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Qur'an desecration is defined as insulting the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam, by defiling or defacing it. Most traditional schools of Islamic law dictate that a Muslim may not touch the Qur'an, which is regarded as the literal word of God in its untranslated Arabic form, unless he or she is in a state of ritual purity (wudu). Muslims must always treat the book with reverence, and are forbidden, for instance, to pulp, recycle, or simply discard worn-out copies of the text; instead, burning or burying the worn-out copies in a respectful manner is required. [1] Respect for the written text of the Qur'an is an important element of religious faith in Islam. Intentionally insulting the Qur'an is regarded as a form of blasphemy. Desecrating a copy of the Qur'an is punishable by imprisonment in some countries (life imprisonment in Pakistan, according to Article 295-B of the Penal Code) and, reportedly, by death in others.

A non-Muslim in a non-Islamic jurisdiction is not required to pay such respect to a copy of Qu'ran. As a practical matter, a non-Muslim book dealer in a non-Muslim country will very likely handle or dispose of a copy of Qur'an as he or she would any other book.

Main article: Qur'an desecration controversy of 2005

In 2005, allegations of deliberate desecration of the Qur'anin front of Muslim prisoners at the United States military base in Guantánamo Bay fueled a widespread controversy and were blamed for deadly riots. A US military investigation confirmed 4 instances of Qur'an desecrations by US personnel (2 of which were described as "unintentional"), and 15 instances of desecration by Muslim prisoners. ^[1] According to CBC News, "The statement did not provide any explanation about why the detainees might have abused their own holy books."[2]