PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN, 28 May 2015 – His Majesty the King yesterday granted an audience to the following groups of people respectively at Klai Kangwon Palace in Hua Hin District.
– President of the Constitutional Court Nurak Mapraneet who led Mr. Worawit Kangsasithiam, a Constitutional Court judge, to take an oath of allegiance before assuming his post.
– Mr. Asis Pithakkhumpol, Chula Ratchamontri (Sheikhul Islam) and chairman of the Central Islamic Council of Thailand, led his committee members to extend their good wishes to His Majesty the King on behalf of the Thai Muslims in observance of the Month of Ramadan and the 50th anniversary of the royal project on the translation of the Holy Quran into Thai.
The Chula Ratchamontri presented to His Majesty on this occasion a set of six books containing the Holy Quran and its meaning in Thai. The official translation of the Holy Quran into Thai was a project conceived by His Majesty the King who advised that the noble scripture not only contained religious significance but also was recognized as an important piece of literary work of the world which had been translated into many languages.
In 1964 His Majesty instructed the then Chula Ratchamontri to translate the Quran from Arabic into Thai. He also provided personal fund for the printing of the Thai version of the Quran for distribution to the public. In July 1970, the first set of translation was completed, and His Majesty presented its copies to the Provincial Islamic Committee of Narathiwat. It was in 1987 that the complete set of the Quran with Thai translation was published and presented to HM the King on the occasion of his 60th birthday. The books were distributed to libraries of various mosques, Islamic schools and charity organizations.
Since then, the royal edition of the Quran translation has been published for pubic distribution on important occasions such as the 50th anniversary of the King’s accession to the Throne in 1996, and the 6th cycle birthday of Her Majesty the Queen in 2004.
The royal project on the translation of the Quran reached its 50th anniversary in 2014. It has yielded a satisfying result allowing Thai Muslims to have thorough understanding of the Islamic teachings as wished by His Majesty the King.
