Quran Burning Will Harm West

Tehran, May 2, IRNA – Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini today strongly condemned Qur’an burning by a US priest and said that such acts will certainly be detrimental to the westerners. Talking to IRNA on the sidelines of a meeting with a number of Libyan reporters, he added that the move reveals the anger of the West vis-à-vis recent developments in the Islamic world. Such moves will prompt Muslims to turn to Holy Qur’an more than before, he noted. Stating that more efforts should be made to further introduce Qur’an to the world, Hosseini said that unfortunately, the heavenly book has not yet been translated into certain languages. “Qur’anic themes should be presented in artistic works,” he said, noting that Qur’an burning is a shame for the westerners. He also said that those who claim to be the advocates of human rights neglect the sentiments of 1.5 billion Muslims. As to the Tehran book fair, he said that some 4,000 publishers are participating in the event, of which 2,500 are Iranian publishers./end