TEHRAN – Amir-Hossein Rahmati, a reciter from Golestan Province, took first place on Friday at the 44th edition of Iran’s Nationwide Quran Competition.

This position qualifies him for participating in international Quran competitions across the world, the organizers said at the closing ceremony for the contest held at the Sureh Hall of the Art Bureau in Tehran.

Masud Nuri won the runner-up prize followed by Hamidreza Nasiri. Fourth and fifth positions were taken by Mohammad-Hassan Movahedi and Mojtaba Mohammadbeigi.

Speaking at the ceremony, Hojatoleslam Seyyed Mehdi Khamushi, the director of the State Endowment and Charity Affairs Organization, the main organizer of the event, said, “The grandeur of the Holy Quran continues to flow in our time.”

“With contributions from the Islamic revolution, we see that today, people across the world pay special attention to Islam and understanding the message of Quran,” he added    

He noted that elite reciters usually compete in the large Quran contests and added, “However, our main competition should focus on the utility of the messages of the Holy Book on our life. Competitions such as these should lead us to embellish our lives with the Holy Quran.” 

“We plan to change the competition into an event for introducing the Quranic paradigm for everyday life,” he added.

Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad-Mehdi Esmaeili also attended the ceremony.

He pointed to a call by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, for plans to raise the number of Quran memorizers in the country to ten million and regretted that we are lagging behind the Leaders demand.       

First prize in the men’s memorization of the entire Quran section went to Sina Tabbakhi. Hossein Khanibigdeli was selected as runner-up, while Ali Gholam-Azad won third place. Alireza Sameri and Mohammad-Rasul Takbiri took fourth and fifth places respectively.

Mohammad-Javad Javari was awarded first prize in the men’s tartil category, while Mohammad-Hossein Haddadzadeh won second prize. Mohammad Pursina, Hossein Azizi and Mojtaba Qadbeigi came third, fourth and fifth respectively. 

In the female’s recitation category, the best reciter prize went to Zahar Purtahmasb, followed by Atefeh Naseh. Ghazaleh Soheili won third place and Marzieh Mirzaipur and Nasibeh Karami took fourth and fifth places.

Fahimeh Asgharzadeh, Adeleh Sheikhi, Elnaz Hemmati, Naziheh Jenami and Mansureh Aqahassani were the winners of the tartil recitation section.

The winners of the female’s memorization of the entire Quran section include Hajar Mehralian, Roya Fazaeli, Zahra Mohebi, Fatemeh Ebrahimi and Azam Mohammadi.

Photo: Amir-Hossein Rahmati, the top winner of the 44th edition of Iran’s Nationwide Quran Competition, recites during the closing ceremony of the event in Tehran on December 24, 2021. (Mehr/Saeidreza Razavi)

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