English translation of Quran to be read for visitors to Blue Mosque

English translation of Quran to be read for visitors to Blue Mosque Foreign visitors to the Sultanahmet Mosque will be invited to enjoy a Quranic feast this week as part of the celebrations for the Week of the Blessed Birth, which marks the Prophet Muhammad's 1,437th birthday. Tuesday, 22 April 2008 08:25 Foreign visitors to the Sultanahmet Mosque will be invited to enjoy a Quranic feast this week as part of the celebrations for the Week of the Blessed Birth, which marks the Prophet Muhammad's 1,437th birthday.

Throughout the week, İstanbul's most famous hafizes (Muslims who have committed the entire Quran to memory) will be reciting passages from the Quran, and some of the verses will be translated into English for English-speaking foreign visitors.

Emrullah Hatiboğlu, the chief imam of the famous Sultanahmet Mosque, also known as the Blue Mosque because of the blue tiles adorning its interior, said: "Most of our visitors listen in reverence to the Quranic verses recited in the mosque during prayers and at other times. In order for them to understand at least some of the verses, we will read out the English translation of the verses after the recitals."

The office of the mufti of İstanbul made this decision having seen the attention and respect paid to Quran recitals in the Sultanahmet Mosque by foreign visitors.

Thousands of foreign tourists visit the Blue Mosque every year, particularly during the spring and summer. They attentively watch believers standing, bowing and prostrating themselves in unison and listen to enchanting Quran recitals given by the imam.

"They all try to make sense of what we do in the mosque. The Quran recitals that echo off the dome particularly affect them. They ask their tour guides questions about prayer, the Quran and other aspects of Islam," Imam Hatiboğlu remarked.

Today's Zaman