Quran desecration

The term "Quran desecration" is defined as insulting the Quran—which Muslims believe to be the literal word of God, in its original Arabic form—by defiling or defacing copies. Intentionally insulting the Quran is regarded by Muslims as blasphemous.

Most traditional schools of Islamic law require wudu (ritual washing) before a Muslim may touch the Quran. Muslims must always treat the printed book with reverence, which may even extend to excerpts of text.[1]

Disposal of worn copies is also of concern to Muslims. Because the Quran contains no specifics on how to dispose of a worn or defective text, different and conflicting methods of disposal have been adopted in different regions by different sects. According to Islamic historian Michael Cook the Quran should be wrapped in cloth and buried on holy ground where it is unlikely to be trampled on or "safely" placed where it is unlikely to come into contact with impurity.[1] According to Arab News, Muslims are forbidden to recycle, pulp, or shred worn-out copies of the text; instead, burning or burying the worn-out copies in a respectful manner is required.[2]

Respect for the written text of the Quran is an important element of religious faith in Islam. Intentionally desecrating a copy of the Quran is punishable by imprisonment in some countries (up to life imprisonment in Pakistan, according to Article 295-B of the Penal Code) and could lead to death in Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Pakistan.[3][4]

Notable instances

c650-656, Uthman burns Qurans

Uthman ibn 'Affan, the third Caliph of Islam after Muhammad, who is credited with overseeing the collection of the verses of the Qur'an, ordered the destruction of any other remaining text containing verses of the Quran after the Quran has been fully collected (circa 650-653).[5]

This was done to ensure that the collected and authenticated Quranic copy that Uthman collected became the primary source for others to follow, thereby ensuring that Uthman's version of the Quran remained authentic. Although the Qur'an had mainly been propagated through oral transmission, it also had already been recorded in at least three codices, most importantly the codex of Abdullah ibn Masud in Kufa, and the codex of Ubayy ibn Ka'b in Syria. Sometime between 650 and 655,[5] a committee appointed by Uthman is believed to have produced a singular version in seven copies, and Uthman is said to have "sent to every Muslim province one copy of what they had copied, and ordered any other Qur'anic materials, whether written in fragmentary manuscripts or whole copies, be burnt."[6]

Pre-1924 Qurans dumped in the Nile

Following the printing of the 1924 "royal" edition (amīriyya)."[7] a large number of pre-1924 Qurans were destroyed by dumping them in the river Nile.[8]

2005 - Guantanamo

In mid-2005, allegations of deliberate desecration of the Quran[3] in front of Muslim prisoners at the United States military Guantanamo Bay detention camp, Cuba fueled widespread controversy and led to ensuing Muslim riots. A US military investigation confirmed four instances of Quran desecration by US personnel (two of which were described as "unintentional"), and fifteen instances of desecration by Muslim prisoners.[9] According to CBC News, "The statement did not provide any explanation about why the detainees might have abused their own Holy books."[10] In May 2005, a report in Newsweek, claiming that it was U.S. interrogators who desecrated the Quran at the Guantanamo Bay base, further sparking Muslim unrest.[3]

2007 - Nigeria

In 2007, Nigerian Christian teacher Christianah Oluwatoyin Oluwasesin was stabbed to death after allegations that she had desecrated a Quran.[11]

2010 Dove World Quran-burning controversy

In 2010, Christian pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center, a church in Gainesville, Florida, provoked international condemnation after announcing plans to burn a Quran on the anniversary of the Islamic terrorist September 11 attacks on the United States.[12] He later cancelled the plans;[13] however, on March 20, 2011, he oversaw the burning of a Quran. In response, Muslims in Afghanistan rioted and 12 people were killed.[14]

In the 2011 Louis Theroux documentary America's Most Hated Family in Crisis, Megan Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church explained in an interview that they deliberately and publicly burned a copy of the Quran.[15]

2012 - Bangladesh

On September 29, an Islamic mob estimated at 25,000 vandalized and torched Buddhist temples, shrines, and houses, along with Hindu temples as incited by an alleged Facebook Buddhist posting of an image depicting the desecration of a Quran. The violence started in Ramu Upazila in Cox's Bazar District and later spread to other areas of Bangladesh.

