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What to Do With a Koran Written in Saddam's Blood?

'Blood Koran' kept in high-security vault

By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff

Posted Dec 20, 2010 7:00 AM CST

(Newser) – Nearly eight years after Saddam Hussein’s fall from power, Iraqi officials are still grappling with relics of his rule. Debate is raging over the fate of a Koran written in 27 liters of Saddam’s own blood, drawn by a nurse and lettered by a calligrapher over a two-year period in the late 1990s, the Guardian reports. The object is kept in a vault that requires three keys—“and none of them are held in one place,” says a Sunni leader.

The Shia government wants to keep the Blood Koran hidden from view, fearful that it could ignite a resurgence of members of Saddam’s still-violent Baath party. Many Sunnis, meanwhile, worry about the religious implications of offering this book the reverence typically given the Koran. And while much of what Saddam left has been destroyed, some say it’s important to keep relics like this one as a reminder of “the brutality of Saddam.”

Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein addresses the court holding the Koran during day 2 of the Anfal Capmpaign trial in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone on August 22, 2006 in Baghdad, Iraq.
Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein addresses the court holding the Koran during day 2 of the Anfal Capmpaign trial in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone on August 22, 2006 in Baghdad, Iraq.   (Getty Images)
Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein addresses the court as his co-defendants sit during their trial December 22, 2005 in Baghdad, Iraq.
Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein addresses the court as his co-defendants sit during their trial December 22, 2005 in Baghdad, Iraq.   (Getty Images)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 20 comments
schmidtkoff
Dec 20, 2010 8:19 PM CST
it is history and should be saved. as the shoes, bones and ashes of the holocaust have been saved. as the catacombs of paris, the dust of pompeii. sadam yes, was a monster and lead a repressive and brutal regime. but it is still history. save it.
whizzjef
Dec 20, 2010 8:16 PM CST
Perhaps parallel to ancient Egyptian mythology and beliefs, Saddam could be resurrected once again for that teachable moments if anyone dare to recite that bloody Qur'an.
GreatGravy
Dec 20, 2010 2:25 PM CST
step back and think about that for a second: religious person: "i'm gonna have my blood systematically removed and used as ink for a version of the book i base my life on altruistically, yet in reality i use to fleece and/or kill everyone beneath me" non-religious person: "a book with WHAT??"

 
Iraq • Saddam Hussein • Sunni • Shia • Koran • Baath Party

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