The Quran copies in Pattani which are a legacy of the Pattani Islamic Kingdom have an interesting story which made them survive until today. Pattani Islamic Kingdom and Thai Kingdom, or Thailand Kingdom of today, entered a war in the history. While Pattani Islamic Kingdom was defeated in the war, Thai Kingdom began atrocities in the region. In a bid to make people stay away from Islam, the Thai Kingdom aimed to get rid of all copies of Quran in the region. In the wake of this attitude of the Thai Kingdom, which aimed to make people abandon Islam and adopt Budism, Muslims in the region hid the copies of Quran in their houses.

Seven copies of Quran found

The Quran copies which were kept secret in the houses of the Muslims for years were taken to Malaysia after the pressure on the Muslims in the region increased further. After they were kept in Malaysia for some time, the Quran copies were sent back to Pattani. The Quran copies were brought back by a man from Pattani with the name Abdulhakim Fauzi Madiyoh. Madiyoh also collected other copies of Quran from other people. Muslims in Pattani did not hesitate to give their copies to Madiyoh for their preservation. There are currently seven Quran copies of 600-year-old in Pattani.

Interesting dream

 “After the Thai atrocities increased in the region, the Quran copies were sent to Malaysia where they were transferred from father to son. And the latest person who kept one of the copies had a dream in which he was told to give back the Quran copy to its real owner. In the meantime, I was in Malaysia to meet the needs of the Madrasah. I came across with this man during my visit and he gave me the Quran copy he had. In addition to him, other people also gave me their copies and now I have seven copies,” said Madiyoh.

IHH to repair the Quran copies

The Quran copies in Pattani have been worn out because they have not been preserved well. The IHH has recently launched work for the renovation of these copies. In a statement on the issue, IHH Project Coordinator İhsan Özyürek said he went to Pattani and saw the Quran copies there, which he said were priceless.

“Since Quran copies could not be preserved well in Pattani and they are unfortunately in a worn-out situation now. We want to launch a project for the preservation of the Quran copies. We plan to bring the Quran copies to Turkey first, repair them here and send them back to Pattani after establishing a museum there where the copies can be put on display. We contacted with some organizations to this effect. With their support, we plan to complete this project as soon as possible,” said Özyürek.

Akit – Hüseyin Kulaoğlu