TEHRAN – The final round of a Qur’an recitation competition featuring imitation of prominent qaris was held here as contestants and thousands of participants remembered late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
The event was held at Martyr Shiroudi Stadium. A total of 16 teenage and young qaris competed for the top prizes in this round.
The event was held as Iran mourns the tragic passing President Raisi, Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian, and their accompanying delegation in a helicopter crash northwest of the country on Sunday. Iran is observing five days of mourning, with funeral processions.
Special ceremonies were also organized in the five-hour-long final round of the contest to commemorate the tragic loss of lives.
A panel of arbiters comprising prominent Qur’an experts like Gholam Reza Shahmiveh, Masoud Nouri, Seyed Ahmad Moqimi, Amin Pouya, Javad Panahi, and Hamed Valizadeh will assess the performances of the finalists to select winners.
In the competition, the contenders are required to imitate the style of the Muslim world’s prominent qaris.
The panel of arbiters announced Alireza Bahramipour, Ahmadreza Asgari, and Muhammad Mahdi Damirchili as three “distinguished” winners who brought home some 2,200 USD.
Aliakbar Basaeipour, Arshia Husseinzadeh, and Abolfazl Faraji were named as “excellent” winners who were rewarded with some $1,500.
Ten other contestants were also praised for their performances, receiving some $670. Also, all 16 contestants received tours to the holy shrines in Iraq.
The first round of the contest had begun on March 5, 2024, at Imamzadeh Saleh in Shemiran district, north of Tehran.