Quran copies found burnt in field, police launch probe

 

Police are investigating the discovery of several burnt Quran copies at a field in Taman Bandar Senawang, Negeri Sembilan.

According to Berita Harian, Negeri Sembilan police chief Alzafny Ahmad said police received information about a small fire in the area before an inspection uncovered several Quran copies.

“The forensic team from the Negeri Sembilan police contingent headquarters also went to the scene to conduct an examination.

“A sample of the burnt Quran copies was taken and sent to the Forensics Department for analysis,” he added.

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Surau Al-Insaniah Taman Bandar Senawang treasurer Syafali Izwan Gamal Nasir told Berita Harian that the Quran had been taken from the surau.

“I don’t know what motivated the individual to take the Quran from this surau and then burn it. Such an act is highly inappropriate because the holy book is a guide and source of guidance for Muslims.

“Why burn a book that serves as a source of guidance for Muslims? I hope we will find whoever is responsible for this act. This could create an unhealthy situation, and if the person who took it was Malay, what was the purpose of doing such a thing?” he added.

Discovery sets off alarm

Earlier, residents of Taman Bandar Senawang were alarmed after discovering a pile of Quran copies believed to have been burnt beside the neighbourhood football field.

Syafali said the surau management noticed that two copies of the Quran had gone missing during Maghrib prayers last Wednesday.

“We noticed that two copies of the Quran were missing and thought that perhaps a member of the congregation had borrowed them. But that assumption proved incorrect after we checked with the surau committee members.

“However, at about 8.40am on Saturday, we discovered a pile of burnt Quran copies beside the football field. Some residents had also detected the smell of smoke. We believe the act of burning the holy books may have taken place after Subuh prayers,” he said.

He claimed that the surau had also been informed that two children from Madrasah Tahfiz Khoirul Anam had reportedly seen a man entering the surau last Wednesday and later leaving with a bag wrapped in batik cloth.

“We did not suspect anything at the time. Efforts to check the closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras around the surau and madrasah also failed to capture the individual responsible,” he said.

Syafali said he subsequently lodged a police report at the Seremban 2 district police headquarters.

According to him, based on his observations, the burnt Quran copies were likely those reported missing from the surau, based on similarities in the writing on the remaining pages.

“I found that the burnt Qurans may have involved several copies. We were also informed that a mosque here had also reported missing Qurans,” he said. - Mkini