2012/2015 - Afghanistan

In February 2012, protests broke out in various parts of Afghanistan over the improper disposal of Qurans at the US military Bagram Air Base.[16] Protesters shouted "Death to America" and burned US flags. At least 30 people were killed and hundreds injured. Also,6 U.S. soldiers were killed after members of the Afghan National Security Forces turned their weapons on them and the Afghan protesters.[17][18][19]

On March 19, 2015, Farkhunda Malikzada, a 27-year-old Afghan woman, was publicly beaten and slain by a mob of hundreds of people in Kabul.[20][21] Farkhunda had previously been arguing with a mullah named Zainuddin, in front of a mosque where she worked as a religious teacher,[22] about his practice of selling charms at the Shah-Do Shamshira Mosque, the Shrine of the King of Two Swords,[23] a religious shrine in Kabul.[24] During this argument, Zainuddin reportedly falsely accused her of burning the Quran. Police investigations revealed that she had not burned anything.[22] A number of prominent public officials turned to Facebook immediately after the death to endorse the murder.[25] After it was revealed that she did not burn the Quran, the public reaction in Afghanistan turned to shock and anger.[26][27] Her murder led to 49 arrests;[28] three adult men received twenty-year prison sentences, eight other adult males received sixteen year sentences, a minor received a ten-year sentence, and eleven police officers received one-year prison terms for failing to protect Farkhunda.[29] Her murder and the subsequent protests served to draw attention to women's rights in Afghanistan.[30]

2013 to 2020 Saudi Arabia

In 2013, over 50 copies of the Quran were found in different storm water inlets of the sewage system of the city of Taif, in the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia.[31][32] In the same year, there were protests in Saudi Arabia after reports of prison officials in Al-Haer province insulting the Quran.[33]

In 2014, torn copies of the Quran were found in garbage cans in the same city of Taif.[33][32]

In 2016, Qurans were found to have been put in the garbage by the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Morocco, causing outrage across Morocco.[34][35]

In 2017 again a large number of Quran copies were found in the sewage system of Taif.[33][32]

In 2019, torn copies of the Quran were found in a trash dump in the city of Khaybar.[32]

In 2020 April, a man recorded a video of himself desecrating and stepping on the Quran in Saudi Arabia and uploaded the video on social media. The act was widely condemned on social media.[36]

Others

Saudi Arabia destroys Qurans of pilgrims that fall short of state standards.[37] The preferred method is by burning, to avoid soiling the pages.[38]

In March 2013, the al Qaeda English-language magazine Inspire published a poster stating "Wanted dead or alive for crimes against Islam" with a prominent image of Terry Jones, known for public Quran burning events.[39] Iran's news agency, IRIB, reported on April 8, 2013, that Terry Jones planned another Quran burning event on September 11, 2013. On April 11, IRIB published statements from an Iranian MP who said the West must stop the event and warned that "the blasphemous move will spark an uncontrollable wave of outrage among over 1.6 billion people across the globe who follow Islam." In Pakistan, protesters set the American flag and effigy of the US pastor Terry Jones on fire, condemning the 9/11 plan, according to an April 14, 2013 article in The Nation.[40]

In October 2013, a Turkish woman was arrested on suspicion of blasphemy and inciting religious hatred after allegedly stepping on Quran and then posting the picture on Twitter.[41]

Proposals to recycle old Qurans in Pakistan have met with opposition.[42]

On July 31, 2016, a couple of days after the Normandy church attack, several copies of the Quran at the multi-faith room of Mater Dei Hospital in Malta were desecrated when slices of pork were laid inside the book. The perpetrators also left a photo of Jacques Hamel, the Catholic priest murdered during the attack, with the caption "Victim of Islam".[43]

See also

• Flag desecration

References

  [s] - The major sources about punishment are: [3][4][44]

