Arabic script only, no Roman text for Quran: deputy home minister

KUALA LUMPUR – Other than Arabic, the government will not allow the Quran to be published in Roman script or other languages. 

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Shamsul Anuar Nasarah said this was clearly stated under the Printing of Quranic Texts Act 1986 (APTQ 1986) (Act 326). 

“The Quran must use the original text which is in Arabic only in this country, this is clearly emphasised by the ministry. 

“The Home Ministry also refers to the Muzakarah Committee of the 24th National Council of Islamic Religious Affairs meeting on June 5 and 6, 1989 that it was ‘haram’ (prohibited) to write or use any part of the Quran with non-Arabic writing or not using the Quranic writing system,” he said. 

He said this when winding up the debate on the Printing of Qur’anic Texts (Amendment) Bill 2023 which was later passed in the Dewan Rakyat here yesterday.

In addition, he said every company licensed to print the Quran must meet the guidelines for license applications under APTQ 1986, and must obtain services from two consultants with proper credentials to avoid mistakes during publication. 

Meanwhile, on the issue of digital Quran applications now widely available on Google Play Store and the  Apple App Store, as raised by MPs during the debate, Shamsul Anuar said the government encourages the people to use the Smart Quran application as an alternative.  

He said the application was developed in collaboration with the Home Ministry, the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), and had gone through review and certification processes by the relevant bodies.  

The application went through a review process by the Quran Tashih Board and was certified by the Quran Printing Licensing and Control Board, he added.  

“Based on the Home Ministry’s review, many digital Quran applications exist in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The review found that some used the Rasm Uthmani (Uthamni writing style) which is used in this country, while others used other rasm.

In other developments, Shamsul Anuar said that out of the one million copies of the Quran to be printed – as announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in January – 25,000 copies of the holy book and 40,000 copies of tafsir (text explaining the Quran) in Chinese, Tamil and Nigerian languages are in the printing process.  

“So far, the ones printed have been distributed during the prime minister’s official visits abroad, including Cambodia on March 27, with 1,500 copies distributed while the rest will be coordinated by the Home Ministry through specific channels,” he said. 

Besides this, he said Home Ministry has also started an initiative to monitor Braille Quran copies to ensure they follow the Rasm Uthmani script. – Bernama, May 23, 2023