April 05, 2008	Saturday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 27, 1429

BAHAWALPUR, April 4: A three-day national Quran conference opened at the Abbasia Campus of the Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB) here on Friday.

In his inaugural address at the conference organised by the Faculty of Islamic Learning, IUB Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Belal A Khan urged the academia to play its role to steer the nation out of the prevailing turmoil. He said the social condition of the Islamic world was characterised with educational backwardness, widespread poverty, lawlessness and austerity, a lack of democracy and inattention to Islamic laws. He said Muslims needed a dynamic and inspiring leadership and commitment to come out of the prevailing situation.

Prof Dr Mehmoodul Hassan Arif, president of Punjab University’s Idara-e-Muarif, said in his paper entitled “Quran Translation” that the first-ever translation of the Holy Quran was accomplished in 3 A.H. in Sindhi language. In the subcontinent, the first-ever translation of the Holy Quran was done in Persian language in 18th century, he said, adding that about 700 translations had been recorded in Urdu language up till now.