Saudi Arabia, 7 Ramadan 1443, 8 April 2022
The international Holy Quran and call to prayer competition, organized by the General Entertainment Authority (GEA), introduced unique stories about the contestants who came from different countries to participate in the competition in its two branches of Holy Quran recitation and call to prayer.
The competition includes different types of contestants distinguished by a variety of talents. The Moroccan contestant Abdallah Barkady is a real estate agent, while the Bahraini contestant Mohammed Mujahid is a physician, and the Algerian Abdulrahman Bouhabila is a teacher of art.
Many muezzins in the competition work also as reciters, such as the Syrian Khalil Benshi, who is a Holy Quran reciter on Bahraini TV, but he participated in the call to prayer branch of the competition. The Libyan muezzin Abdul Fattah Jahider, is a munshid (singer of religious songs) who participated in many festivals.
The international Holy Quran and call to prayer competition is at the fore of international competitions in its field. It is the largest of its kind in terms of the number of contestants, who exceeded 40,000, the total value of its prizes, which amounts to SAR12 million ($ 3.2 million), and its jury, which includes 12 members specialized in the sciences of the Holy Quran and Maqams. The competition is shown daily on Otr Elkalam (Scent of Speech) TV show, which is broadcast at 5 pm, Riyadh time, on the Saudia TV channel and Shahid platform.