2 Afghans face death over translation of Quran

[Coventina]

Source: Associated Press

KABUL (AP) — No one knows who brought the book to the mosque, or at least no one dares say. The pocket-size translation of the Quran has already landed six men in prison in Afghanistan and left two of them begging judges to spare their lives. They're accused of modifying the Quran and their fate could be decided Sunday in court.

The trial illustrates what critics call the undue influence of hardline clerics in Afghanistan, a major hurdle as the country tries to establish a lawful society amid war and militant violence.

The book appeared among gifts left for the cleric at a major Kabul mosque after Friday prayers in September 2007. It was a translation of the Quran into one of Afghanistan's languages, with a note giving permission to reprint the text as long as it was distributed for free.

Some of the men of the mosque said the book would be useful to Afghans who didn't know Arabic, so they took up a collection for printing. The mosque's cleric asked Ahmad Ghaws Zalmai, a longtime friend, to get the books printed.



Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gtnyMYdSgK4WhlgTUeeCF1Q9x2YgD966313O1

[Bill McBlueState]

1. Tony Blair: world needs more religion

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4993536

Right, because wonderful things happen under the influence of religion.

[UndertheOcean]

2. That is so stupid

[Lucky Luciano]

3. Such backward fuckwads. Fuck the quran. Take that assholes.

[Vogon_Glory]

4. What's Hitting The Mullahs Is What Hit the Bishops Earlier

What is hitting the hardline mullahs of Afghanistan is what hit the established church of England centuries earlier--a movement to deliver translations of the central holy book into the common tongue.

I fear that the mullahs of Afghanistan will do what civil and religious authorities did to John Wycliffe and William Tyndale centuries ago--sentence them to death and martyrdom.

[damntexdem]

5. Yes, despite all the anti-religious posturing on the thread, ...

the issue is that the victims are those who actually believe in and try to further their religion -- and the perpetrators are those fearful of losing their positions of power over society.

[ohio2007]

6. Well? So which quotes O th Qran were edited ?

It could be important

[TrogL]

7. All of them - it's a translation

There's umpteen translations of the Christian sacred scriptures in English alone.

[ohio2007]

8. Many clerics rejected the book because it did not include the original Arabic verses alongside the

from the link;

Many clerics rejected the book because it did not include the original Arabic verses alongside the the translationIt's a particularly sensitive detail for Muslims, who regard the Arabic Quran as words given directly by God. A translation is not considered a Quran itself, and a mistranslation could warp God's word.

The journalist must be stoned to death for substituting the word "god" for allah......

yes,


I think its written somewhere it must be done