Dubai: Competition is heating up in the 18th edition of Dubai International Holy Quran Award (DIHQA), which has won praise from the top Muslim cleric in occupied Jerusalem, Islam’s third holiest city.
The contest has so far seen 56 of the 80 competitors, mostly young men, demonstrate their skills in Quran memorisation and recitation.
Dr Ekrima Sabri, Grand Mufti of occupied Jerusalem and Head Imam of the Al Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem, said DIHQA is “an exceptional role model that revives the Quran in the souls and hearts of young memorisers”.
He added that the contest is “seeing stiff competition this year in terms of memorisation and recitation”. Dr Sabri also praised the sponsorship of the award by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
The latest edition of the annual contest will award the winner Dh250,000. Hundreds of thousands of dirhams in total await runners-up too.
Ebrahim Bu Melha, Adviser to the Ruler of Dubai for Cultural and Humanitarian Affairs, who also chairs the organising committee of DIHQA, said the competitors are being tested every night at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry after the Ramadan Taraweeh prayers.
Bu Melha had earlier revealed that seven contestants were disqualified for delivering below-level performances. “The competitors found ineligible for participation were from Thailand, China, Bosnia, Mauritius, Serbia, Russia, and Croatia,” he said.
The main Quran contest saw eight participants on Saturday night, while eight more were tested on Sunday night.
Saturday’s contestants were Abdul Aziz Al Hamri (Qatar), Mohammad Senous (Algeria), Ismatullo Kholiqov (Tajikistan), Mohammad Tijani (Ghana), Abdikarim Hussain (Somalia), Ally Mwalimu Ally (Tanzania), Ahmad Bhana (Malawi), and Burhan Islami (Kosovo).
The 12-category global contest is organised every Ramadan under the patronage of Shaikh Mohammad.
