Bahraini Qari Wins Malaysia Int’l Quran Contest, Host Country’s Contender Comes 1st in Women’s Category
The ceremony at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center (KLCC) was attended by high ranking officials, including Malaysia’s king, Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, the queen, Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Idris Ahmad, as well as religious authorities, ambassadors of Muslim countries, members of panel of judges, the contenders and a large number of people.
Among those present were Iranian Ambassador to Malaysia Ali Asghar Mohammadi, Cultural Attaché Mohammad Ali Oraei Karimi, and a Quranic delegation headed by Quran and Etrat Deputy of Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Reza Moaf.
After playing Malaysia’s national anthem and recitation of verses from the Holy Quran, Hajja Hakima bint Muhammad Yusuf, the head of the organizing committee presented a report on the organization of the contest.
She read out the names of the members of the panel of judges and thanked the representatives of the participating countries.
Malaysian Religious Affairs Minister Idris Ahmad also delivered a speech in which he underlined that the Holy Quran is a great miracle revealed to the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and that it is a source of guidance and mercy for all humanity.
Next, the top winners of the competition were announced.
According to the decision of the panel of judges, Mohamed Sameer Mohamed Magahed, the Quran reciter representing Bahrain, won this year’s competition in the men’s category. He scored 93.33 points out of 100.
The Malaysian qari was the runner up and those from Indonesia, Iraq and Singapore came third to fifth, respectively.
In the women’s category, the host country’s reciter Sofizah Mousin was named the top winner, scoring 89.66.
The second to fifth rank winners were the female representatives of Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, and Afghanistan.
According to reports, the top winner of the competition will bring home 4,000 MYR plus a gold bar with a value of 40,000 to 50,000 MYR.
Iranian qari Masoud Nouri, who performed his recitation on the first night of the competition, was not among the winners.
The final round of the 62nd edition of Malaysia’s international Holy Quran competition, officially known as Malaysia International Al-Quran Recital and Memorization Assembly (MTHQA), had kicked off at the KLCC on Wednesday.
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