ANKARA (Reuters) - Islam´s holy book the Koran is to be translated into Kurdish as part of Turkey´s efforts to boost the rights of Kurds and to meet European Union political standards, the state-run religious authority said Wednesday.

Turkey has some 12-14 million Kurds out of a total population of 70 million, but public use of the Kurdish language is still banned in certain areas, including giving political speeches and official correspondence.

Under reforms aimed at winning membership of the EU, Ankara has expanded cultural and political rights of the Kurdish minority, including launching a state-run Kurdish television.

"We didn´t want to exclude Kurdish as we prepare translations of the Koran into other languages. Kurdish is widely spoken in Turkey," Mehmet Gormez, deputy head of Turkey´s Religious Affairs Directorate, told state-run Anatolian.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan is courting the support of Kurds ahead of March 29 municipal elections and an official translation of the Koran into Kurdish would likely to be well received.

Previous governments viewed the Kurdish language as part of separatist propaganda. The state has fought a decades-long war with Kurdish guerrillas in the southeast, in which 40,000 people, mainly Kurds, have been killed.

The main pro-Kurdish DTP party, which is locked in a battle for votes with Erdogan´s AK Party in the Kurdish southeast, has said recent overtures in Kurdish are aimed at winning votes.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSTRE52H2JE20090318

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Great news! I think everyone is entitled to have his/her holy books in his/her own language!

I guess it is good news, but I am confused....why is a secular nation deciding whether or not the Koran is translated into Kurdish or not?  Isn´t that the decision of religious people?  or am I completely off my rocker AGAIN??

 you are just a bed texan, thats why your perception of the world different.

 So what are you saying....ask a stupid question....get a stupid answer???

I just noticed the word ´stupid´ in the ´New in Forums´ column - but I see it is not being used personally - so carry on!

 Thank you for participating in the verbal abuse watch dog committee!  Your efforts are commendable!!  I feel so safe from femme´s acidic posts now!

We are here with your safety and wellbeing in mind!   - Have a nice day!

 I see that sarcasm is just one of the services you offer.  Are you going to be having a training program for sarcasm as well?  I feel like I could use it because, as an American, I am the frequent target of "bed" jokes and "clowning" around.  As with most Americans, we have a really hard time dealing with people of different cultures (you know I have never really seen an eastern person) and are far too simple minded to grasp certain concepts without extensive training.

  thank you

can i use the word clown against the dumb texan? she is one of those ignorants of eastern culture.

 thank you for admitting

when are you going to be enlightened to california? it seems like you texans are horrible racists and complete ignorants.