Muslims have been urged to learn sign language to effectively communicate with the hearing impaired members of the society.

AbdulWahab Ali, a sign language instructor at Jamia Training Institute (JTI) in Nairobi said it was imperative for Muslims to know the art to communicate in sign language as this is also an important tool to propagate Islam.

"There are only 10 Muslims sign language interpreters in the country yet we have many Muslims whose hearing is impaired and need to learn Islam," he said. In Muslim dominated areas, Abdulwahhab said Christian evangelical workers have taken advantage of this deficiency and use sign language to propagate their faith among the Muslim faithful.

The principal of JTI Fatma Khamis also challenged Muslims to ensure they learn the sign language saying that many people with hearing impairment have been neglected in relation to Islamic knowledge due to lack of appropriate communication.

She lamented over the few number of Muslim students taking up the subject at the institute saying that since the introduction of the course, few Muslims had enrolled and non-Muslims are the main beneficiaries.

During the current school holidays, JTI has organized special madrasa classes for the deaf where they will be taught various principles of Islam. Jamia Training Institute is the only Islamic institution in the country that offers sign language classes.