Basfar called for joint efforts by international Muslim organizations to spread the message of Qur’an, being the word of God and a blessing for the whole mankind. “There are millions of Muslims who do not even know how to read a small chapter of the Qur’an,” he said.

Speaking to Arab News, Basfar said the conference, which has won the support of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, would play a big role in strengthening coordination and cooperation among Qur’an societies across the world.

IOQM, an affiliate of the Muslim World League, has selected a number of academics and scholars to present research papers at the conference, whose main theme is “Cooperation and Integration of Qur’an Memorization Organizations.”

Speaking about the conference’s importance, Basfar said it would deal with the obstacles facing Qur’an teaching and memorization around the world and discuss prospects of applying modern information technology and media to teach the Qur’an.

IOQM runs several Qur’anic schools in 65 countries. These schools were instrumental in producing about 30,000 memorizers of the Qur’an.

The organization also holds Qur’an recitation and memorization contests at national, regional and international levels in order to encourage Muslim youths to study the holy book.

Speaking about future plans, he said the IOQM would establish a world council of scholars in order to be a reference for Qur’an memorizers. It also intends to establish a satellite channel.