Zahedan to Host 380 Quran Elites from Across the Country

The head of the Quranic Affairs Center of the Awqaf Organization said the 49th National Holy Quran Competitions will be held in Zahedan starting 27 Aban, with 380 qualified contestants competing in the final stage.

According to Ambassador Arjan, the third coordination meeting of the 49th national competition of the Holy Quran was held today in the presence of the officials of the cultural, security, inspection, financial, support, plan and program, technology and public relations committee of the competition headquarters and special guests at the place of the Awqaf and Charitable Affairs Organization.

Hojjat-ul-Islam Seyed Naseruddin Nourizadeh, head of the Center for Quranic Affairs of the Organization of Endowments and Charitable Affairs, pointed out the place of the Quran in the intellectual system of the Martyr Leader and stated: Holding this round of competitions on the first anniversary of the Martyr Leader's martyrdom is an opportunity to read his Quranic demands and try to fulfill these guidelines.

Referring to the numerous demands of the martyred leader in the field of the Quran, he added: Bringing the society closer to understanding the Holy Quran, providing a context for public understanding of the divine verses, the manifestation of Quranic behavior in the society, following the commands of the Quran, memorizing and repeating the verses, expanding Quranic meetings and training 10 million Quran memorizers were among the axes emphasized by him.

Nourizadeh listed the mastery of the meanings of the Quran and the promotion of meaningful recitation among the other demands of the martyr leader and clarified: We must measure our performance with what God has asked of us in the Quran and respect the sanctity of the words of revelation.

The head of the Center for Quranic Affairs of the Organization of Endowments and Charitable Affairs stated that Quran competitions should not be limited to competition between reciters and memorizers, and noted that the main goal is to identify the best Quranic talents and to provide people with the Holy Quran and the competitions should act as a gateway to realize these goals.

Referring to Sistan and Baluchistan province's hosting of this tournament, he said: We hope this event will be held with security, proper welcome and healthy competition among the contestants.

The competition of 380 contestants in the final stage

In the continuation of this meeting, Mehdi Qarasheikhlo, the secretary of the coordination headquarters of the country's Qur'an competitions, explained the process of holding the preliminary and final stages and stated: The preliminary stage of the 49th national Holy Qur'an competitions was held in the brothers' section in 11 days and in the sisters' section in seven days, in absentia and at the place of the Awqaf organization.

He added: 553 people from all over the country participated in this stage, among them, 225 people in the brothers' section and 155 people in the sisters' section made it to the final stage. These people will compete in Zahedan in different disciplines and in age groups above 18 years and under 18 years.

Referring to the planning done to host this event, the secretary of the country's Qur'an Competition Coordination Staff said: With the coordination of the authorities of Sistan and Baluchistan province, this year's competitions will be concentrated in one place and Ferdowsi Hall of Sistan and Baluchistan University will host the competitions.

Qarasheikhlo explained about the timing of the competitions: the programs of the women's section will be held from 8:00 to 13:00 and the programs of the men's section will be held from 14:30 to 21:30.

He continued: The arrival of contestants to the province will begin on Tuesday, November 26, and the opening ceremony of the competition will be held on the morning of Wednesday, November 27, from 9 to 11. The competitions of the men's division will begin in the afternoon of the same day and continue until the final stage on Monday, the second of December.

The secretary of the country's Qur'an competition coordination headquarters added: The women's competition will start on the morning of Thursday, November 28, and the final stage of this section will be held on Tuesday, December 3. The closing ceremony will be held in the evening of the same day after Maghrib and Isha prayers, and the departure of the contestants from the province is planned for Wednesday, the fourth of December.

Referring to the arrangements made with the provincial authorities, he expressed hope that the competitions will be held with good order and quality.

Quran competitions are an opportunity to spread Quranic culture in the society

Hojjatul Islam Gholamreza Adel, cultural and social vice president of the Awqaf and Charitable Affairs Organization, also emphasized the role of the cultural department in organizing the competitions and said: the cultural and social vice president is present in this event along with the organizing headquarters and holding the competitions in Sistan and Baluchistan province can become a strong point for the country, the system and the Awqaf organization.

Pointing to the need to pay more attention to the cultural aspects of the competitions, he added: In addition to the technical and judging sections, the cultural committee and the circle committee play an important role in expanding the Quranic atmosphere in the city. Acquainting people, especially teenagers, with important figures of the Qur'an can provide the basis for their greater interest in the Holy Qur'an.

The Cultural and Social Deputy of the Organization of Endowments and Charitable Affairs considered the explanation of Quranic concepts appropriate to the current conditions of the society as one of the important axes of cultural activities and stated: The explanation of Quranic verses related to the conditions of war and the issue of anti-arrogance is one of the topics that should be considered in the cultural programs of the competitions.

Adel also informed about the prediction of holding a Quranic exhibition on the sidelines of this tournament and said: This year, the exhibition will be held with the focus of the martyr leader and his Quranic personality. A character whom the contestants had the opportunity to meet in the past years, and their visits to Quranic exhibitions have also been part of the memories of this event.

At the end of this meeting, the officials of the different committees of the headquarters of the 49th National Holy Quran Competition presented their views and suggestions for the best possible organization of this event.