56 Countries Attending Malaysia Int’l Quran Contest
This was announced at the opening ceremony held at the Putra World Trade Center in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.
The ceremony began with playing of Malaysia’s national anthem and recitation of prayers and verses from the Quran.
Names of all the contenders in the recitation and memorization categories of the contest in the men and women sections as well as members of the panel of judges were announced at the function.
The program also included a Tawasheeh (religious singing) performance by the Noor Group from Putra University.
Unlike previous editions, Malaysia’s king, Sultan Muhammad V of Kelantan, and other senior officials were not present at the ceremony.
The international competition will run at the Putra World Trade Center until Sunday.
Mokhtar Dehqan is competing for Iran in the category of Quran recitation.
He is hoping to repeat the achievement of fellow countryman Hamed Alizadeh who won the top prize in this category last year.
