The gift that never ends: Project Qur’an’s seven years of changing lives

On a memorable Saturday night 23 May, the OnePath Network Studio in Regents Park was filled with the kind of energy that only comes when a community gathers to celebrate something truly meaningful.

Supporters, speakers and friends packed the studio to mark seven extraordinary years of Project Qur’an – and to propel it even further with a fundraiser that exceeded all expectations.

Founded in 2019, Project Qur’an began with a simple but profound mission: to place a beautifully produced, English-translated Qur’an into the hands of anyone who needed or wanted one – new Muslims, practising Muslims and those simply curious about Islam.

Seven years on, more than 60,000 copies have been distributed across Australia and internationally, free of charge, touching lives in ways its founders could scarcely have imagined when they first sat down together for what was then just a casual conversation.

“It is amazing that something so good could come from a casual discussion between myself, Br Dean Mousad and Br Nour Kabbara,” said co-Br Aladdin Elmir, referencing his fellow founders.

“Alhamdulillah, look at what Allah has allowed us to build together.”

The gift that never ends….

Br Dean Mousad reflected on the journey with equal humility.

“Every Qur’an we send out is a sadaqah jariyah (a continuous charity),” he said.

“We may never know all the lives it touches, but we trust that every single copy is doing its work, long after it leaves our hands….that is, the gift that never ends.”

The evening’s program was a tribute to Project Qur’an’s reach.

Among those who took to the floor was well-known Muslim dawah and media figure (and now film-maker) Br Ahmed Bassal, who after addressing the gathering, introduced this writer onto the stage and interviewed me on my own journey to Islam and the integral part that Project Qur’an had played in it.

And continues to play.

Br Ahmed Bassal.

Also addressing the gathering were well known dawah figures, Br Momo Ali Haidy and Ustadh Ali Assad, whose words further highlighted the spiritual weight of the Project Qur’an initiative.

The evening was expertly held together by MC Lucman Arab, while the legendary Br Hussin Goss – the Australian Muslim community’s much-loved charity auctioneer extraordinaire – brought the room to life even further during a spirited bidding session.

Through the generosity of individuals, families and businesses present on the night, an extraordinary $200,000 was raised to support Project Quran’s ongoing work.

The funds will enable thousands more Qur’ans to be printed and distributed, new Muslims to be supported through the Embrace resource pack and dawah outreach to continue expanding not only across Australia but internationally.

The occasion also carried historical resonance.

Among the most notable recipients of a Project Quran to date have been England’s Prince William and Jacinda Ardern, then Prime Minister of New Zealand, who was presented with a copy in the aftermath of the devastating Christchurch mosque massacres of 15 March, 2019 – a gesture of peace and understanding at one of the darkest moments in the Muslim community’s recent memory.