Qatar
1,073 participants set to compete in Sheikh Jassim Qur’an contest
The 31st Founder Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed bin Thani Holy Qur’an Competition began yesterday with the launch of its Qur’an Categories division for Qatari men and women, drawing 1,073 contestants vying for top honours across five levels of Qur’an memorisation. The competition is organized by the Ministry of Endowments (Awqaf) and Islamic Affairs.
The four-day qualifying tests will run through Tuesday, Nov 3, under a schedule designed to distribute contestants across testing sessions.
Male contestants will be tested during evening sessions at the Imam Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab Mosque, while female contestants will take their tests at the Department of Da’wah and Religious Guidance’s Women’s Activity Center in Al Waab during morning and evening sessions.
Women account for 619 of the registered contestants, compared with 454 men. The five categories require contestants to have memorized 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25 parts of the Holy Qur’an, allowing each participant to compete at a level commensurate with their memorisation and build on that achievement in future editions.
Deputy Chairman of the Sheikh Jassim Qur’an Competition Committee Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz al-Thani said the division charts a national path to preparing memorisers of the Noble Qur’an and nurturing Qatari talent. He highlighted that its purpose doesn’t stop at a single edition but extends to providing a motivating atmosphere for contestants to enhance their memorisation skills until they can memorise the entire Noble Qur’an.
He added that the regulations offer contestants opportunities to advance to higher categories. He noted that the competition has produced many outstanding memorisers, some of whom have progressed to compete in the full Quran category.
Some have also represented Qatar at international forums, while the competition has supplied mosques with national talent to serve as imams.
The 16 judging panels overseeing the competition are divided equally between male and female contestants and staffed entirely by Qatari judges, underscoring the substantive role of national Qur’anic talent and the country’s adroitly cultivated expertise, Sheikh Abdulrahman noted. The competition is also part of Awqaf’s broader pursuit of fostering Qur’anic culture and nurturing talent, in accord with its 2025-2030 strategic plan and Qatar National Vision 2030.
These efforts are instrumental in entrenching national identity, reinforcing values and harnessing the potential of human capital as a prime driver of sustainable development.