"This is the seventh such competition in which contestants from
Asia-Pacific countries will participate," the Chairman of the Organizing
Committee, Soabah Syamsi, said on Monday.
He said the competition to memorize the Quran and Hadith this year has
been extended to the Asia-Pacific region, while previously it was
limited only to the ASEAN-Pacific region.
Eighteen countries are participating in the competition, which will witness 103 participants aged 13-20 years.
Participating countries include, apart from the countries in the ASEAN
region, South Korea, Japan, China, Australia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Hong
Kong and New Zealand.
Fifteen Indonesian participants were selected since they had won the
Quran and Hadith memorizing competition at the national level.
The contest is aimed at encouraging communities and young people to
read, memorize, understand and practice the Quran as well as strengthen
international relations among Muslims around the world.
"The goal of the competition is to foster love for the Quran and to
inspire Muslim youth to read and understand the scriptures," Soabah
explained.
He mentioned that the first, second and third winner of the competition will receive money and will be eligible to go on Hajj.