Saudi-funded Spanish Quran (mis)translation makes Allah furious with Iranians
Saudi-funded Spanish Quran (mis)translation makes Allah furious with Iranians
A Saudi-published Spanish translation of the Muslim holy book contains a typo confusing the Spanish word for "anger" with "Iranians" due to their similar roots in the language.
2 min read
05 Apr, 2016
A typo or a deliberate dig at Iran? [Facebook:As'ad AbuKhalil]
A Saudi-funded Spanish translation of the Muslim holy book apparently contains a politically embarrassing typo that replaced in Spanish the words "those whom God is angry with" with "Iranians".
It is not clear which edition contains the typo and when exactly it was discovered, but some on social media circulated it this week on the back of Saudi-Iranian tensions, prompting both conspiracy theories and humourous reactions.
The typo is non-sensical, but the Spanish word "ira", anger, in the verse "no el de los que son motivo de ira, ni el de los extraviados" was merged with the next word "ni", neither, to produce "Irani".
The verse in Surat al-Fatiha reads in English:
[God,] guide us on the straight path, the path of those who have received your grace; not the path of those who have brought down anger, nor of those who wander astray.
"Finally! The Christians and Jews are off the hook!" wrote Bashir Saade.
Saudi Arabia severed all links with the Islamic Republic of Iran in January after angry mobs attacked the kingdom's embassy in Tehran and a consulate in the city of Mashhad following Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shia Muslim cleric.
Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia and fellow Gulf nations also accuse Iran of supporting the Houthi rebels in Yemen, as well as attempting to destabilise their own regimes.
They also support rebels in Syria's war while Tehran openly backs the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
It is not clear which edition contains the typo and when exactly it was discovered, but some on social media circulated it this week on the back of Saudi-Iranian tensions, prompting both conspiracy theories and humourous reactions.
The typo is non-sensical, but the Spanish word "ira", anger, in the verse "no el de los que son motivo de ira, ni el de los extraviados" was merged with the next word "ni", neither, to produce "Irani".
The verse in Surat al-Fatiha reads in English:
[God,] guide us on the straight path, the path of those who have received your grace; not the path of those who have brought down anger, nor of those who wander astray.
"Finally! The Christians and Jews are off the hook!" wrote Bashir Saade.
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| [Facebook:Ali Latifa Fakhry] |
Saudi Arabia severed all links with the Islamic Republic of Iran in January after angry mobs attacked the kingdom's embassy in Tehran and a consulate in the city of Mashhad following Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shia Muslim cleric.
Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia and fellow Gulf nations also accuse Iran of supporting the Houthi rebels in Yemen, as well as attempting to destabilise their own regimes.
They also support rebels in Syria's war while Tehran openly backs the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
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