UAE | Heritage and Culture
Youngster from Burundi shows his Quranic prowess
With clear and impressively fluent Arabic the Burundi contestant said, "I memorised the Quran to honour my mother's request, who witnessed my enthusiasm to learn it."
- By Siham Al Najami, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:25 September 9, 2008
- Image Credit: Supplied Picture
- Nyandwi Majaliwa, from Burundi, was the first contestant to show off his talents for this year's Dubai International Holy Quran Award (DIHQA),
Dubai: With clear and impressively fluent Arabic the Burundi contestant said, "I memorised the Quran to honour my mother's request, who witnessed my enthusiasm to learn it."
Nyandwi Majaliwa, from Burundi, was the first contestant to show off his talents for this year's Dubai International Holy Quran Award (DIHQA), which is being held at the Cultural and Scientific Association in Al Mamzar, Dubai.
The Republic of Burundi is a small country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa, bordered by Rwanda on the north, Tanzania on the south and east, and the Democratic Republic of Congo on the west.
The 14-year-old started memorising the Quran at the age of 10 and completed it in 2007. He mainly learned the Quran verbally from an Islamic scholar as when he began the Arabic language was alien to his eyes and ears.
According to him, his mother's motivation pushed him to learn the Quran when she saw in him the enthusiasm to do so. The ambitious contestant aims to further his Quranic studies to become an Islamic scholar one day.
His father works as a tradesman and Nyandwi is the only member among his five siblings and parents to have memorised the Quran and who has knowledge of the Arabic language.
After his dawn prayers, he undertakes two hours of Quran memorisation till 9am. His day at a regular school ends in the afternoon following which he revises the Quran until sunset.
"I am very respected and honoured in my home town for memorising the Quran," he said.
He enjoys reading about world and current political affairs from magazines and newspapers. Young as he seems, the contestant is also knowledgable of the works of prominent Islamic scholars on interpretation such as Mohammad Ali Al Saboni.
His native country is approximately 62 per cent Roman Catholic, 8 to 10 per cent Muslim and the rest follow indigenous beliefs and other Christian denominations.
Due to civil wars, Burundi has a low gross domestic product, an unstable population growth, and sparse resources. Burundi is known as one of the ten poorest countries in the world.
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