Iranian reciter comes in first, wins top prize in Saudi Arabia’s Qur’an competition
A distinguished Iranian reciter of the Holy Qur’an finished in first place and won the top prize in an international Qur’anic competition in Saudi Arabia.
Younes Shahmoradi secured first place in the recitation category in the second edition of the Qur’anic contest Etr al-kalam, the perfume of words in English, and was awarded a prize of $800,000 (three million Saudi Arabian Riyals) on Friday, Press TV wrote.
Shahmoradi, who was among the four Qur’an reciters advancing to the final round of the Qur’anic event, outperformed Abdulaziz al-Faqih from Saudi Arabia in second place, who won $500,000 (two million SAR). Moroccan contestants Zakariya al-Zirak and Abdullah Al-Dughri came in third and fourth.
In the call to prayer category, contestants from Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Lebanon, and Britain respectively won the top four titles.
The televised competition was organized by Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Entertainment in 2019 to celebrate exceptional vocal talents in Qur’anic recitation and the call to prayer.
The second edition of the Qur’anic contest was launched on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan on March 23.
This year’s competition attracted 50,000 Muslim entrants from more than 100 countries at the qualifying stage. Of the 2,116 contestants who made the cut, 36 participants (18 in Qur’an recitation section and 18 specializing in the call to prayer) advanced to the final stages.
The Qur’anic event, one of the most popular Ramadan programs in the kingdom with a huge following in the Muslim world, had a total prize pool of $3,000,000.