Al-Azhar calls for cancellation of Qur’an manuscript auction
Baku, June 6 (AZERTAC). Egypt’s al-Azhar Islamic Centre called on UNESCO to call off an auction for selling a manuscript of the Holy Qur’an.
According to al-Quds al-Arabi, Sheikh of al Azhar Ahmad at-Tayyeb has sent messages to Egyptian Foreign Minister Muhammad Kamel Amr, Director General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) Othman at-Tuwaijri, and the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova urging them to try to cancel the auction at Osenat Auction House in Paris.
The manuscript copy of the holy Qur’an is a rare piece that was stolen from al-Azhar during the invasion of Egypt by the French led by Napoleon Bonaparte in the 1790s.
At-Tayyeb said that the manuscript was a part of al-Azhar’s heritage and that selling or gifting it was illegal.
The copy, which is set to go on sale Sunday, June 9 at Osenat, narrowly escaped the burning of al-Azahr Mosque in Cairo two centuries ago.
Its value has been estimated at 10,000 to 15,000 euros. Its cover is made from brown leather embellished with gold. The copy contains the first two of the 114 Surahs of the holy Qur’an.
The name of the owner of this precious manuscript has not been disclosed.
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