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Norway Muslim Organizations to distribute 10000 free copies of the Holy Quran
12-08-2019
Following the uproar created by the recent Quran burning by anti-Islam activists that sent shockwaves through Norway's growing Islamic community, an attempt is made to prevent future instances of Quran burning by three Muslim organisations which will distribute free copies of the Quran to Norwegians.
The Norwegian Muslim Arts and Culture Association, the Islamic Literature Association and the Minhaj-ul-Quran Mosque in Oslo intends to fund the distribution of 10,000 copies of the Quran.
The Holy book will be distributed at several stands in the Norwegian capital and possibly Bergen, Norway's second-largest city, sometimes seen as the nation's cultural capital.
“I believe many people are curious about what the Quran contains and what Muslims stand for. We hope this project can help demystify the Quran's content,” Hamza Ansari, board member of the Norwegian-Pakistani Minhaj-ul-Quran mosque in Oslo, told Vårt land.
According to the Islamic Literature Association, the Quran teaches how to "show love and spread knowledge", which is why is it seen as an effective vehicle against "hate and racism".
Incidentally, a similar idea was set forth by former Labour Culture Minister Hadia Tajik, the first Muslim to serve in the Norwegian government. In 2014, at the height of Daesh's so-called “caliphate”, she proposed giving Muslim youth the Quran before the extremists got to them.
SIAN, an organisation set up in the early 2000s to stop the spread of Islam, pledged reruns of the Quran burning, which stressing that they would have preferred a debate.
Muslims currently make up about 5.7 percent of Norway's population due to mass immigration of the recent decades.
In 2013, Norway's first complete Quran translation was accomplished. According to Aqil Qadir of the Norwegian-Muslim Arts and Culture Association, it contains explanations based on the modern world in a “unique interpretive style”.
This translation is also available on the internet at www.norskkoran.no
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