RIYADH: The international Qur’an recitation and adhan (call to prayer) competition has announced the names of jury members for its final qualifiers to be aired on the “Otr Elkalam” TV show.
A jury of five members specialized in the Qur’an, maqams and vocal pitches will evaluate contestants and help with their performances during the competition, which is the largest of its kind in the world.
The jury consists of Sheikh Ahmed Nahas, the muezzin of the Grand Mosque in Makkah; Sheikh Mishari bin Rashed Al-Afasy, a well-known reciter and imam of the Grand Mosque in Kuwait; Abdul Rahim Nabulsi, secretary-general of Reciters and Teaching Recitation in Morocco; Bahloul Saeed Abu Arqoub, an expert in maqamat and a judge in international Qur’anic competitions from Libya; and Sheikh Ahmed Mansour, leading reciter of the Al-Azhar Mosque in Egypt.
The competition, which combines adhan and recitation in one platform, has looked to diversify its evaluation committee to improve transparency and impartiality.
In addition to the main jury, Sheikh Adil Al-Kalbani, former imam of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, will serve as general supervisor of the competition, and Fahad Al-Andas, an imam and preacher at the King Faisal Air Academy for 27 years, will be the secretary-general of the competition.
The competition, which is being supervised by the General Entertainment Authority, will be broadcast during the month of Ramadan on the MBC TV channel and the Shahid digital platform, with prizes amounting to more than SR12 million ($3.2 million).
The contest is designed to highlight the rich diversity of cultures in the Islamic world and showcase the vocal methods of Qur’an recital as well as adhan.
