Dubai Holy Quran Award begins

Dubai - 29 July 2012: The Dubai International Holy Quran Award (DIHQA) 16th session started on Friday night at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Deira, with participation of eight contestants from the UK, Bangladesh, Jordan, Sri Lanka, Mali, Denmark, Uganda, and Tanzania.

Of the 88 memorisers who have already arrived, those from Italy, Iraq, Pakistan, Bahrain, Philippines, Nigeria, Netherlands, and Thailand sat for tests on Saturday, and eight others will be tested on Sunday.

In his inaugural speech, head of the five-member arbitration committee Dr Salem Alzahrani said the Quran is the Muslim nation's holy book.

Dr Alzahrani then briefed the audience on the rulings of the award, and said that another contest for tuneful recitation will be held on the sideline of the competition. "The three judges of the most tuneful recitation will pick only the top three from the best ten voices for the prize."

The 11-category award, aimed to serve the Holy Quran and promote the general standard of the Quranic performance, is annually held under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Talking about his journey with the Holy Quran, 16-year-old contestant Abbas Moalim from the UK said that he started memorising the Quran at home when he was four years old and finished at 10.

"I used to memorise one page per day, then was able to keep two pages by heart on a daily basis."

Moalim, who speaks Arabic fluently despite originally hailing from Somalia, has completed his secondary school and will sit for qualifying tests to complete his university studies.

"I do wish to study the Quran sciences in Al Azhar University in Egypt."

Further, Moalim, whose name means instructor, said all his family members were a great help to him in memorising, revising and properly reciting the Quran. "Luckily, I have 11 brothers, of whom three have perfectly memorised the 6,236 verses of Quran in full," he added, noting that he participated in many local and international Holy Quran awards. Having cleared qualifying tests with honours, Moalim was nominated for the Dubai Award which has always been a dream for him to participate in.

"The Holy Quran has changed my entire life for better. It sharpened my memory, enlightened my heart and mind, and made me behave well."

source: Khaleej Times