Institute Finishes Swedish Translation of Quran to ‘Combat Ignorance’

IQNA – An Iranian institute announced that it has finished a Swedish translation of the Holy Quran in a step to “combat ignorance” following several Quran desecration incidents in the country last year.

“Last year, ignorant people burned copies of the Holy Quran several times. By translating the Quran into Swedish, we aim to educate the people of Sweden about the true essence of the Quran,” Hojat-ol-Islam Mohammad Naqdi, CEO of Qom-based Tarjoman-e Vahy Cultural Institute, told IQNA.

He was referring to a series of events held by anti-Islam extremists in Sweden in which they desecrated copies of the Holy Quran. The events sparked wide condemnation from Muslims across the globe who blamed Sweden for allowing the desecration to happen in the name of the so-called freedom of speech.

“This Swedish translation is a step towards combating ignorance,” Naqdi added.

Elsewhere in the conversation, he noted that Tarjoman-e Vahy Cultural Institution is dedicated to translating the Quran into the world’s living languages. “This mission stems from the desire of millions of people to understand Quranic concepts in their native tongue.”

For the past 20 years, the institution has been home to distinguished professors and translators specializing in Quranic translations, he said.

“We have successfully translated the Quran into 15 living languages, including English, French, Spanish, Azeri, Turkish, Urdu, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Georgian, Turkish, Iraqi Turkish, Pashto, and Rwandan,” Naqdi said, adding that the translations have been published in various countries, including the US, the UK, Spain, Azerbaijan, Turkey, India, China, Japan, Russia, and parts of Africa.

“In our translation efforts, we prioritized the world’s most widely spoken languages to maximize our reach,” he stressed. For instance, Naqdi maintained, Spanish is spoken in 44 countries, and English is the world’s second most common language while Chinese is spoken by over 1.2 billion people.

Countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya, and Iran are actively involved in Quranic translations, he said.

Comparing available translations of the Quran and the Bible, the scholar said more efforts are needed to disseminate the Quranic message. “By 2017, the Bible had been translated into 3,200 languages, making it accessible to 98% of the world's population. Unfortunately, the number of Quran translations in the Islamic world doesn't quite match up to that of the Bible, highlighting an area we need to improve in.”

He also noted that a Hindi rendering of the Holy Quran is ready for publication this year.

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