Egypt jails man who printed 'new Quran' after 'receiving divine revelation'

Port Said Criminal Court convicted the 40-year old man in absentia for "distorting" the text with the aim of distributing a new revision, which he claimed to have received through divine revelation, according to local El-Dyar news.

The man was slapped with an additional fine of 20,000 Egyptian pounds ($1,260). The court also ordered that all copies of the altered scripture be confiscated, according to local reports.

The convicted man, who worked as a house painter, is said to have produced numerous copies of the text.

He reportedly entered into a guilty plea, local media said, and told prior court hearings that he had received divine revelation in the form of a "new Quran", which he says he was ordered to propagate.

Read also: Tunisia jails blogger for writing fake Quran coronavirus verse

The holy scripture is believed by Muslims to have been revealed by God in its complete and final form. Any attempts to make changes are seen as acts of heresy.

Egypt has laws punishing those who try to change the sacred text's wording, chapter titles and its arrangement.

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