Dubai’s 2026 Quran Award Moves to Next Phase with Top 525 Reciters
The 2026 edition of the Dubai International Holy Quran Award received 5,618 submissions from 105 countries. Approximately 30% of applicants were women, following the introduction of a dedicated female category this year, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported on Wednesday.
Organizers confirmed that 373 male and 152 female reciters have been selected for the next stage. The evaluation, conducted between July 1 and 31, was based on submitted recordings and assessed using standardized criteria focused on Tajweed and overall performance.
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According to Ahmed Darwish Al Muhairi, Chairman of the Award’s Board of Trustees, the new structure of the 28th session includes direct applications, revised judging procedures, and an increased total prize pool of over AED12 million. The top reciters in both male and female categories will each receive US\$1 million.
Ibrahim Jassim Al Mansouri, Acting Director of the Award, noted that the judging panel followed a rigorous and impartial process. “All submitted recitations were rigorously evaluated based on mastery of Tajweed rules and overall performance quality,” he said.
Bangladesh had the highest number of qualifiers with 81 participants, followed by Pakistan (48), Indonesia (45), Egypt (35), India (27), Libya (24), the USA (20), and Mauritania and Yemen with 13 each.
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The upcoming second round will consist of live video assessments. Finalists will be selected from this stage to compete in Dubai during the second week of Ramadan.
The Dubai International Holy Quran Award was launched in 1997 and has since become one of the most widely recognized Quran recitation competitions globally.
Source: Agencies
