Doha - The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs has directed Imams and Muezzins associated with mosques in Qatar not to accept any copies of the Holy Quran and other religious books from outside sources without approval from the Ministry.
This is part of various steps being taken by the Ministry to ensure that no copies of the Holy Book with any kind of mistakes are circulated in the country, Mohammed bin Hamad Ajlan Al Kuwari, Director of the Inspection Section at the Ministry told Al Sharq.
The daily had published a report earlier this month quoting a Qatari national who said he had come across with some copies of the Holy Quran in a mosque with errors in the index.
He came to know about it when he witnessed an argument between the Imam of the mosque and a worshipper who came to pray in the mosque. This man pointed out to the Imam that some chapters were missing in the index in a copy of the Holy Book available in that mosque.
The Muezzin of the mosque told the Qatari that they had received many copies of the Quran with the same mistake. These copies didn't provide any information where they were printed and published. It was only said that they were published with donations from a Qatari national.
Reacting to the report and on advice from the Inspections Department, the Department of Mosques at the Ministry instructed Imams not to accept any copies of the Holy Quran from any sources without permission of the Ministry, said Mohammed bin Hamad.
The Ministry has set up a special committee which will scrutinise all the printed copies of the Holy Quran made available to the public to ensure that they do not contain any errors and no pages are missing, he added.
As for the copies printed outside Qatar, the Inspections Department had asked the Publications Department at the Ministry not to allow any copies of the Holy Book to enter the country without being checked by the departments concerned.
The official said the Ministry had refused a number of copies of Quran coming from other countries for the same reason.
The Ministry had adopted a fool-proof mechanism and rigorous procedures in the printing of the Holy Book in the country to avoid any possible mistakes.
© The Peninsula 2007
