MAIWP, the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council of Malaysia, in collaboration with the Institute of Al-Quran Studies (IPaQ), has launched the Jom Celik Al-Quran (Let's Read the Quran) programme to help ensure that Muslims, especially in the Federal Territories*, can read the Quran, particularly in reciting surahs (chapters).
MAIWP Chairman, Dato 'Sri Syed Hussien AlHabshee said during the launch that he had received a lot of positive feedback about the programme, and hoped that the initiative could be expanded to other states.
Three tiers of study will be implemented, beginning with a basic class focusing on those who cannot recite the Quran. The Abahata al-Jabari** study method for recitation will be used.
An intermediate course will focus on those who have been able to recite the Quran but never finished reading it. This course will guide and improve their recitation skills. Students will be able to successfully finish reading the Quran after completing the 90-hour course.
The most advanced class is the Instructor Training Course (TOT) which will equip teachers with the skills to teach in institutions under MAIWP.
Each course will extend over three months. No fee is charged for the asnaf or beneficiaries of zakat, while for the B40 group - the bottom 40% of households in terms of income - will be charged RM30. For those who can afford it, the fee is RM300.
Actor Adam Corrie Abdullah was appointed as the MAIWP ambassador for his contribution in the field of d'awah (دعوة), or educating others about Islam. He said that it is a big responsibility and pledged to do his best.
*The Federal Territories of Malaysia comprise Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan.
**According to Noor Jamaliah Ibrahim, Mohd Yakub @ ZulkifliMohdYusoff, and Mohd Yamani IdnaIdris from the Centre of Quranic Research, published in QURANIC VERSE RECITATION RECOGNITION ENGINE FOR SELF LEARNING OF AL-JABARI METHOD: A REVIEW in the proceedings of The 3rd Annual International Quranic Conference (2013), the Al-Jabari method was was developed in Bandung, Indonesia by Dr H. Yusuf Sodik, and introduced to Malaysia in 2012. They called it an effective and faster way of learning to read and write Quran, with a better understanding of tajweed (تَجْوِيدْ) rules - the proper way to recite the Quran - that can be achieved in 30 hours.