Iranian Qari Makes It to Quarterfinals of Saudi Quran Contest
The Scent of Speech (Otr Elkalam) Quran and Adhan contest began on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan with the participation of 80,000 qaris from around the world, makkahnewspaper.com reported.
The contenders are from over 80 countries, according to the organizers.
They compete in the two categories of Quran recitation and Adhan (call to prayer).
They sent a recorded file of their recitation to the competition for assessment in the first round.
The names of those advancing to the quarterfinals was revealed by the panel of judges on Friday night.
The other contenders in this round are from Iraq, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Canada, Britain, Malaysia, Indonesia and Turkey.
The entertainment authority in Saudi Arabia has allocated the largest financial prize in the history of talent competitions of this kind in the world, especially competitions of a religious nature, with a value of $3.2 million.
The first-place winner with the most beautiful voice in reciting the Holy Quran receives $1.3 million, while the first-place winner in delivering the call to prayer receives $533,000. The remaining prize money is divided among six other contestants.
The competition combines good performance and the laws of melody, targeting the beauty of voice without the accompaniment of music.
