Int’l Quran Contest for Seminary Students Warps Up in Qom
The ceremony was held at Imam Kazem (AS) Seminary School in the holy city of Qom, Iran, with senior Iranian cleric and source of emulation Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi in attendance.
Winners of the three top titles in the two categories of the contest, namely recitation and memorization of the Quran were awarded at the event.
It began with recitation of verses from the Quran by the Iranian Qari Mehdi Taqikhani, who bagged the top prize.
After playing the Islamic Republic of Iran’s national anthem, Hossein Assadi, the head of the Quran and Hadith Department of Al-Mustafa International University, an organizer of the competition, delivered a speech.
He noted that 56 Quran activists, 30 memorizers of the entire Quran and 26 Qaris, from 42 countries took part in the first edition of the contest, which was held in Iran simultaneously with four other international Quranic events.
He also referred to the panel of judges, saying senior Quran experts and scholars from Egypt, Kuwait, Iran, Afghanistan, Senegal, Lebanon and Iraq served in the panel.
Chancellor of the university, Ayatollah Ali Reza Aarafi, and Head of the Awqaf and Charity Affairs Organization, Hojat-ol-Islam Ali Mohammadi also addressed the closing ceremony.
They stressed the importance Iran attaches to Quranic activities and underlined the need for promotion of Quranic teachings.
Hojat-ol-Islam Mohammadi also called for establishment of a permanent secretariat of the international Quran competition for seminary students.
Later in the ceremony, winners of the competition in the two categories were awarded.
Winners of the first ranks and the runners-up in both categories were from Iran and Afghanistan, respectively.
