Indonesia’s Aceh displays its Oldest Copy of Qur’an at Islamic Exhibition

Aceh, Indonesia - The Indonesian province of Aceh has displayed its oldest copy of the Holy Qur’an during an Islamic exhibition held in Nagan Raya, according to media reports.

The 700-year-old manuscripts, previously known as Panto Reu, were not among the 62 ancient Qur'an manuscripts that are 300-500 years old and displayed at the government museum in Nagan Raya, West Aceh.

“In this occasion, we want to introduce a historical object that has been stored in West Aceh,” the head of Islamic Law of West Aceh, Mursalin, told Republika Online on Sunday.

Written by Sheikh Maulana Malik Ibrahim 700 years ago, the ancient manuscripts of Qur’an were stored in the Mugo, Panton Reu in West Aceh.

The revelation of the Indonesian centuries-old Qur’an manuscripts comes almost two weeks after finding another copy of the holy book, that is deemed one of the world’s oldest copies of the Holy Qur’an in India.

The 410-year-old Qur’an copy, which is believed to be the oldest in the Indian subcontinent, is believed to be dating back to the period of Mughal ruler, Akbar, which existed at least four centuries ago.

Indian historians described the recovered 604-page copy as a “piece of art." Almost a month after its discovery in UK’s Birmingham, the claimed oldest copy of the holy Qur’an is set to be sent to Turkey for verification.

Last July, fragments of what is thought to be the world's oldest Qur'an was found in the University of Birmingham, with experts saying the manuscripts date back to the era of Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him),  some 1,370 years ago.

The announcement followed radiocarbon analysis which proved that it was written in the period between 568CE and 645CE, with 95.4 percent accuracy.

The unique copy will be examined by the Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA) in Istanbul to verify its actual date.

“The center will carefully study the manuscript using as reference the available manuscripts and the books on various types of recitations to confirm the date of the Birmingham copy,” the director general of the center, Halit Eren, Makkah daily reported.

Eren stressed that the radiocarbon analysis conducted by the university is not usually accurate, saying that there can be least 10 years more or less.

He added that Turkey, Tashkent, Egypt and Yemen have the oldest copies of the holy Qur’an in the world.

“When the current incidents in Yemen are over, we will examine its copies of the Qur’an which may be the oldest in the world,” he added.