JEDDAH, 1 November 2004 — Abdulaziz Ahmad, an Imam at a mosque in downtown Jeddah, topped the 8th Qur’an Reading held Thursday at the Philippine Consulate.
Ahmad bucked the odds and jitters usually plaguing the first performer to best nine other finalists, garnering an average score of 97.25 percent to win his second Qur’an reading title. He also won the title in the 2002 competition.
Observers who had attended the previous competitions said Thursday’s contest was the most impressive in terms of the quality of the readers, organization of the contest, and attendance.
Four out of the 10 contestants were former champions. Mansawi Yahyah, who won last year, scored 96.70 this time to win second place; Saadoddin Mohamed Nadir Asgar, winner some years ago, got 95.85 for third place; Hadsahil Ulama, a winner in a Philippine contest some years ago, scored 94.35 for fourth place. Omar Abdul Nungca with a score of 94.35 for fifth place completes the top five winners.
Ahmed received SR5,000 for his winning performance, Yahyah received SR4,000, Asgar got SR3,000, Ulama got SR2,000, and Nungca had SR1,000. The other contestants, Absunasser Kulod, Limgas Sangcopan, Saleh Salipawan, Ali Zacaria, and Abdul Wadud Masa (who traveled all the way from Syria to join the competition) received SR500 each as consolation prizes.
Ambassador Bahnarim Guinomla, the special guest of the occasion, invited Ahmad to grace the Qur’an reading contest in Riyadh next week.
It was during the time of Guinomla as consul general in Jeddah that the contest was initiated. He told Arab News that he got the “inspiration” after accompanying Filipino contestants to a Qur’an reading contest in Manila and in the international competition in Malaysia in the 70’s.
“I’m happy to note that they (consulate) have kept this activity going for the past eight years. It is reflective of the cultural pluralism which we follow in the Philippines,” Guinomla told Arab News.
The Qur’an reading contest has been a yearly Ramadan celebration among Filipino Muslims in the Middle East. Muslims believe that the Quran was revealed during the holy month of Ramadan and according to most Muslims, reading the Qur'an during this month “opens the mind to spiritual things.”
“ Consul General Dino Lomondot said the aim of the competition is “to renew and strengthen the bond of brotherhood and oneness in faith and belief among Muslim Filipinos in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. “
“It is also to recognize the God-given talents and mastery of the Qur’an of our gifted brothers in Muslim Filipino community so that we may be inspired to devote more time to study and understand the holy Qur’an, and reflect on our daily pursuit to practice Islam more faithfully,” he said.
“With all the complexities in the past-faced, borderless world today, the only certain thing that will keep us in proper perspective is our faith,” Lomondot added.
Among the guests present during the competition were the consul general of Thailand, a representative from the Indonesian consulate, former trade attaché Paisal Abdullah, Emy De Guzman of Sky Freight Forwarders, Filipino benefactor Mohamed Bayoumi, among others.
Rams Gunao and his group, the United Maguindanao Expatriates Association (UMEA), did the legwork for the competition. They laid out, in cooperation with the consulate, the rules of the contest, took charge in printing of the program, constructed the stage, and served the snacks to the guests and spectators.
