By Irfan Mohammad / Arab news / 21 Mar 2014

The project for translating Friday sermons at the Two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah is rapidly expanding to include languages other than Urdu and English.

Live translation into the Malay and French will be launched from Friday at the Grand Mosque in Makkah.

Malay is spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, while French is widely spoken across the African continent. The Malay and French translations have followed suit after Urdu and English translation services were introduced.

Services are available near the King Fahd gate, which has been designated for non-Arabic speakers. Headsets and small audio devices are provided. The device is connected to an FM frequency that broadcasts the translation of the Arabic sermon delivered by the Grand Mosque preacher.