GERMAN, FINNISH RADIO STATIONS BROADCAST QUR’AN FOR THE FIRST TIME

Helsinki, 11 Jumadil Awwal 1436/2 March 2015 (MINA) – For the first time ever, Finnish and German radio stations announced plans to broadcast the holy book of Qur’an in weekly sessions, accompanied by its translation and interpretation to increase people’s knowledge of Islam, IslamOnline reported.

“It’s nice to hear my translation be read aloud,” Professor Jaakko Hämeen-Anttila, who translated the Qur’an into Finnish, told Yle’s Radio 1 channel.

“It is important that the Qur’an is read in its entirety, and not just select items that show that Islam is bad and violent or good and beautiful. All of the text material is served up for the listener to assess,” he added, International Islamic News Agency (IINA) quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

Hämeen-Anttila was speaking after concluding an ambitious project with Pasila district studios of the Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle to broadcast the Muslims’ holy book.

The project is a radio series in which the Qur’an will be read cover-to-cover in 60 half-hour-long installments.

Each installment will begin with a discussion between Imam Anas Hajjar, a leader of the Finnish Muslim community, Professor Anttila.

“The program is an important step in understanding one another. It is an attempt to tell the story of the Qur’an and what it contains,” Imam Anas Hajjar said. It is worth noting that there are between 40,000 to 45,000 Muslims among Finland’s 5.2 million population.

In Germany, Radio Deutschland starts in March a new series for recitation of the Holy Qur’an. Coming under the title, “Qur’an declares”, the series starts next week on Friday, March 6, with passages from Qur’an on weekly basis, Germany radio director Willi Steul told Süddeutsche Zeitung.

The series starts on March 6 at 9:55 clock. It is noteworthy that Germany is believed to be home to nearly 4 million Muslims, including 220,000 in Berlin alone. Turks make up an estimated two thirds of the Muslim minority. (T/P007/P3)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)