8 February 2025
Another milestone for IDMSA as it translates Holy Quran into Setswana

[Pictured - Dr Ebrahim Dada with copies of the Qurans translated into different languages]

By Nabeelah Shaikh

In a historic move for the Southern African Muslim community, the Islamic Dawah Movement of South Africa has translated the Holy Quran into the Setswana language for the first time.

Setswana is one of South Africa’s 11 official languages and the IDMSA has translated the Holy Quran into at least nine different languages over the last 20 years.

“Setswana is one of the official languages not only in South Africa but also in Botswana. There are over 30 million primary and secondary speakers. In South Africa, these speakers are mainly in Gauteng, Northern Cape, and the North West province,” said the IDMSA’s National Executive Director, Dr. Ebrahim Dada. He said there are thousands of Setswana-speaking people in South Africa and Botswana, as well as elsewhere in Southern Africa who would welcome the move of having the Quran translated in Setswana because they cannot afford to do it on their own.

The IDMSA was established more than 40 years ago in 1977 and has been printing Qurans as part of its many projects. Among its other projects include township musjid constructions, vocational and skills classes, daily feeding schemes, borehole and water projects, and Islamic classes.

Through its various projects, including the translation of the Quran into different languages, the organisation grew to become one of the largest Dawah movements in South Africa over the years.

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“There is no Setswana translation of the Quran elsewhere until now. The first translation of the Quran in another language for the IDMSA, dates back to more than 20 years ago. And the first translation that we did was an Afrikaans translation of the Quran,” said Dada.

He says the response to all of the IDMSA’s translations of the Holy Quran so far, has been tremendous.

“There’s a worldwide resurgence on Islam and Islam is the fastest growing religion everywhere in the world, not just in South Africa. So obviously if you get the Quran translated into any language, and this applies to Afrikaans and all the others, there is a very heavy demand especially initially and thereafter,” said Dada.

Over the years, the IDMSA has translated the Quran into nine different languages which include Afrikaans, IsiXhosa, Chichewe, IsiZulu, Sesotho, and Portuguese. 

“Portuguese is the sixth largest language in the world. With the Portuguese Quran, there are about 5-10 million speakers in Mozambique and we are providing it to them for free. So many people really want to read and understand it in their own language,” said Dada.

Dada said it was a significant and historic milestone for the IDMSA to be able to translate the Quran into Setswana.

“The Bible was translated over 160 years ago into the Setswana language and it just shows how behind we have been as Muslims. But, it’s better late than never. We finally got it done. I could print hundreds of thousands of Qurans in Setswana and it won’t be sufficient. We are planning to print only 20 000 copies for now, if funding permits. Whatever we can do, we will try to do,” said Dada.

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In total, Dada says the organisation has printed over 160 000 copies of the Quran in various languages, and the organisation is still printing a few thousand isiZulu Qurans currently.

“We hope that people see the importance of such projects, and how they can make a difference to Dawah and the growth of Islam in Southern Africa by supporting such initiatives. The average price to print one Quran is R100, but it also depends on the demand and how many are being printed. The more that is printed, the price per Quran will decrease. In the case of the Setswana Quran, we are asking people to donate only R60 per Quran because we are aiming to print 20,000 copies. We are hoping we will get a good response and support for this project,” said Dada. With regards to the distribution of the Qurans, Dada says there are no set patterns.

“We distribute to individuals who ask for it, organisations that approach us and say there is a need for it as well. We don’t just distribute it at street corners to just anybody. It goes to those who really need and request it from us,” said Dada.

Those who would like to sponsor a Setswana Quran and be part of history can do so by visiting www.idmsa.org/donate

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