Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Dr Pir Noor-ul-Haq Qadri Monday said that the Holy Quran is a complete code of life, covering each and every aspect of human life.
Addressing the ‘Qiraat Competition’ final round at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) here, he said that Holy Quran provides the basis for Muslim unity and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government is striving to promote Quran teaching in the country.
The minister said that the government was making efforts to publish translation of the Holy Quran acceptable to all schools of thought, adding that the task was near to complete now, as all schools of thought were reaching consensus in this regard. He said that the government has included the Holy Quran and the biography of the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (Peace be upon him) in the curriculum.
Noor-ul-Haq Qadri said that the Quran bill to protect Quran from errors had been introduced which was passed by the National Assembly Standing Committee, adding that the composing and printing of the holy book would be monitored by the government authorities and religious scholars. He said that fine and penalties had been recommended in the bill for the violators. He said that publishing of the Holy Quran on newsprint was prohibited under the law. A particular quality of paper had been specified for printing of Holy Quran, he added.
He said that the government had developed a mechanism to restore the sacred papers of the Quran, adding that establishment of a recycling plant was also on the cards, which would be set up in Islamabad. He said that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Al-Azhar University Egypt had been signed to promote Qiraat in educational institutions under the supervision of Egyptian ‘qaris’.
The minister said that an international competition would be arranged on Qiraat after Eid-ul-Fitar in the federal capital in which contestants from 12 Islamic countries would participate. He stressed the need to teach the students of Quran and Sunnah how to speak and behave to give positive image of Islam to the rest of the people.
He said that the LCCI had developed a good tradition to start the 100 years celebrations with beautiful recitations, for which Allah Almighty will surely reward, adding that if the Quran is made part of daily life, then the way of life could be changed for better. Later, the minister distributed shields among winners of the competition and appreciated the children who recited the verses of Holy Quran.
