Application of Braille in Quranic and Sunnah Studies (QAA4013) 1 st Lecture (30 th Dec 2008)

1. Dr. Muhammad Mustaqim Mohd Zarif Director, Centre for General Studies Islamic Science University of Malaysia Application of Braille in Quranic and Sunnah Studies (QAA4013)1st Lecture (30th Dec 2008)

2. Structure of Presentation • Course Outline • Introduction to the Course

3. Course Outline: Course Description This course focuses on various issues concerning the theories, methods, and application of Braille in the field of Quranic and Sunnah Studies. Discussions on the concept of tactile writing system and its historical examples as well as various codes and structures of Braille and its transcription will be provided as a theoretical basis for understanding Braille. This will be followed by intensive practical application and transcription of Braille in the field of Quranic and Sunnah Studies, especially focusing on the methods of Quranic and Arabic Braille as found in Malaysia.

4. Learning Objectives • To know the history, structure, and various issues concerning Braille as a main method of tactile writing system. • To understand the use of Braille in Quranic and Sunnah Studies as applied and practised in Malaysia. • To familiarize students with the various tools and technologies used in Braille transcription in Malaysia. • To equip students with all the necessary skills and confidence to transcribe Quranic and hadith texts using specific Braille codes.

5. Delivery Methods Lecture and tutorial (practical application of Braille will be made using Perkins Brailler and Duxbury Braille Translator software)

6. Assessment Methods • Assignments/Projects: 20% • Presentation of Projects: 20% • Quizzes: 10% • Participation & Personal Initiative: 20% • Final Examination: 30% Total: 100%

7. References • Al-Quran al-Karim bi al-Kitabah al-Arabiyyah al-Nafirah. KL: Pertis. 5 vols. • Perkins School For The Blind. Instructions for the Perkins Brailler. Massachusetts: Perkins, n.d. • Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia. Kod Braille Wasilah Bacaan al-Quran. Kuala Lumpur: DBP, 1998. • A.Kamel Mohamed, M.Mustaqim M.Zarif, K.Anuar Mohamad, M.Alwi Yusoff. Metod Pengajian Braille al-Quran. Laporan Penyelidikan USIM PPPP(H)/2005. Nilai: USIM, 2008.

8. Weekly Course Planning

11. Introduction to the Course • Tactile Writing System & Its Importance for teaching & learning process of the blinds • What is tactile writing? • How does it differ from the ordinary system of writing? • Can you give an example of a tactile writing system that you know?

12. Tactile writing: writing that is “read” through touch not sight: via raised dots or lines or shapes embossed on the selected medium of writing such as paper, metal, etc • Used for the visually impaired (blind). Who are they? • Blind: anybody who has vision less than 3/60 when corrected (with the use of visual aids, ie glasses, etc) • Low vision/Partially-sighted: anybody with vision less than 6/18 but is the same with or better than 3/60 when corrected

13. Examples of tactile writing system throughout history: • Embossed Roman Letters (1784): France • Braille (1824): France • Gall (1831): UK • Alston: UK • Lucas (1838): UK • Klein: Austria • Moon system (1845): UK • Boston Line Type (1834): USA • New York Point (1868): USA • American Braille (1870s): USA

14. Embossed Roman Letters • Created by Valentin Hauy; founder of National Institute for Blind Youth, Paris in his book “Essay on the Education of the Blind” • A character is created using embossed wire on wet paper • Only 14 of such books were produced • Problems: difficult & expensive (to be produced), limited distribution, thick, difficult to be read & learnt by students • Example

16. Moon System • Created by Dr William Moon in Brighton in 1845 • It is a system of raised symbols made of lines with certain shapes derived from the Roman alphabets • Its close resemblance to the Roman alphabets makes it relatively easy to be learnt • But, less practical due to its thick and big size characters that require more space and paper than Braille • Example of Moon alphabets:

18. Boston Line Type • Created by Samuel Gridley Howe; founder of New England School for the Blind (later changed to Perkins School for the Blind) in Massachusetts • It is a system of embossed characters based on the Roman alphabets • First book published in it was in 1834 and was dominant in the US for 50 years • It was the main system used in Perkins until 1908 • Its popularity was mainly due to its similarity with the Roman alphabets which can be read not only by the blinds but also by the sighted.

20. Gall • It is a code of writing based on angular Roman type introduced by James Gall in 1831. • He believed that what appeared nice to the eye must be best for the blind. • The Gospel of St John (bible) was the first book published in this type. • It was used in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London at one time. • Example:

22. Alston • It is a system of embossed ordinary Roman characters using a special press.

23. Lucas • It was introduced in 1838. • This system is like a stenographic shorthand. The letters consist of lines with or without a dot at one end. • It was never used extensively. • Example:

25. Klein • It is a system of writing based on a form of needle or punctured print developed by J.W. Klein. • It was used for a time in Europe. • Example:

27. New York Point • Created by William Bell Wait in 1868 when he was working at New York Institute for the Blind. • He used raised dots system to replace the embossed Romanized characters which were difficult to be mastered by the blinds. • He also modified the 6-dot system created by Louis Braille. • Its structure: 2 rows of dots, and each row contains 1 to 4 dots wide

29. He also taught this system to his students and invented a special machine (kleidograph) to produce the required characters in print • As a result, his system was widely used in various schools for the blind in the States in the last quarter of the 19th century

30. American Braille • It was created by Joel W. Smith; a piano instructor at Perkins in 1870s. • He believed that this modified system of Braille could enable a person to master it in a very short time with minimum use of paper. • This system formulates the very least dots for the most used alphabets in English, although in reality, it does not differ much from Braille albeit the configuration of the dots that represent certain characters in English • Example:

32. Braille • It was created by: …..? • What is it? Raised lines? Raised dots? • What is the configuration of the dots? Do you know? • Have you seen an example of Braille used in daily products, ie remote controls, lifts, etc?

36. We will discuss about Braille in more details next week and also the implications of having different types of writing for the educational process of the blinds. THANK YOU