Children showcase knowledge at Islamic Quiz Bee

Dubai: For the second year in a row, Filipino children in the UAE have continued to amaze audiences showcasing their knowledge of Islam at the second UAE-Philippine Muslim Islamic Quiz Bee on the second day of Eid Al Fitr.

Held with the support of the Department of Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities, the annual event saw intense competition among participants in the Children, Women, and Men’s division.

But organisers said the children outshone adults - the quizmaster almost finished all tiebreaker questions just to determine the winning team.

“We noticed that more and more kids are becoming more involved and engaged in the competition.

“That means they’re really serious about studying Islam as a whole and Islamic etiquette as well,” Mohammad Ali Paris Cayongcat, organising committee spokesperson, told Gulf News, adding that this year’s questions were more difficult than last year’s.

The country-wide competition had questions that revolved around the Quran, hadith (sayings of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), and general information on Islamic law and practices.

Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Grace Princesa and Labour Attache Delmer Cruz were present at the event, attended by over 500 Filipino Muslims.

Speaking to Gulf News, Ambassador Princesa said: “What they’re doing is in sync with our vision of seeing more Filipinos, regardless of faith, to become more spiritual. Especially to teach them these values while they’re young.”

“This way they will grow up to be kind-hearted and more accepting of other people’s differences and [placing importance on] looking for what unites us,” she added.

Besides spiritual enrichment, the Islamic Quiz Bee was organised with the aim of fostering stronger community ties among the estimated 15,000 Filipino Muslims who are living and working in the UAE at the moment.