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Police checks Qurans for ‘distortion’

05 Apr 2021

  • Few samples of 15,000 books confiscated 

  • Brought down for seminars: Centre for Islamic Studies

 By Pamodi Waravita and Dinitha Rathnayake   The Wellawatte Police has confiscated a few samples of a stock of 15,000 Qurans stored in a warehouse belonging to Amal International School in order to determine whether they contain material that distorts the original version of the Quran, The Morning learnt. “We seized a few of the books in the warehouse to check the contents of these Qurans and ensure that it is the original ideas being presented,” Police Spokesman Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Ajith Rohana told The Morning yesterday (4). Also speaking to The Morning yesterday, Centre for Islamic Studies – Harmony Centre General Secretary Khalil ur Rahman said that the Qurans that were seized by the Wellawatte Police did not belong to the school, but to the Centre and were brought down for the purposes of inter-religious seminars.  “Our Centre runs this international school, and we merely used one of its warehouses to store these Qurans, which are in Sinhala and English. We have been holding inter-religious seminars for many years now with the aim of promoting a better understanding of different religions and philosophies of the world,” said Rahman. Rahman added that the international school in question employed over 60% of non-Muslim teachers and followed the government guidelines to include 15% of students from other religions to its student body. “We have no complaints regarding the Wellawatte Police. The officers were merely carrying out their duties, based on a tip-off they received,” Rahman further said. The Centre for Islamic Studies, Colombo (Incorporation) operates under the Centre for Islamic Studies, Colombo (Incorporation) Act, No. 44 of 1991.


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