Chinese experts on ancient book protection called for immediate protective measures to prevent the country's oldest handwritten copy of the Koran from erosion.
The handwritten Koran, treasured in a safe box at the Jiezi Mosque in the Salar Autonomous County of Xunhua in northwest China's Qinghai Province, is facing erosion, decay and theft.
"If the Koran is not properly protected, it will be no longer in existence in 10 years," said Ma Qing, director of the Xunhua County Religious Bureau.
This Islamic scripture is composed of 30 volumes with 680 pages. The cover of each volume was made of silk. The text is written in Arabic.
This Koran copy is valuable because it is China's only Koran written by Muslims in Arab countries.
According to legend, the ancestors of the Salar group, one of the 55 minority ethnic groups in China, left their homeland in Central Asia in the 13th century with a white camel laden with a Koran to escape the intolerance of the local lords.
Upon arrival in Xunhua County in Qinghai Province, after a long and arduous journey, the white camel disappeared, reappearing the next day in the form of a well spring. The Salar named the well spring after the camel and settled in the county. The Koran was brought to China by the ancestors of Salar.
It was one of the oldest and most complete hand-written Korans in China. Muslims of Salar regard it as the treasure of its group, said Ma Juncheng, a Salar scholar and director of the Qinghai provincial institute of ethnic groups.
The hand-written scripture was sent to Syria for display at an exhibition in 1994, winning high praise from the Arab world. Qinghai brought it to Beijing for better conservation and took it back to Qinghai several years later at the request of Salar residents.
Some people suggested the province should build a museum housing the Koran and related religious materials. Others proposed the existing Koran should be copied for public display while the original one be kept in museum.
However, China lacks people specializing in repairing ancient books, numbering less than 100 in the country.
More suggestions will be solicited before making the final decision, said Yu Zhengui, vice-president of the China Islamic Association.
(Xinhua News Agency June 2, 2004)
