The Ministry of Endowments (Awqaf) and Islamic Affairs has signed a contract with the Turkish Bilnet Printing and Publishing to print 700,000 copies of the fifth edition of Mushaf Qatar or the Qur'an of Qatar, in three sizes.
The contract was signed by the Director of the Financial and Administrative Affairs Department at the ministry, Ahmed al-Nuaimi, and the general manager of the Bilnet Printing and Publishing, Ertugrul Ozturk.
The contract stipulates that the printing process will take a full year from the date of the signing, including the paper supply period, bringing the number of printed copies of Mushaf Qatar in all sizes upon completion and receipt of the fifth edition to about 3.4mn copies, since the launch of Mushaf Qatar in 2010.
Adviser to HE the Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, and supervisor of the printing of Mushaf Qatar, Dr Khalifa bin Jassim al-Kuwari, said: "The Qatar Qur'an project is the vision of an Amir and the path of a State."
In a press conference, Dr al-Kuwari stressed the minister's keenness to adhere to the highest standards in printing the Qur'an, in terms of paper, type of ink, binding, decoration, colours, and all materials used in printing.
He also pointed out that the selection of the printing press is also subject to precise technical criteria.
He explained that the Bilnet Printing meets these criteria, and that it had already printed the third and fourth editions of the Mushaf Qatar, which is the first Qur'an in the world to be written through an international competition in Arabic calligraphy in which 120 of the most skilled calligraphers in the Islamic world competed for the honour of scribing the Qur'an manuscript, with the competition also being judged by a jury composed of world experts in the arts of Arabic calligraphy, not to mention the other competitions related to the gilding and decoration of the Qur'an.
Dr al-Kuwari said that the 5th edition of Mushaf Qatar will be printed in three sizes: the large is 28x20cm (150,000 copies), the medium is 20x14cm (500,000 copies), and the small is 14x10cm (50,000 copies).
Regarding the standards of the fifth edition, he said that work teams will supervise the printing of the Qur'an to ensure the ministry's standards are met, so that the Qur'an copies turn out in a form that befits the Book of Allah, and to reflect clearly the dedication Qatar gives to the Qur'an.
In addition, he pointed out that this edition will be distributed upon completion within Qatar and to Muslims around the world.
In response to a question about whether there is a plan to print the Qur'an of Qatar with a recitation other than "Hafs", Dr al-Kuwari explained that there is an idea to issue an edition in the "Warsh" recitation.
For his part, Ertugrul Ozturk expressed his pride in co-operating with the Ministry of Endowments in printing the 5th edition, stressing the commitment to continue to print the Qur'an according to the best technical standards.
The first copy of Mushaf Qatar was launched in 2010.
