Members of Iranian Quranic Delegation to Hajj Selected
According to the public relations office of the organization, the Quran reciters willing to join the delegation, named "Ambassadors of Light”, took the exam last month.
They were asked to recite the Quran in Tarteel and Tahqiq styles and their recitations were recorded.
The recorded recitations were then assessed by the organization’s Quran experts and 15 Qaris were selected to be part of the delegation.
Ambassadors of Light will also include a Tawasheeh (religious songs) group from the southwestern Iranian province of Khuzestan.
Every year millions of Muslims from around the world gather in the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia, for the annual Hajj.
Iran also sends pilgrims as well as a groups of Quran activists, known as the Noor (light) Hajj Delegation, to Hajj.
The members of the delegation hold Quranic programs, including Quran recitation session for the pilgrims.
Last year, Iran did not take part in Hajj after tensions between Riyadh and Tehran boiled over following a deadly crush of people during the 2015 pilgrimage.
On September 24, 2015, thousands of people lost their lives in the crush after Saudi authorities blocked a road in Mina during a ritual, forcing large crowds of pilgrims to collide.
The crush was the deadliest incident in the history of the pilgrimage. Saudi Arabia claims nearly 770 people were killed in the incident, but officials at Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization say about 7,000 people, including over 460 Iranian pilgrims, lost their lives.
Among those killed, were some members of Iran’s Quranic delegation, including Mohsen Hajihassani Kargar and Hassan Danesh.
This year, an Iranian delegation traveled to Saudi Arabia on an invitation from Saudi Hajj ministry for talks on the Hajj pilgrimage of Iranians.
After the Saudi side agreed to the conditions set by the Islamic Republic, Iran announced that it will send some 80,000 pilgrims to Hajj.
http://www.iqna.ir/fa/news/3608348
