High turnout for Quranic sessions in Islam's holiest site

Cairo: Sessions are being held in the Grand Mosque, Islam's holiest site in the Saudi city of Mecca, to teach the correct reading of the Holy Quran amid high participation, a state agency has said.

Part of summer courses organised by the Saudi Presidency of Religious Affairs in the Two Holy Mosques, the 38-day sessions started on June 29 under the motto 'In Company of the Holy Quran in Vicinity of the Holy Kaaba'. The Grand Mosque houses the Holy Kaaba, a cube-shaped structure that Muslims around the world direct in their prayers.

The in-person course teaches participants to perfectly recite and memorise Islam's sacred book in a learning setting. The course, which coincides with the school summer break, is prepared in a flexible way enabling participants to choose the attendance time from six schedules for males and three for females.

The sessions are part of a Saudi plan launched for the current season of Umrah or minor pilgrimage that got underway last month after the end of the annual Islamic Hajj pilgrimage that was attended by around 1.8 million Muslims.

The course is designed to deepen links between the pilgrims and worshippers with the Quran and its moderate message on a well-established scholarly, the presidency said.

Some 8.3 million Umrah visas were issued during the last season. The Umrah is undertaken around the year in the Grand Mosque amid a host of facilities offered by Saudi authorities.