But there are plenty more fascinating (if less creepy) pieces of knowledge centering around this book. Muslims make up over 1.5 billion of the planet’s population, so it stands to reason that there’s a lot of Quran-based knowledge out there.
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The World’s Biggest Quran
After all that effort, it probably hurt when the new world’s largest Quran was unveiled in Afghanistan a couple of months later. Clearly, the quest to have the world’s largest Quran is hard-fought, and a lot of people are putting a lot of effort into claiming it—so someone should probably tell them about the 18 meter (60 ft) Quran that is part of a building in South Sumatra.
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Misprinted Qurans Caused A Political Crisis
The minister for justice and Islamic affairs was the unfortunate person in the firing line when this came to light. He was accused of “trying to disfigure the faith of Muslims” and the result was that the entire Kuwaiti parliament was dissolved. Members of the government’s opposition claimed the misprints were created intentionally to provide an excuse for parliament to be broken up and a new election called.
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Quran Memorization
Putting pushy parenting aside, memorizing the scripture is a big thing. The term “hafiz” is used to describe those that have learned the Quran in full, and the hafiz are well regarded among their fellow Muslims.
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Banning The Quran
One of the most popular English interpretations of the Quran is “The Meaning of the Holy Quran.” Shortly after 9/11, the Council on American-Islamic relations began donating copies of this version of the book to schools. References in the book to Jews as apes and pigs led the LA school district to ban that edition of the book for a time in 2002.
Ultimately, the banning of books, any books, is an extremist position not many people are likely to take. Atheists are as likely as anyone to encourage the reading of holy books: The faithful and faithless are generally united in each thinking that actually reading sacred scriptures will lead people to agree with theirposition.
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Miracle Baby
Ali’s father is a policeman in a region heavily impacted by Islamist extremism. The police and security services are a popular target for terrorist groups in the region, and the local mayor was quick to suggest that the writing was a sign from Allah that religion shouldn’t be taken too far. As his mother put it, “Allah is great and he sent me my miracle child to keep our people safe.” Unfortunately, four years on, the Islamist insurgency in Dagestan continues.
5
Swearing On The Quran
While the swearing-on-a-holy-book event is basically a photo op and not part of the official ceremony, Ellison’s choice to use a Quran drew inevitable criticism from traditionalists. In Australia, MP Ed Husic faced abuse online after he swore in on a Quran for the first time in the country’s history, in much the way that everyone faces abuse online for everything. He also received a lot of support, and remained pragmatic about the events, saying, “The important thing is that mainstream Australia wants everyone to work together.”
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Rules For Handling The Quran
Many rules for handling the Quran are derived from Islamic ideas of purity. Wudu is a process of cleansing oneself in preparation for prayer and should rightfully be undertaken before touching or carrying the Quran (or touching or carrying anything containing the Quran). Also, sorry ladies, but many Muslims believe you should forego reading the Quran during your menstrual cycle because that’s not a “clean time.”
There are dozens of requirements, and if remembering them all makes you tired, then be careful—yawning when reciting scripture is also frowned upon.
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What’s A Quran worth?
As with anything, big money attracts crime. Three men were arrested in May 2000 for trying to smuggle a stolen copy of the book out of Turkey. The 11th-century Quran, stolen from Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, would’ve been worth around $50,000 on the UK black market.
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Quran Burning
In Bangladesh, 160 people were arrested last year following riots that destroyed centuries-old Buddhist temples and several homes. The riots were prompted not by a Quran burning, but by a local Buddhist man being tagged in a picture of a Quran burning on Facebook. After being subject to the worst Facebook tagging ever, the man at the center of it all was escorted to safety by police and unharmed by the mob, estimated to consist of 25,000 Muslims. Houses, shops, and Buddhist artifacts were targeted. A local journalist described the post-riot villages as looking “as if they were hit by a major cyclone.”
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Rimsha Masih
A local Muslim cleric, Khalid Jadoon, was later accused of planting the evidence. He had called for the Christians to be burned alive, adding horrible implications to his alleged crime. He was due to be tried at the high court in Islamabad, but the case was dropped following witness statements changing. Jadoon accused the police of placing people under duress to obtain the original statements. Those on the other side have accused Islamic extremists of threatening the witnesses into retracting their stories. Whoever is correct, it remains a tragic case that the authorities handled very badly.