2nd International Braille Quran Conference Held at ISAM

Important decisions were taken and goals set at the 2nd International Braille Quran Conference, organized by the International Union of Braille Quran Services (IBQS) on 25–28 August 2015 in the conference hall of the Center for Islamic Studies (ISAM) in Üsküdar, Istanbul. Representatives from 18 countries attended the conference.

Ayşenur İslam, then Minister of Family and Social Policies, also attended and expressed her support for work on behalf of the visually impaired. Noting that Turkey has 216,000 visually impaired citizens according to TÜİK data, she referred to services such as bringing the "Seeing Eye" device to Türkiye and increasing the number of persons with disabilities employed in the public sector from 5,000 to 37,000. The common goal of the Ministry and the relevant institutions was announced as removing barriers to knowledge for the visually impaired by placing a Braille Quran and Elifba in every mosque.

IBQS President Selahattin Aydın emphasized that one of the biggest problems for visually impaired Muslims was the diversity of braille codes, and said that the Union was working to create a unified Quranic braille code. Over three days, the conference addressed meeting the Quran and religious needs of the visually impaired in Africa and Central Asia, and the access of visually impaired Muslims living in Western countries to written religious resources.

Emine Erdoğan, wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, conveyed her support for the event in a telegram. Drawing attention to the intention to build a unified braille code in Istanbul, she emphasized the significance of the conference with the words: "The Quran was revealed in Mecca, recited in Egypt and written in Istanbul."