Final Stage Kicks Off with Motto of 'One Book, One Ummah'
The ceremony was attended by a host of high-ranking Iranian officials including the Head of the Awqaf and Charity Affairs Organization Hojat-ol-Islam Seyed Mehdi Khamoushi.
A total of 62 qaris and memorizers from 29 countries will compete in this stage of the event which is being held virtually.
The participants have already recorded their performance and the panel of judges will assess them in the coming days.
The ceremony which was being broadcasted live from Iranian national radio and TV, started with the recitation of some verses by Hamidreza Ahmadi Vafa, an Iranian international qari.
Addressing the event, Khamoushi said that the motto of this edition is "One Book, One Ummah", adding that the competition is one of the oldest ones in the Islamic world which has been constantly held in the past four decades.
The competition aims to promote the Quran as the book of thought and life, commemorate qaris and memorizers, and pave the way for establishing unity in the Islamic Ummah, he added.
Holding the contest during the pandemic shows to the world that Islam and the Quran are alive, and that the Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to promote a Quranic culture in the world, noted the official.
The 5th international Quran contest for the visually impaired and the 7th international Quran competition for school students, and the international Quran contest for women are also being held on the same dates, virtually.
