Indonesia seeks help from Saudi Arabia to increase its Quran production 

Jakarta – Indonesia is exploring cooperation in Quran printing management with Saudi Arabia to narrow the deficit of Quran supply in the country.

Indonesian Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas told Salaam Gateway that last week he met with Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Abdullatif bin Abdul Aziz and General Secretary of the King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Quran, Talal bin Razin Al-Rehil in Medina to ask for assistance.

“We asked the Saudi government to send a technical team to Indonesia to help us upgrade our Quran printing press. So in terms of the management, the quality of the building, machinery and materials, we can replicate them,” Qoumas said. 

He added, the Saudi representatives in principle agreed to the request, and in return, Saudi Arabia wants to establish an Islamic center in Indonesia. 

Located in Ciawi, Bogor, West Java, Indonesia’s Quran printing press was established in 2016 with a production capacity of 300,000 copies per year. Apart from this facility, there are other 288 private publishers, but only five percent have a printing press. 

A study by the Ministry of Religious Affairs showed that Indonesia produced only 1.7 million copies of the Quran from 2016 until 2020. This supply doesn’t cover the annual Quran demand from Indonesian Muslims, which is around 6.2 million copies per year. 

On the other hand, the 250,000 square meter King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Quran in Medina printed around 18 million copies per year. The production uses sensors that can detect printing defects and the copies also can last for around 100 years, Qoumas said.

“With their help, we hope to increase our production quality and capacity to 10 million copies per year,” he added.

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