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Copy of the Koran printed in Lancaster, PA.
Photo by Blaine Shahan, Lancaster Newspaper photographer |
It was an ordinary day. Opened the morning newspaper and there on the top center of the front page of the paper was the headline "BACK HOME" in big black letters. Directly beneath the sans-serif letters was a color photograph of Mr. Shakeel Amanullah, chairman of the board of trustees at Islamic Community Center of Lancaster presenting an historic Quran that was printed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1835 to Mr. Thomas Ryan, the president and CEO of Lancaster-History on Wednesday, April 6, 2022. It had been 187 years since the copy of the Quran was printed in Lancaster. Since that time it has traveled around the world. The 187 year old copy of the Quran is small enough to fit into your pants pocket, but it seems to be in remarkable shape for something as treasured and rare as this copy of the Quran. The copy was printed in Lancaster at the Boswell & McCleery printing company that was located at 9 Center Square in the center of Lancaster which today is known as Penn Square and has a large granite monument dedicated to the different branches of our armed servicemen. The copy looks to be in a well-preserved condition with bright white pages and dark black ink telling the story of the Koran. Thought a joint effort by the LandasterHistory and the Islamic Community Center of Lancaster, LancasterHistory acquired the copy via a January auction. The beautiful text is now the property of Lanasterhistory's collection. Representatives from both organizations recently celebrated the acquisition at an event on April 6, 2022. Mr. Amanullah, Islamic Community Center of Lancaster founder and chairman of the board of directors presented the copy of the Quran to Mr. Thomas Ryan, LancasterHistory CEO, and Mr. J. Richard Gray, LancasterHistory Board of Directors Chairman and former Mayor of the city of Lancaster. Mr. Amanullah also presented LancasterHistory with an Arabic hard-back version of the old text and a contemporary English version. Mr. Ryan said that the Quran is an important piece of historical memorabilia and demonstrates that the Muslim faith was part of the fabric of Lancaster County. The timing of the recent event fell at the time of the current observing of Ramadan, a month of fasting, prayer and reflection. The holiday continued until May 2. LancasterHistory was able to get this prized possession after being alerted about the availability of the item by a supporter of the group who had heard about it being available through the Chiswick Auctions which is a London auction house. LancasterHistory was lucky enough to get the copy on January 27 for $1,000 with Mr. Ryan and Mr. Gray delivering it to the Islamic Community Center of Lancaster on March 24. This copy, which was printed in Lancaster, PA was written in English and was reviewed for translation and accuracy when it arrived. Seems this rare copy is in great shape.  |
Thomas Ryan, LancasterHistory President holding the Koran.
Photo by Blaine Shahan, Lancaster Newspaper photographer |
It is very small, with fine paper and some wear and tear on the spine. Mr. Mukaram Syed, board trustee for the Islamic Community Center of Lancaster gave a brief background about the significance to Muslums the new find holds. The text is the Word of God for Muslims with revelations given to the Holy Prophet Muhammad. It includes religious philosophy for social and moral behavior, plus historical philosophy and accounts of certain prophets and arguments for accepting Muhammad as a genuine prophet. Muslims believe the Quran is the unchanged last Revelation, and God has promised to protect and preserve His book. While there are many different spellings for the holy book...Quran, Koran, Qur'an...for Muslims, Quran or Qur'an are considered correct. Koran is incorrect and is being phased out. The first English translation was accomplished in 1649 by Alexander Ross, a Scottish Christian cleric and chaplain to King Charles I. The English copy presents to LancasterHistory is the third translated edition. It has 18 chapters with 288 pages; the original Quran has 144 chapters with 80,000 pages. A member on LancasterHistory board of directors, Suzanne Woodard said that Lancasterhistory's first collaboration with the Islamic Community Center is an exciting partnership. LancasterHistory board member, Mr. Leroy Hopkins agreed and finds it "fantastic" to have the Quran copy back in Lancaster. William Penn founded Pennsylvania as a colony for people who fled religious persecution, so we in Lancaster County have religious tolerance in our blood. A list of exhibition locations will be posted soon so all can see the new acquisition. I'll most certainly be ready to visit and view the new possession. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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