4,000 Americans Request Free Qur�an in First Days of CAIR Campaign

June 1, 2005

Source: USA Today

http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2005-06-01-koran_x.htm

On June 1, 2005 USA Today reported, "Almost 4,000 people have jumped at an offer from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) to send a free copy of Abdullah Yusuf Ali's translation of the Koran (also spelled Qur'an) to whoever wants one. Publisher Amana Publications stands ready to ship as many as 25,000 starting this week.

The campaign comes intentionally on the heels of deadly riots that followed a faulty report last month of interrogators flushing a Koran down a toilet at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The campaign has stirred debate among Muslims, says organizer and CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper, because some say it invites further desecration or misinterpretation. To request a Koran, call 1-800-78-ISLAM or visit www.explorethequran.org.

Yet for organizers, potential benefits outweigh the risks.

'We're trying to get Korans into the hands of the American public because we believe that's the best way to educate people about what Islam really stands for,' Hooper says. 'Prejudice against Islam goes up when you have lack of information.'"