Dubai: A contest for the best Quran reciters and memorisers — with a Dh250,000 top prize — started in Dubai on Saturday.
The first batch of six contestants, including two children, faced off during the 18th edition of the Dubai International Holy Quran Award (DIHQA).
DIHQA started on June 29 with a series of nightly Islamic lectures. Saturday was the first day of the contest component of DIHQA.
A total of 87 contestants from an equal number of countries have confirmed they will participate.
On Saturday, a 14-year-old boy from Iraq tried to impress a five-member jury with his memory of Quran verses. Zaid Saleh stumbled only twice after reciting from memory dozens of verses over 15 minutes.
However, at least two other contestants appeared to have fared without mistakes. Once all batches have competed in the coming days, the winners will be announced towards the end of the DIHQA around Ramadan 20 (July 18).
Contestants are given a verse randomly and must carry on from that point until judges interject another random verse, and so on.
Also judged is the beauty and precision of recitation.
The winner will bag Dh250,000, while the second prize is worth Dh200,000 and the third Dh150,000.
Saturday’s other contestants — all under the age of 21 — were from Ethiopia, Benin, the Netherlands, Nepal, and Afghanistan.
The Quran competitions are held after the Ramadan Taraweeh prayers at 10.30pm at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry building in Deira. Meanwhile, the lectures are taking place at Dubai Women’s Association until Thursday (for women only), and at the Social Reform Society (open to all communities) from Wednesday to July 19.
The lectures at Dubai Chamber ended on Friday.
The contests, meanwhile, can also be seen on the satellite channels IntelSat (12522 H), NileSat (12226 H), and ArabSat (12111 V).
DIHQA also selects an Islamic Personality of the Year in each annual edition. The Dh1 million prize this year went to Ahmad Mohammad Al Tayyeb, the Grand Imam of Al Azhar religious institution in Egypt.
The 21-day event includes raffle prizes for the audience.
It is held under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
The closing ceremony will take place at the Cultural and Scientific Association building in Al Mamzar, close to the new DIHQA headquarters.
The announcement was made by Ebrahim Bu Melha, chairman of the organising committee of the DIHQA, recently.
Bu Melha, who is also Adviser to the Ruler of Dubai for Cultural and Humanitarian Affairs, said the award activities will be broadcast across the world via five satellites, namely, Arab Sat, Nile Sat, Intel Sat, Galaxy and Hesba Sat.
