Jawi Writing Culture Is Disappearing

Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam - There is a need to preserve the disappearing Jawi writing culture and Islamic calligraphy from technology advancements, a Malaysian expert said.

According to the Jawi expert, preserving the culture of Jawi writing is important, especially among Malays because it is the writing used in the Quran.

Ustaz Abdul Baki Abu Bakar said that one of the reasons of the disappearance of Jawi writing is the existence of the printing system using machines.

"The use of printing machines has stopped the culture of writing (Jawi)," said the invited Malay speaker at Sultan Sharif Ali Islamic University's (Unissa) "Art of Islamic Calligraphy and Design" lecture yesterday.

He said the art of Islamic calligraphy should be preserved especially among Malay Muslims because it was the style of writing that was widely used by Malays in the old days.

The lecturer further said that the significance of preserving Jawi writing is that it is the writing used in the Quran.

"It (Jawi writing) was a great culture during the time of our ancestors," said Ustaz Abdul Baki, adding that Malays used to record and write about all their activities using Jawi around the archipelago.

Ustaz Abdul Bald said it was saddening to see that there are many Malays and Muslims who do not know how to read or write Jawi.

"There are even those (Malays and Muslims) who do not know how to read the Quran," he added.

During yesterday's lecture, Ustaz Abdul Baki was describing the many styles of Jawi writing. "If one can write Jawi, then reading Jawi will be easier."

Ustaz Abdul Bald is a lecturer at the International Islamic University in Malaysia. He has studied and practised the art of Jawi of Islamic calligraphy for 15 years and has written six Mushafs for Malaysia.

He said that he had been invited to lecture at Unissa to share his experiences on writing Mushafs, adding that Unissa has plans to find a local Jawi writer to write a Mushaf for the university.

Source: http://brudirect.com
Photo: http://www.princeton.edu

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