Saudi Arabia, 4 Ramadan 1443, 5 April 2022
In the fourth episode of Otr Elkalam (Scent of Speech) TV show, the international Holy Quran and call to prayer competition launched by the General Entertainment Authority (GEA) and broadcast daily at 5 pm on the Saudia TV channel, in addition to the Shahid platform, the British contestant, Mohammed Ayoub Asif used the support of his father and brother in the audience in the competition studio to qualify for the quarter-final in the Quran recitation branch in the first stage of the final qualifiers.
The importance of competition in today’s episode increased with the participation of prominent contestants. Mohammed Mujahid from Bahrain won many Quranic awards in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Morocco and other countries, while the Egyptian contestant, Mahmoud Al-Sayed Abdullah, presented a distinguished recitation of Quranic verses from Surat Fatir, which impressed the jury whose votes were divided among the three contestants. However, contestants Mohammed Ayoub and Mohammed Mujahid got the highest number of votes and qualified for the quarter-final of the largest competition of its kind in the world.
In the call to prayer branch, new talents qualified for the next stage of the final qualifiers for the competition. The Egyptian muezzin Mahmoud Ali Hilal delivered the call to prayer with his sweet voice, which the jury described as wonderful and beautiful. The outstanding vocal abilities of the Syrian contestant Sayed Mohammed Yassin Arsheed persuaded the jury to vote in his favor to pass to the quarter-finals, accompanied by Mahmoud Hilal, after eliminating their Iraqi competitor, Hussein Taher Al-Barzanji, whose performance was also very good except for few remarks.
The competition is distinguished by its precise standards and renowned jury that enhances competitiveness. The jury includes elite specialized assessors, including muezzins from the Two Holy Mosques, the world’s top reciters and famous international competition judges.