When Muzaffar Iqbal learned that only about 20 per cent of the world’s more than 1.7 billion Muslims today can read their holy book, the Qur’an, in its original Arabic, he decided to do something about it.
“It was a shocking realization,” said Iqbal, president of the Center for Islamic Sciences, which is based in Sherwood Park, Alta. “Most Muslims have lost the ability to read the Qur’an as it was directly revealed by God to the Prophet.”
Various factors, including colonization, secular education and migration of Muslims to the West, are behind the problem, he said.
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Muzaffar Iqbal, president of the Center for Islamic Sciences in Sherwood Park, Alta.
“Most of those who can still read it in Arabic live in Arabic-speaking countries,” he said. “We are losing touch with the essential message from God through the Qur’an.”
In response, Iqbal had a dream to bring together Islamic scholars from around the world to create a new resource to help Muslims better understand their holy scriptures. The Integrated Encyclopedia of the Qur’an is the result.
Iqbal will be in Winnipeg Saturday at 6 p.m. at Winnipeg’s Central Mosque (715 Ellice Ave.) to launch the second book in the seven-volume series that will ultimately include 529 articles about the people, places, concepts and events in the Qur’an.
In addition to providing Muslims with an easier way to understand the Qur’an, the IEQ fills a gap in Islamic scholarship in the West, he noted.
“Most of the scholarly work in the west on Islam done is being done by non-Muslims, people who don’t regard the Qur’an as a divinely-inspired text, but see it as a human document,” Iqbal said.
This has resulted in non-Muslims in North America and Europe getting a “distorted” view of the religion from other sources about Islam.
“Those encyclopedias were written by people who didn’t have a Muslim perspective … that’s a major problem,” he said.
The first volume of the IEQ was published in 2013; it is in its third printing, with more than 3,500 copies sold. The second volume was just published and work is underway on the third, which will be released in 2025. Iqbal hopes to have the entire set finished by 2029.
Along with the English version, there are plans to publish it in other languages, such as German, French and Spanish. An online version is also available.
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The Integrated Encyclopedia of the Qur’an.
“It’s been a hugely satisfying undertaking, the culmination of my life’s work,” he said, noting he also feels a sense of satisfaction that the global project is being led from Canada.
“The Qur’an is the backbone of Islam,” he said. “You have to understand it if you want to understand Islam and what motivates Muslims in their faith.”
Attendance at the launch is free, but registration is required; go to www.issacanada.com for more information and to register.
The launch is part of Islamic History Month, which also includes the annual multicultural Teafest on Oct. 27, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. Admission is $15.
fpcity@freepress.mb.ca
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John Longhurst
Faith reporter
John Longhurst has been writing for Winnipeg’s faith pages since 2003. He also writes for Religion News Service in the U.S., and blogs about the media, marketing and communications at Making the News.
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