Egyptian artist spends three years to create ‘world’s biggest’ Quran

CAIRO: An Egyptian artist who educated himself after dropping out of school has spent three years creating what he hopes is the world’s biggest Quran.

Saad Mohammed, who has hand-painted Islamic motifs on the walls and ceilings of his home in the town of Belqina, north of Cairo, has reproduced the Muslim holy book on a paper scroll 700 metres long.

Saad Mohammed turns the page of a book he’s handwritten at his studio in the town of Belqina, north of Cairo, Egypt April 26, 2017. – Reuters

He displays the intricately decorated manuscript in a large wooden box with rollers at each end.

A page of Saad Mohammed’s 700-meter-long Quran, which he hopes to submit to Guinness World Records as the largest handwritten Koran in the world, is pictured at his studio in the town of Belqina, north of Cairo, Egypt April 26, 2017.

“This Quran is 700 metres long, and of course that’s a large amount of paper,” he told Reuters Television. “I self-funded this project for the past three years – and I’m an average person. I don’t have assets or anything.”

Saad Mohammed rolls down what he says is the largest handwritten version of Quran in the world measuring around 700 meters long, the town of Belqina, north of Cairo, Egypt, April 26, 2017.

Mohammed wants to submit his Quran for inclusion in Guinness World Records. Guinness says that while there is a record for the world’s biggest printed Quran, there is so far no record holder for the largest handwritten version.

Saad Mohammed turns the page of a book he’s handwritten at his studio in the town of Belqina, north of Cairo, Egypt, April 26, 2017.

Mohammed says he is hoping for help with the costs of applying to Guinness from the government or any other interested party.