Sri Lankan High Commissioner in India, MilindaMoragoda, who called on the Rashtriya SwyamsewakSangh’s chief, Mohan Bhagwat at his headquarters in Nagpur recently, met the Secretary General of the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, Advocate Niaz Ahmed Farooqui in New Delhi subsequently.
A release from the Sri Lankan High Commission in India said on Tuesday that the meeting was in continuation of the High Commissioner’s dialogue with major religions in India.
The High Commissioner presented a Sinhala translation of the Holy Quran to the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Secretary General Niaz Ahmed Farooqui. They also discussed on the enhancement of Islamic ties between Sri Lanka and India.
Several senior officials of the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind and officials of the High Commission were present at the presentation.
The Sinhala translation of the Holy Quran was published by the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) of Sri Lanka.
The copy of the Holy Quran, fixed inside a transparent display box, will be displayed in the 500-year-old mosque of the Council until next Friday and thereafter moved to its museum as a permanent exhibit.
Following the presentation of the Sinhala translation of the Holy Quran, the High Commissioner and the delegation visited the museum of the Council, and the library where about 12,000 books on Islam and other related subjects are kept.
This was the second time that the High Commission presented a Sinhala translation of the Holy Quran to a key Islamic institution in India. Last November, High Commissioner Milinda Moragoda presented a Sinhala translation of the Holy Quran to the Chief Imam of India and Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid of Delhi Syed Ahmed Bukhari. That copy of the Holy Quran is now inpermanent display at the historical mosque built by legendary Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan.
Founded in 1919, the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind is one of the leading organizations of Islamic scholars belonging to the Deobandi school of thought. It has a membership of 12 million across India.
In keeping with the “Integrated Country Strategy for Sri Lanka Diplomatic Missions in India”, the policy roadmap of High Commissioner Moragoda, the High Commission of Sri Lanka in New Delhi has been promoting dialogue with all major religions in India.
