It’s the Islamic month of Ramadan and millions of Muslims are spending their time in prayer and reflection. But in Indonesia – the world’s most populous Islamic nation – some Muslims struggle to read in Arabic.
So inventor Syarief Niskala created this smart phone app that allows non-Arabic speaking Muslims to read the Koran.
“We don’t need to translate, nor go to the library. We can learn anywhere from a gadget that we carry everywhere. As I learned from the research, the gadget that is closest to us is a smart phone….Based on that I invented this application for smart phones which we always have close, so can always be read and heard.” ‘Smartquran’ application inventer Syarief Niskala said in Bahasa.
The app is used in conjunction with a specially printed Qur’an, costing 17 dollars, that contains a series of QR codes. Once registered, users scan their phone over codes positioned on each page. Bahasa Indonesia translations appear in seconds.
Commentary from Qur’an experts and verse-by-verse histories are also offered. Perhaps predictably, opinion was split along age lines in this Jakarta mosque.
“There are comments on the verses and translations too, all features that make it easy for us to learn and understand,” Worshipper Riska Suci Utari said in Bahasa
“Although our era is now advanced technologically, older people like me who cannot understand how to use these applications and gadgets, find it easier to read or recite with a real Koran,” worshipper Fadli said also in Bahasa.
But with millions of smart phone users in Indonesia, Niskala believes his app can help a new generation of Muslims stay in touch with their religion.
source: interaksyon.com
