No Excuse Accepted for Stopping Quran Competitions: Expert
Speaking to IQNA, Samih Ahmed Khalid al-Athamina lauded the efforts of the Islamic Republic of Iran for staging the 38th edition of international Quran competitions.
"Holding such a contest at this level amid the pandemic is a major achievement and success," he said.
The expert acted as the supervisor of the competition’s panel of judges. The final stage of Iran’s 38th international Quran competition kicked off in a ceremony in Tehran on Feb. 28 and winners were announced at the closing ceremony on March 5.
"This shows that no disease or incident can stop us from holding such events and thanks to God, communication devices have facilitated the process, so no excuse can be accepted for stopping such contests," al-Athamina added.
Talking about the criteria used by the panel of judges for assessing the contestants, the expert noted that there were different groups in the panel who specifically evaluated certain fields. One group was tasked with assessing Waqf and Ibtida (pause and start), another for memorization, and another for Sawt (melodious voice) and Lahn (rhythm), he noted, adding that such a move leads to a more precise evaluation of participants.
A total of 62 qaris and memorizers from 29 countries competed in this stage of the event, which is being held virtually.
Simultaneously, the 5th international Quran contest for the visually impaired, the 7th international Quran competition for school students, and the international Quran contest for women are also being held, virtually.
