New Russian translation of the Koran

A new translation of the Koran in Russian (translated from Arabic) has been released in Moscow. The official presentation of the new edition took place today, reports RIA “Novosti”.

“The translation was done by the Azerbaijani scientist Elmir Kuliev. Russian Official Mufti Board considers the new translation as a new step towards perceiving the word of Allah. For the first time, the translator used traditional sources while trying to preserve the genuine spirit of Islam, which in turn carries the afflatus of the Almighty. The translation is done by a Muslim and is intended only for Muslims, not for Russian-speaking readers,” stated Vice Chairman of the Russian Mufti Board, Marat Murtazin.

According to him, any translation that does not distort the essence of the Koran has a right to exist. Among already existing editions of the sacred book, Marat Murtazin especially noted translations of Sablukov, Krachkovski, Osmanov, and the latest translation of Kuliev as the best ones “We consider these four translators as the most authoritative. These are the best translations,” stated he.

“My approach to this translation differed from previous ones, because I attempted to capture Allah's message through the prism of faith. Earlier, my translations were of purely scientific nature,” noted Kuliev. He is certain that a translator has be a true believer and a Muslim in order to carry the true meaning and spirit of the Koran. At the same time, Kuliev noted that his translation is not “perfect” and that he will continue his work.

Head of the “Umma” publishing house (the name means “Muslim community”), Aslam Ezhaev also remarked that the first translation of Koran from Arabic to Russian had been published back in 1716 at the time of Peter the Great from a French edition; it is attributed to one famous literary grand duke Kantemir.

Editors prefer to call the book as a translation of the “meanings of the Koran”, for, according to them, it is simply impossible to translate this sacred for Muslims book into any language with a 100% accuracy.

10 000 copies of the new translation of the Koran (including Arab text and comments) will hit the shelves as soon as next week. Also, the editors say that the book was also published in a new pocket size.