National Braille Qur’an Tadarus, a Platform for Visually Impaired Muslims to Engage with the Qur’an During Ramadan

Indonesian Association of Muslim Visually Impaired (ITMI) once again organised the National Braille Qur’an Tadarus as a forum for the blind to contemplate the Qur’an during the holy month of Ramadan. The event held on Saturday 7 March 2026 was attended by around one thousand visually impaired people from across Indonesia. ITMI Chairman Yogi Madsuni said the activity is routinely held every Ramadan, specifically on the 17th of Ramadan. “This activity is indeed held every year during Ramadan. This national tadarus moment has become an icon of ITMI Indonesia,” Yogi told Republika at the National Braille Qur’an Tadarus on Friday 7 March 2026. The event was held offline at two locations: ITMI Mosque (Syekh Ismail Bin Sa’ad Al-Atiq) in Bandung and Cipinang Muara Grand Mosque, Jakarta. The activity was also conducted online so ITMI leadership and blind participants in various regions could participate. Yogi said the National Braille Qur’an Tadarus has been held for more than a decade and continues to be carried out consistently. He said the activity stems from a concern to improve blind people’s ability to read the Braille Qur’an. He explained that the population of Muslim visually impaired people in Indonesia is estimated at about 3.5 million. However, only around ten percent of them can read the Braille Qur’an. “Therefore, this activity is also a form of evaluation to increase the number of blind individuals capable of reading the Braille Qur’an,” he said. Around one thousand participants took part, including 150 in Jakarta and 200 in Bandung, with hundreds more joining online. Yogi assessed Braille reading ability as a basic need for the blind. He said that when someone is destined to be blind, there are three abilities to master: mobility orientation, self-care, and Braille as a literacy tool. “Blindness in this world is fate. But blindness in the afterlife is a choice,” said Yogi. He also cited Surah Ta-Ha, verse 124, which explains that whoever turns away from Allah’s reminder will lead a narrow life in this world and will be raised blind in the afterlife. “So that we do not become blind twice, the Qur’an must be our friend. We must converse with and ponder the Qur’an,” he said. As part of efforts to enhance Braille Qur’an literacy, ITMI in 2025 formed autonomous bodies called the Association of Braille Qur’an Teachers and the Braille Qur’an Teachers Certification Authority.