JEDDAH, 22 November 2002 — Ahmad Abdulaziz and Saadoden Nader were the first and second winners of the sixth annual Qur’an reading competition held at the Philippine Consulate General here on Wednesday night.
They were among seven participants. The others were Ali Zacaria (third), Mohammed Aquil Guinar, Abdulqadir Lahiban, Wahid Aldan and Parid Aplal Macmod. Ahmad Abdulaziz, 46, who is from Datu Piang, Maguindanao, and Guinar, 27, from Marawi city, had participated in last year’s contest.
The board of judges consisted of Mahmood Farraj Abduljalik, Muaty Saed Abdullah and Fawzi ibn Abdulhameed Hassan. “Filipinos have shown marked progress in their Qur’an reading skills,” one of them remarked.
Ambassador Bahnarim Guinomla told Arab News that he came here from Riyadh to participate in the contest, which started six years ago during the office of consul general he then held. “Going by the success of the contest here, we’ve introduced the same in Riyadh this Ramadan,” he said. The Riyadh contest is being held today.
Consul General Kadatuan Usop in his message said the success of the function was made possible by the support of all Filipino Muslim organizations in this city and the rest of the Western Province. He also commended the efforts of the Holy Qur’an Memorization Society’s Jeddah chapter in deputizing its members as board of judges and the Imam of the Abukbakr Siddiq Mosque at Makarona Street for evaluation and judgment of the reading skills of contestants. Also supporting the contest were Iqra Charitable Society Chairman Dr. Mohammed Abdu Yamani and certain leading business houses. Organizing Committee Chairman Camansa A. Gunao in his welcome address hoped that the committee would become the umbrella body for various Filipino Muslim community organizations in the Western Province.
The committee would not only continue to be devoted to Qur'an reading but also to create symposia, charities, etc., and be the front line body for the community.