Iran bans import of Holy Quran published in China

The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has banned the import of copies of the Holy Quran published in China via Iran's customs' offices, Deputy Culture Minister Bahman Dorri said, Tehran Times reported.

"Importing copies of Quran from China is not to the benefit of culture or even the economy of the country, so we need to boost this industry here and support publishers of Holy Quran," Dorri said at the meeting of the ministry's deputy directors.

"Some cultural figures believe that publication of the Holy Quran outside Iran is due to a shortage of printing presses, but I must point out that development of the printing industry inside the country is one of the major policies of the ministry," he added.

Dorri noted that publication of the Quran in the country requires greater supervision by the Culture Ministry, which helps produce copies of the Quran of high quality and with no mistakes.

He also said that reviving the printing industry and supporting religious publishers are among the major priorities of the ministry.

Several Iranian publishers have been sending their copies of the Quran to China for publication only to have them come back home with spelling mistakes, Director of the Department of Evaluation on Publication of the Holy Quran affiliated with the Organization of the Holy Quran, Ahmad Haji-Sharif, said in a press release a few weeks ago.