JEDDAH: Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal yesterday urged Muslims to project the moderate Islamic values of justice and tolerance and promote harmonious relations with other people.
“We have to uphold these noble values that have been stressed by Islam,” the governor said while attending the concluding ceremony of King Abdul Aziz International Qur’an Competition in Makkah.
“If Muslims set a good example by living according to the teachings of Islam it will encourage others to follow this divine religion,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted the prince as saying.
Prince Khaled distributed certificates and prizes to the winners of the contest. Hussein Basyuni of Egypt won the first prize of SR75,000 in the first category of the contest. The second prize (SR72,000) went to Anas Al-Motairy of Saudi Arabia, third prize (SR69,000) to Fadil Muawiya Adam of Nigeria, fourth prize (SR66,000) to Abubaker Al-Dhabi of Yemen and the fifth (SR63,000) to Algerian Jaleeli Faisal.
The second category winners were: Majadi Eissa of Algeria (first prize SR55,000), Ahmed Al-Hussein of Saudi Arabia (second prize SR52,000), Murtaza Khalifa of Iran (third prize SR49,000), Muhammed Thabit of Yemen (fourth prize SR46,000) and Muhammed Al-Husni of Egypt (fifth prize SR43,000).
In the third category the first five winners were Tarek Al-Laheedan of Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Dawood of Egypt, Aarif Farhan of Yemen, Adudu Quni of Nigeria and Harintu Jarkasi of Indonesia.
In the fourth category Ahmed Al-Yasu of Nigeria won the first place, Abdul Hadi Afandi of Morocco second, Ahmed Al-Shanqeeti of Saudi Arabia third, Hisham Al-Haddad of Yemen fourth and Walid Markaz of Sudan fifth. In the fifth category, the winners were: Sayyed Zakariya of Brazil, Ali Darwish of Italy, Sokuna Abdul Kareem of Congo, Zain Mu Ang of Myanmar and Ahmed Fasihuddin of Brazil.
As many as 164 young Muslims from different countries took part in the contest.
In his keynote address, Prince Khaled highlighted the care and support given by the Saudi government for the holy Qur’an, which is the primary source of Shariah. The King Fahd Qur’an Printing Complex in Madinah has distributed millions of copies of the Holy Book and its translation in different languages around the world.
He urged the participants to follow the true path of Islam. He also thanked the organizers of the annual event, especially the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.
Saleh Al-Asheikh, minister of Islamic affairs, emphasized the important role being played by the Qur’an in strengthening the Ummah. “Qur’an is the source of honor and glory for Muslims,” he added.
Abdul Aziz Al-Subaiheen, secretary-general of the competition, said the number of participants in the annual event was increasing year after year. More than 4,500 people have taken part in the competition over the years.
