Egyptian Daily Questions Uninviting Iran to Nat’l Quran Contest
The 24th edition of the international Quran competition of Egypt got underway in the capital, Cairo, on Saturday.
Some 60 Quran memorizers from 40 countries are competing at the Quranic event.
The Arabi21 newspaper said representatives of countries like Russia, the US, Ukraine and Myanamr are present at the competition but the Awqaf ministry has refused to invite the Islamic Republic without citing any reason.
Other uninvited Muslim countries are Turkey and Qatar.
Egypt has said why the two have not been asked to take part in the competition: because Cairo says they support the banned Muslim Brotherhood group.
As for Iran, however, no reason has been mentioned.
This is the third consecutive year Egypt excluded Iran, Turkey and Qatar from the competition for political reasons.
Such decisions tarnish the image of an international Quranic event, which could otherwise serve as a venue for enhancing Islamic unity, something that the Muslim Ummah needs more than ever.
Iran, unlike Egypt, recognizes the important role of Quranic activities in promoting Muslim unity and that is why the Islamic Republic invites Egyptian Quran reciters and memorizers to all of its international Quranic events.
Moreover, senior Egyptian Quran masters have frequently visited Iran and attended Quran recitation sessions in different Iranian cities.
