The adviser at the Royal Court, Turki Al Al-Sheikh, chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Entertainment Authority (GEA), presented awards to the 20 winners of the “Otr Al Kalam” program in its final episode, on Friday.
Saudi contestant Mohammed Al-Sharif, was awarded SAR 2 million ($533,300) for winning first place in the “Call to Prayer” (Adhan) category, and Iranian Yunus Shahmeradi was awarded SAR 3 million ($800,000) for achieving first place in the Quran Recitation category.
The competition concluded with six Guinness World Records, which recognized it as the largest Quran competition in terms of participating countries, attracting a record number of participants in the Quran recitation and Adhan categories. Moreover, the competition set two other records for granting the largest prizes in both the Quran and Adhan competitions.
During the final episode, Al-Sheikh honored winners in Quran recitation and Adhan categories. Iranian contestant Yunus Shahmeradi was crowned winner of the Quran recitation category, earning first place and a prize of SAR 3 million ($800,000), while Saudi contestant Abdulaziz Al-Faqih won second place, receiving SAR 2 million ($533,300). Moroccan contestant Zakaria Al-Zayrak won third place, and a prize of SAR 1 million ($266,600), and his compatriot Abdullah Al-Deghri won fourth place, and SAR 700,000 ($186,600).
Mohammed al-Sharif, from Saudi Arabia, secured first place in the Adhan category and was awarded SAR 2 million ($533,300). Dia Al-Din bin Nizar Al-Din, from Indonesia, came second, receiving SAR 1 million ($266,600). Meanwhile, Raheef Al-Hajj claimed third place, earning SAR 500,000 ($133,300) and Ibrahim Asad, a contestant from the UK, received SAR 300,000 ($80,000).
The episode was inaugurated with a Quranic recitation by Yunus Gharbi, the Moroccan contestant who won the competition’s first edition, followed by an Adhan by Turkish Mohsen Kara, last year’s Adhan category winner.
The Quran and Adhan competitions are part of this year's strategic partnership with the Muslim World League and one of the GEA’s global initiatives. The competition facilitates participation of Muslims worldwide through simple steps.
The preliminary qualifiers for this year's competition began in January 2023, with over 50,000 candidates from 165 countries, but only 50 finalists competed in the Quran recitation and Adhan categories through the program.
The competition is a key initiative led by GEA during the Holy month of Ramadan, presenting content that aligns with Ramadan's spiritual ether.
