Spanish Version of Holy Quran unveiled in Tehran

March 10, 2011 - 0:0

TEHRAN – A Spanish translation of the Holy Quran by Spanish Shia scholar Jafar Gonzales was unveiled during a ceremony held at the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization (ICRO) here on Tuesday.

Translated directly from Arabic, the 778-page book is a fluent and faithful translation of the Quran into modern Spanish. It took Gonzales over two years to accomplish the task.
The ceremony took place at the venue of the ICRO where ICRO director Mohammad-Baqer Khorramshad, director of the Center for Organizing Translation and Publication Hojjatolesalm Asghar Saberi, and director of Oriental Thought Cultural Institute in Qom Hoj. Mohsen Rabbani took part.
The ceremony began with a short speech delivered by Hoj. Saberi who emphasized the importance of the translation of the Holy Quran into other languages, adding, “We need to seriously pursue programs centering on the translation of the Quran.”
Hoj. Rabbani next continued, “This Spanish version of the Quran is the second translation conducted by a Shia scholar. Jafar Gonzales converted to Islam in 1980’s and lived in Iran for several years where he mastered both Persian and Arabic and began to work on the translation of Holy Quran into Spanish.
“We expect to publish additional copies of the Spanish version next year for display at several international fairs in Venezuela, Argentina, Cuba, and Colombia.
“There are also plans to distribute the Spanish version to the Iranian embassies and cultural offices in Latin America,” he said.
Hoj. Rabbani added, “During the years I worked in Iran’s cultural office in Argentina, we were able to translate and publish over 250 books into Spanish. Currently, there are 150 more books due to be released soon.”
ICRO director Khorramshad then stressed transferring the message of the Iranian revolution to the world and said, “The revolution arose through the instructions of the Holy Quran; and the translation of these instructions into other languages is the best way to convey the culture of the revolution to the rest of the world.”
He also added that the major messages of the Islamic revolution are peace, friendship, global management and responsibility, and Islamic justice.