Doha: The Sheikh Abdulla bin Zaid Al Mahmoud Islamic Cultural Center in Doha embraced the tests for the new converts’ category of the Sheikh Jassim bin Muhammad bin Thani Noble Qur’an competition. The event was organized by the Ministry of Endowments (Awqaf) and Islamic Affairs.
According to Qatar News Agency, in a statement on Saturday, the ministry stated that 278 male and female converts from 16 African and Asian communities residing in Qatar had registered their names for participation.
Member of the organizing committee for the competition, Hassan Abdul Salam Al Emadi, highlighted that 16 jury committees supervised these tests, eight of them were devoted to men and eight to women, stating that the jury committee focused on testing the memorization of the holy Qur’an and was keen to facilitate the task for them who were actually not proficient in Arabic language with emphasis on the fundamental Tajweed provisions.
Al Emadi added that the new converts category has been part of the competition since 2013, with this year’s participation comprising 141 male and 137 female contestants, representing a wide range of nationalities, including Ethiopia, Uganda, Thailand, Ghana, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, Tanzania, Kenya, Cameroon, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, India, Burundi, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria.
The category comprises three categories to memorize some parts of the holy Qur’an, Al Emadi continued, noting that the organizing committee adopted the electronic judging system to ensure transparency and accuracy in evaluation. All participants would receive rewards in cash whose values vary based on the rates of memorization, performance and Tajweed.
Overall, the organizing committee affirmed that establishing this category aims to include them in the Islamic community and strengthen fraternity and solidarity among them, in addition to instilling the correct Islamic notions in their hearts and teaching them the Arabic language.
The category is organized in collaboration with the Sheikh Abdulla bin Zaid Al Mahmoud Islamic Cultural Center which has contributed to getting the communities familiarized with Islam as a religion of mercy and teaching the Arabic language to non-native speakers, in addition to supporting new converts and educating them about their faith, highlighted the organizing committee.
It emphasized that the contest represents an invaluable opportunity for the new converts to internalize the correct religious knowledge and augment their connection with the holy Qur’an and consistently spur them to keep learning the holy Qur’an in a spiritual atmosphere that enhances their inclusion.