DUBAI: A Yemeni contestant was the first place winner of the Dubai International Holy Qur'an Award, which concluded on Saturday night. At a ceremony to mark the event, the King Fahd Complex for publishing the Holy Qur'an was also awarded the Islamic personality of the year award.
Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum handed Mohammad Al-Ofi, general secretary of the complex, the award. The complex, based in Madinah, will get a DH1 million reward. The Islamic Personality Award is an annual event that honors individuals or organizations for contributions and achievements in the Islamic world.
The Madinah-based King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex has produced more than 200 million copies of the Quran, said Al-Ofi.
"This award will be cause for great pride and gratitude within the King Fahd Complex for its status internationally and regionally," he said.
Fares Al-Aagam from Yemen, was awarded DH250,000 while the second place winner, Noor Al Deen Al-Younsi from Libya, was given DH200,000. Khalid Al-Ainati from Kuwait, who was the third place winner, got DH150,000 as prize money.
All of the contestants at the award are less than 21 years of age and have memorized the entire Qur'an by heart. The fourth position winner, gets DH65,000 and the prize money reduces gradually as the order of merit travels down the list.
The total marks for memorization and recitation in each branch is one hundred marks, out of which 70 percent of the marks are given for memorization, 25 percent for recitation and 5 percent for tonal quality.
