TEHRAN -- Iranian calligrapher and inscriber of the Holy Quran Kazem Sadeqa is convinced that Iranian calligraphers can establish a unique Quranic script.

Two major guidelines need to be taken into consideration in inscribing the holy book; one is peoples’ taste and the other is ease of readability of the verses, Sadeqa told the Persian service of Fars.
He stressed that one must follow special rules and regulations in inscribing the Quran, adding, “I have completed the inscription of the Quran four times and each time, I tried to eliminate my previous orthographical errors.”
“I inscribed my first copy 30 years ago and I had to rewrite 200 pages of it. The second copy I did was six years later. I spent most of my energy on inscribing the holy book for the third time. I tried to avoid problems in inscribing each page that occur using Osman Taha script, so first I made a rough draft in pencil, and then practiced 10 times to reach the desired text,” he explained.
Sadeqa regards Osman Taha script of the holy book a second-rate script and said, “In Osman Taha script, to finish each page with a complete verse, either the size of the pen is reduced, or the words are compressed,”
He later talked about the history of the Naskh style of calligraphy and explained, “When the Arabs dominated Iran, Kufic script became popular, while other scripts fell out of favor. But gradually, Naskh script regained popularity over other scripts due to its fluid nature, soft appearance and widespread application.
“Naskh calligraphy is almost one thousand years old, but it is not without errors. We calligraphers must try to improve the script and I myself have been working on the project for almost three years, trying to gradually make changes in Naskh calligraphy little by little.”
Sadeqa also regretted that Quranic inscription has no exclusive administrator, but added, “Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance could manage the issue.
“Unfortunately some of the prayer books that were distributed in Arab countries were written with unattractive script and contain orthographical mistakes. There needs to be a center to supervise publication of these books and permission must not be granted to just any old run-of-the-mill inscription,” he proposed.
57-year old Sadeqa is a graduate of Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt and also is an Arabic language translator.