Int’l Quran Contest of Holy Shrines: Arbiter Says Performances ‘Acceptable’
The inauguration ceremony of the event was held on Sunday at Imam Hussein (AS) Holy Shrine in Karbala, Iraq. On Monday, the first day of the event, representatives from Iraq, Egypt, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, and Lebanon went on stage.
Speaking to IQNA, Fallah Kasmaei said the contestants did well and performed acceptably on the first day, although some of the representatives from certain countries were a bit weak.
Since these competitions are only for holy shrines, some of them do not have outstanding reciters, but the memorizers have respected the rules of tajweed, he added.
“This year, we have seen better performances, and the memorization section has improved,” he said, adding this is because the memorization has become two-stage.
In the morning, the memorizers are assessed for their tone and tajweed rules at their hotel, and later in the afternoon, only their memorization of the Quran is evaluated.
Organized by the Dar-ol-Quran Center affiliated with the Astan (custodianship) of Imam Hussein (AS) holy shrine, the event will wrap up on Thursday.
The competition features 54 contestants in the memorization and recitation categories. They represent more than 30 holy shrines and mosques from 10 Arab and Islamic countries: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Algeria, Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
The competition is judged by a panel of 15 renowned experts in various fields.
Speaking in the opening ceremony, Sheikh Abdul-Mahdi al-Karbalai, the representative of Iraq's top Shia cleric Ayatollah Seyed Ali al-Sistani in Karbala, said that such competitions aim to stress that the Quran is “a guiding light that leads us out of darkness and ignorance and a supreme criterion that keeps us truthful and faithful.” He also said that the competitions are meant to discover Quranic talents, especially those who have beautiful voices and excellent recitation skills.
According to organizers, the competition aims to demonstrate to the world that Muslims are always and forever with the Holy Quran and that they resist the ideological attacks on the Holy Quran.
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