Lahore, 2007 Oct 27, IQNA
 
Rising paper prices have forced publishers and printers in Lahore to print copies of the Holy Quran and other religious scriptures on dirty, low quality re-cycled paper.

This shocking revelation was made during a survey conducted by The Post on Thursday.

The recycled paper carrying Quranic verses wears out soon, making the printed matter illegible.

Asked why copies of the Holy Quran were being printed on recycled paper, Khalid, a publisher at Urdu Bazaar, said, "People cannot afford the high price of the holy book if published on fancy paper and therefore we print it on re-cycled paper. Although we find it abhorrent, we have no other choice."

Religious scholars, however, have varied opinions on this subject. Jamia Mosque Ahmd Raza Muhammadi Park, Raj Garh, Imam Nawaz, when contacted for comment, said that after melting and passing through a flash point, the re-cycled paper so produced could be used for printing the Holy Quran. "It is like washing something properly before taking up a religious obligation", he observed, while seeing no harm in Quran being printed on recycled paper.

Jamia Masjid Kamal-i-Mustafa, Mozang Road Imam Muhammad Liaqat Qadri's opinion was, however, different altogether. He argued that the Holy Quran should be printed on superior quality paper.

Vendors roaming around on bicycles gather used and worn-out paper from streets, dustbins and other places where garbage is dumped only to sell it to some paper-mills which have the re-cycling arrangement. "The paper industry sends trucks to Shah Alam, a big used paper market, to lift paper from the old goods' shops and sellers.

"The dirt-laden paper, a paper-mill owner said, is put in a pulp along with many other not-so- clean materials and chemicals. "After cleaning the pulp, the whole matter passes through a number of stages to finally assume the shape of a coarse substance which looks like a degraded paper ready for re-use", he noted.

The paper so obtained is reeled in and sent to publishers. Its cost, markets sources said, is much less than that of standard paper.