subscribers are free to choose from either of the four as
\ntheir daily preacher. A single registration costs a monthly
\nsubscription fee of Rp 25,000 for audio service through a call to
\na fixed telephone line, and Rp 30,000 for audio and short
\nmessaging service (SMS) service through cellular phones.<\/p>\n
The SMS service provides subscribers with various information
\nincluding the position of the subscribers in the AQS preaching
\nservice, hadist (Prophet Muhammad's sayings), information on the
\nheadlines of an Islamic magazine or Islamic events held by
\ncertain Muslim organizations, and optional information on the
\ndaily praying time schedule.<\/p>\n
\"A single registration basically allows a subscriber to select
\nonly one preacher, but he or she may also ask for an additional
\npreacher by paying an additional fee of Rp 20,000 a month,\" AQS
\ngeneral manager Satriyo Abdussalam Boediwardoyo explained.<\/p>\n
In this case, he said, the daily sermon for this kind of
\nsubscriber would be nine minutes instead of six. The subscriber,
\ntherefore, would have two different types of analysis of the same
\nverses presented by two different preachers.<\/p>\n
\"You may also ask for a change in the selection of preachers,
\nbut we can only do so for the following month. We cannot do so at
\na moment's notice due to technical reasons,\" Satriyo said.<\/p>\n
Although AQS has yet to be launched officially, Owensby said
\nhe planned to launch it sometime between January and February
\nnext year, depending on negotiations with a cellular phone
\noperator company. AQS has received some 16,000 registrations so
\nfar.<\/p>\n
\"I'm sure the number is increasing, but that was the number
\nwhen I last checked,\" Owensby said.<\/p>\n
AQS systems manager Awik Suseno told the Post at his office in
\nArkadia Office Park on Jl. TB Simatupang, Jakarta, this week that
\nthe company has been receiving some 200 new applications a day,
\nmostly via SMS.<\/p>\n
Registration for a service from AQS can be done through either
\nfacsimile, a phone call, or SMS.<\/p>\n
AQS service can also be obtained by customers of Excelcomindo
\ncellular phone operator, especially during the fasting month of
\nRamadhan. The services offered range from information on the
\ndaily praying time schedule to information on the Prophet's life,
\nthe hadist, and a story of a day in Islamic history.<\/p>\n
The idea of establishing AQS first come from Owensby who is a
\nnew follower of Islam. He converted to Islam only about a year
\nago.<\/p>\n
\"The main idea is how to make the Al-Qur'an as close as
\npossible to its followers so that it will eventually become a
\nsignificant strength in their daily lives,\" said Owensby.<\/p>\n
Claiming to have been inspired by A Walk Through the Bible, a
\nbook series on the Bible, Owensby said that AQS was especially
\ndesigned for busy Muslims. Audio was chosen as a medium, he said,
\nbecause he recognized that most Indonesians prefer listening to
\nreading.<\/p>\n
\"The medium makes AQS more entertaining and easier to follow,\"
\nsaid Owensby, adding that each subscriber would need some three
\nyears to complete the entire study of all the verses in the Koran
\nthrough AQS.<\/p>\n
Citing the fact that many Indonesian Muslims do not really
\nread the Koran, Owensby said that by understanding the Koran
\nbetter, Muslims would be able to eventually change themselves,
\ntheir families, communities, and finally the whole nation, for
\nthe better.<\/p>\n
\"People will begin to love each other. They will care for the
\npoor. Corruption, drug problems, prostitution, and premanism
\n(thuggery) will come to an end. In the end, Muslim society in
\nIndonesia will rise into a bright light of Islam witnessed and
\nrespected by the whole world. Other nations will do the same and
\nthe world will be eventually change,\" Owensby said.<\/p>\n
Owensby said he was sure such a dream was not impossible to
\nachieve, arguing that Prophet Muhammad realized his some 1,400
\nyears ago.<\/p>\n
\"I do believe we can realize it here in Indonesia. What we
\nneed is a hero generation or what I call a Qur'ani movement, a
\nmovement involving reading, understanding, and applying the Koran
\nin daily life,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Owensby may not be daydreaming, given that the response AQS
\nhas been receiving so far is promising, with some 200 new
\napplications pouring in every day from throughout the country
\nalthough the service is only available for callers in Greater
\nJakarta and Bandung for the time being.<\/p>\n
However, Awik also revealed that AQS has been receiving only
\nsome 1,500 calls a day for the service despite the fact that
\nthere are 16,000 registered subscribers.<\/p>\n
What has happened to the rest?<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/alquran-seluler-offers-different-way-of-studying-the-koran-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }