Sign Language to Help Hearing-Impaired Worshipers at Grand Mosque

The Grand Mosque Academy in the Makkah region (Mecca region), in the western part of Saudi Arabia, is teaching its staff sign language to assist the thousands of hearing-impaired pilgrims coming to the Grand Mosque to worship.

The announcement was made Sunday by Waleed Basamad, the head of the academy at the Grand Mosque. He said that those people with disabilities are equal to anyone who enter the Grand Mosque to worship and it is their duty to give them assistance by communicating with them in their own special language. According to the academy director, they have already trained 30 academy staff for said purpose.

Sign language workshop

The sign language course is part of their training program, called Effective Communication Skills. Program instructor is Mohammad Al-Abumadrah. Academy director Basamad said they conduct several workshops and training regularly but the sign language program, which is a part of their 9th training program, is particularly important. Aside from the sign language training, the staff members are advised to be respectable, welcoming and friendly when they greet and receive all the guests who come to the mosque. He added that it is the aim of the academy to employ the latest technologies in their programs to always show the mosque at its best.

Use of other languages

The use of other languages including sign language in Muslim countries is not a new initiative, though. The religious authorities in the Emirate of Sharjah in the UAE announced in December 2013 their plans to provide their Friday sermons in five languages, as well as in sign language. This initiative would be of great help to those deaf pilgrims and Muslims who do not speak Arabic, because they can now have a better understanding of the sermons. It is also one of the teachings of Islam to give due respect and attention to people with special needs because they are part of society and should not be isolated due to their disability.

In Madinah

Just like in Makkah, the Prophet’s Mosque (al-Masjid an-Nabawi) in Madinah also offers multilingual services for their visitors who do not speak Arabic. The female staff of the mosque speak 17 languages, and majority of them are university graduates, with some of them having masters’ degrees. They guide the non-Arabic visitors daily, speaking the languages common to thousands of pilgrims. They all undergo intensive orientation and language training before they are appointed as guides. Malawi, Thai, Pashto, Hausa, Persian, Hindi, Malaysian, Indonesian, Turkish, French, Urdu and English are just some of the 17 languages they speak. Language acquisition training for the mosque staff have been started about a decade ago, and the mosque have hired preachers and translators for this purpose. With their ability to speak several languages, the staffers are also able to help in controlling the crowd, efficiently managing the women pilgrims, particularly during rush hours.

The Prophet’s Mosque is the second holiest site in Islam, the first one being Mecca, and is the burial site of Prophet Muhammad. It was built in 662 CE, next to the house of Prophet Muhammad.

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