Explore the Quran

There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other; to learn from each other; to respect one another; and to seek common ground. As the Holy Quran tells us, "Be conscious of God and speak always the truth." That is what I will try to do today. President Barack Obama

The Holy Quran teaches that whoever kills an innocent is as -- it is as if he has killed all mankind. (Applause.) And the Holy Quran also says whoever saves a person, it is as if he has saved all mankind. President Barack Obama

The Holy Quran tells us: "O mankind! We have created you male and a female; and we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another."

The people of the world can live together in peace. We know that is God's vision. Now that must be our work here on Earth. President Barack Obama

And I consider it part of my responsibility as President of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear. President Barack Obama

A Thank You, and a Koran, for Obama
Andrea Fuller, New York Times, 6/30/09

President Obama will soon receive a thank-you gift for his speech to the Muslim world in Cairo. Inspired by the address, in which Mr. Obama quoted the Koran, the Council on American-Islamic Relations plans to distribute 100,000 copies of the Koran to national, state and local leaders.

The council’s national executive director, Nihad Awad, said at a news conference in Washington today that the speech, in which Mr. Obama called for the end to mutual suspicion between Americans and Muslims, was “inspiring” and “historic.”

[…]

“This project is pure education,” said Mr. Awad, who said the council was not attempting to proselytize.

Prompted by President Obama's speech directed to the Muslim world in Cairo in early June, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today launched its "Share the Quran" campaign distributing free Qurans to local, state, and national leaders across the United States.

The organization's spokesperson said it will also send a copy to Obama and Vice President Biden.

"This is pure educational. I want to make it clear that this is not proselytizing or a campaign or project to convert people to Islam," said CAIR's director Nihad Awad today at a press conference. "We want people to be aware and informed about Islam."

Awad said the idea to gift high-end Qurans ($78 each) to American legislators, law enforcement officers, media leaders, governors, local elected and public officials, was directly inspired by Obama's Cairo speech. (Read more)

Erika Niedowski, The National, 6/30/09

WASHINGTON // When the US President Barack Obama quoted from the Quran in his speech to the Muslim world from Cairo last month, Muslim-American leaders saw it as an opportunity to raise the holy book’s profile in a country where its teachings are largely misunderstood.

So yesterday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights and advocacy group here, kicked off a campaign to distribute 100,000 copies to politicians and other public officials, the first phase of what the group hopes will eventually be a total distribution of one million.

June 28, 2009 - CAIR: 'Share the Quran' Campaign to be launched Tuesday

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) will hold a news conference on Tuesday, June 30 in Washington, D.C., announcing the launch of a major campaign to distribute free copies of the Quran to 100,000 local, state, and national leaders.

Over several years the "Share the Quran" campaign plans to distribute Qurans to governors, state attorney generals, educators, law enforcement officials, state and national legislators, local elected and public officials, media professionals, and other local or national leaders who determine policy or shape public opinion.

According to CAIR, the educational campaign was prompted by President Obama's speech in Cairo earlier this month in which he quoted the Quran several times. As posted here previously (article 1 and article 2), the Cairo audience applauded loudly each time the Quran was quoted.

June 26, 2009 - Muslim Group Giving 100,000 Qur'ans to Elected Officials

By William Wan

On the premise that nothing makes a better gift than a good book, a Muslim civil liberties group is launching a campaign to hand out 100,000 free copies of an expensive Arabic-English copy of the Qur'an to elected officials and influential policy makers.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is planning to announce their campaign at a press conference Tuesday. The group's executive director said the project was inspired after hearing people in his office heard Obama's speech to the Muslim world last month, in which Obama talked about seeking "a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world."