Int’l Quran contest aimed at enhancing Muslim unity

Tehran, Jan 3, IRNA -- The International Quran Competition for Muslim Students is aimed at reviving Islamic unity, an Iranian official said. Hamid Reza Tayyebi, head of the Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research (ACECR), made the remark at the inauguration ceremony of the competition on Thursday, adding that the Quran in several verses has ordered the Muslim Ummah to stay away from discord and disunity and warned that discord will lead to the decline of Islamic civilization. Tayyebi hailed the fact that the ACECR is organizing the Quranic event on the eve of Islamic Unity Week. According to iqna.ir, he further noted that the international Quran competition for students has been held every two years since 2006 thanks to the efforts by a group of Quran activists. According to the ACECR chief, the first and second editions of the competition were held in 2006 (Tehran) and 2008 (Isfahan) with the participation of 29 and 40 countries respectively. The third edition was held in Mashhad with representatives of 41 countries attending, he said, adding that 50 countries took part in the fourth edition in Tabriz. In this year’s contest, 66 Quran reciters and memorizers from 47 Asian, European, African and American countries will compete for four days, he stated. Tayyebi went on to say that two international Quranic seminars have been planned on the sidelines of the contest which will be attended by Quranic elites from different countries. Elsewhere in his remarks, the senior official thanked the Municipality of Tehran as the main sponsor of the contest as well as other bodies including the Iranian Foreign Affairs Ministry, Awqaf and Charity Affairs Organization, Culture Ministry, Iranian Academics’ Quranic Activities Organization, and the ACECR’s cultural deputy for their efforts for organizing the Quranic event.