ISBR Head to Answer Questions After 'Koran by Heart' at Bernardsville Library

“Koran by Heart,” a documentary that follows three 10-year olds who leave their native countries to participate in one of the Islamic world’s most famous competitions—a test of memory and recitation known as The International Holy Koran Competition—will be shown in a free screening at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 8, at the Bernardsville Public Library.

Following the film, M. Ali Chaudry, President of the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge, will be on hand to discuss the subject and answer questions.

An original handwritten manuscript of the Koran along with some 15 to 20 original calligraphy pieces by the same artist will be on display at the library a few days before and after the film screening.

“Koran By Heart” came to Bernardsville Library’s collection as part the Muslim Journeys Bookshelf grant awarded to the library earlier this year by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association. The Muslim Journeys Bookshelf consists of twenty-five books, three feature films, a one-hour collection of short films, and a one-year subscription to Oxford Islamic Studies online.  This collection of materials aids the library in its mission to connect the community with trustworthy resources and tools for engaging in discussion. 

The movie follows the 2009 Koran competition, which had 110 contestants ranging in age from seven to about 20. The competition was broadcast live around the Arabic world as it is each year, during which the children in the film compete on the pronunciation, recitation and perfected memorization of the hundreds of pages of the Koran.

The three stars are a 10-year-old from Tajikistan named Nabiollah, who memorizes the Koran in Arabic, a language he does not otherwise speak or read and even while he is functionally illiterate in Tajik, his own language; Rifdha, a girl from the Maldives, who studies advanced science and math, speaks several languages and yearns to be an undersea explorer; and Djamil, an imam’s son from a poor village in Senegal who travels to Cairo by himself as a representative of his entire nation.

There is no charge to attend the program, but advance sign-up is requested. Those attending from the area are asked to register online at www.bernardsvillelibrary.org and follow the link from Adult Programs, or call the library at 908-766-0118 to sign up.

The library is located at 1 Anderson Hill Road in Bernardsville, north of Olcott Square.