The Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance will organize the week-long event, the Saudi Press Agency reported Sunday.

“The message (and role) of the learners of the Holy Qur’an is of utmost importance in countering extremism in all its forms,” said Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance Saleh Al-Asheikh. He is also supervisor general of the contest. Al-Asheikh stressed the importance of the Holy Qur’an in fighting deviant ideologies among Muslims.

The memorizers of the Holy Qur’an should carry the torch of religious knowledge. It is capable of driving away extremism, the minister said.

The minister also stressed the need to implement the teaching of the Holy Qur’an in the lives of the people who learn it.

“The learners of the Holy Qur’an should understand the meaning of its words and implement them in their lives,” Al-Asheikh said.

Commending Prince Salman for sponsoring the memorization competition, Al-Asheikh said the prince’s concern for the sacred book is a historical extension of the importance the early rulers of the Kingdom attached to the study of the Holy Qur’an.

“The ties between the Kingdom and the Holy Qur’an date back to the time when Imam Muhammad bin Saud and Imam Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab agreed to spread the message of the Holy Qur’an,” he said.

All the great scholars since the time of the Pious Caliphs and after them the other rulers did their best to spread the study and application of the Holy Qur’an, he said.