4th Karbala Int’l Quran Award Winners Named
The closing ceremony was held in the Iraqi holy city on Wednesday.
Iranian contenders Shoja Zuwaidat and Reza Tabrizindjad came first and second respectively in the category of memorization of the entire Quran.
Zuwaidat spoke to IQNA about the international event.
“The call for submissions for this competition—titled ‘The Fourth International Karbala Award for Quran Recitation, Memorization, and Exegesis’—was shared online with Quran reciters and memorizers several months ago,” he said.
He noted that the competition was previously known as ‘The Holy Shrines Quran Competition’ in its first three edition. “For the fourth edition, the policies changed and the event became open and international, with no restrictions on the number of participants per country.”
He said in the initial call, participants were asked to submit a three-minute recitation to the secretariat. “After evaluation, top performers were selected for the second round, held virtually.”
The international Quran memorizer explained that after the virtual round, 30 contestants in each category advanced to the finals.
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Among the finalists were Iranian contenders, including himself and Tabrizinejad in memorization of the entire Quran as well as Habib Sedaghat, Mehdi Shayegh, and Rahim Sharifi in Quran recitation, he noted.
According to the Quran memorizers, they traveled to Iraq before the Zionist regime’s attacks on Iran that began on June 13.
“The finals began on Saturday, June 14, with an opening ceremony. Preliminary rounds were held on Sunday and Monday, followed by the finals on Tuesday, June 17. The closing ceremony and awards were held on June 18.”
Zuwaidat further elaborated on the competition’s unique aspects, saying, “In the memorization of the entire Quran category, finalists were quarantined and asked one same question. Two Quranic phrases were recited, and contestants had to recite the verses between them. The challenge was that the starting phrase was a repeated one in the Quran, which tripped up many competitors and made the round intensely competitive.”
He also noted that the Tafsir (Quran interpretation) category was introduced for the first time this year, with written and oral components.
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