The Koran

[Eileen Woodworth Sexton <ews@TENET.EDU>]

Today a very strange thing happened in my library and I'm hoping someone
will be able to explain this to me.  Perhaps you have had a similar
experience.  A student (ninth grader) told me he wanted to discuss a book
with me.  He pointed to a paperback copy opf the Koran and asked if he
could purchase it.  I told him no and suggested that he go to a
bookstore.  He said that he didn't really want to buy it, but wanted it
removed from the library because he is a Muslim and the Koran is very
sacred to him.  He said that he could not even touch it because it was
not allowed.  He was not able to really explain the rationale to me so we
looked in a couple encyclopedias and world religion references.  We found
info about the Koran, but nothing explained what he was saying to me.

Have any of you had similar experiences?  Does anyone out there know
enough about the Muslim religion to enlighten me?