1. Myrvold, Kristina (2010). The Death of Sacred Texts: Ritual Disposal and Renovation of Texts in World. Farnham Surrey England: Ashgate Publishing. pp. 31–57. ISBN 9780754669180.
2. "Disposing of the sheets of Quran". ourdialogue.com. Archived from the original on 13 August 2006. Reprint from Our Dialogue Q&A series, Adil Salahi, Arab News, Jeddah
3. "Newsweek says Koran desecration report is wrong", David Morgan, Reuters (Washington, DC), 15 May 2005.
4. "BBC NEWS | South Asia | Riots over US Koran 'desecration'", BBC.com, 11 May 2005, webpage: BBC-491.
5. Nöldeke, Theodor; Schwally, Friedrich; Bergsträsser, Gotthelf; Pretzl, Otto (2013). "The Genesis of the Authorized Redaction of the Koran under the Caliph ʿUthmān". In Behn, Wolfgang H. (ed.). The History of the Qurʾān. Texts and Studies on the Qurʾān. 8. Translated by Behn, Wolfgang H. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. pp. 251–275. doi:10.1163/9789004228795_017. ISBN 978-90-04-21234-3. ISSN 1567-2808. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
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7. Michael W. Albin, "Printing of the Quran" Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an, Vol. 4, Brill
8. Reynolds, Gabriel Said (2008). "Introduction: Qur'anic Studies and its Controversies". In Reynolds, Gabriel Said (ed.). The Quran in its Historical Context. Abingdon, Oxfordshire: Routledge. pp. 1–26. doi:10.4324/9780203939604. ISBN 978-0-415-42899-6. S2CID 160637821. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
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12. "Indonesian Muslims Protest Plans to Burn Quran on September 11". Voice of America news. 5 September 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
13. "US pastor Terry Jones cancels Koran burning". BBC News. 9 September 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
14. "Terry Jones (Pastor)". Archived from the original on 2011-04-04.
15. America's Most Hated Family in Crisis
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18. King, Laura (23 February 2012). "Afghan soldier kills 2 U.S. troops over Quran burning". The Seattle Times.
19. "7 killed in Afghan protests over Quran burning[1]|chinadaily.com.cn". www.chinadaily.com.cn.
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23. Joseph Goldstein (March 29, 2015). "Woman Killed in Kabul Transformed From Pariah to Martyr". The New York Times. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
24. "Afghan woman Farkhunda lynched in Kabul 'for speaking out'". BBC. 23 March 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
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26. Moore, Jack (23 March 2015). "Afghans Protest Brutal Mob Killing of 'Innocent' Woman". Newsweek. Newsweek. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
27. "What's the future for women's rights in Afghanistan?". EqualTimes.org. 14 Apr 2015.
28. "Trial begins in case of Kabul lynching of Farkhunda". BBC News. 2 May 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
29. "Afghan court quashes Farkhunda mob killing death sentences". BBC News. 2 Jul 2015.
30. "A Memorial To Farkhunda Appears In Kabul". hambastagi.org.
31. "Copies of Holy Quran found in street drains in Saudi city". Riyadh Connect. 14 December 2013.
32. "Desecrated Quran found in a trash dump in Saudi Arabia". Shafaqna. 24 June 2019.
33. "Quran Desecration in Taif, Saudi Arabia". International Quran News Agency. 21 October 2017.
34. "Qurans Put in Garbage by Saudi Embassy in Morocco Cause Fury". Iran Front Page News. 4 October 2016.
35. "Qurans put in the garbage by the Saudi embassy in Rabat cause fury in Morocco". Albawaba. 4 October 2016.
36. "Desecrated Quran found in a trash dump in Saudi Arabia". Shia Waves. 22 April 2019.
37. Dissing the Koran, The Weekly Standard, May 30, 2005, retrieved Feb 7 2012
38. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 1999-10-09. Retrieved 2005-05-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
39. "Al Qaeda Mag Publishes 'Wanted: Dead or Alive' List". Archived from the original on 2013-03-02.
40. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-12-01. Retrieved 2015-07-14.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
41. "Turkey arrests woman on suspicion of blasphemy". Archived from the original on 2015-11-01.
42. "Seeking a miracle on Pakistan's Quran mountain" Daily Sabah. March 4, 2016
43. "Quran copies desecrated at Mater Dei hospital". Times of Malta. 30 July 2016. Archived from the original on 31 July 2016.
44. "Six Christians killed in Pakistan over Koran 'insult' ", Persecutionbd.org, August 2009, webpage: Persec-insult (compute-bound).

External links

• Afghan protest over 'burnt Koran', BBC, 25 October 2009.