The U.S. State Department on Wednesday officially presented the Islamic holy book in eight volumes to the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn as a gift from Muslim leaders in Uzbekistan. Bradford Hansen, the department’s deputy chief of mission, was on hand for the ceremony.

Eide Alawan, director of the mosque’s Office of Interfaith Outreach, said the gift was offered more than a year ago, when eight imams visited from the Central Asian nation.

"They were happy with our hospitality and asked if we would receive one of the first (Qur’ans) in this country in Braille," he said. "We told them we’d be honored."

Alawan said the Quran will remain at the mosque but is available to members of the community. There are an estimated 300,000 people of Arab ancestry in southeast Michigan.