Rabat – Two Moroccans won today third and fourth place in the international Quran recital competition “Itr Elkalam.”
Zakaria Al-Zirik won third place and a prize money of SAR 1 million ($266,500), while Abdullah Al-Daghri won fourth place and a prize money of SAR 700,000 ($186,594).
The two reciters qualified for the finals for the “Itr Elkalam” competition this week alongside two other contesters: Abdul Aziz Al-Faqih from Saudi Arabia, who won second place, and Younis Shahmradi from Iran who won the title this year.
The prize money for the first place is SAR 3 million ($800,000), while the prize for the tenth contestant is SAR 80,000 ($21,300).
In the competition’s call to prayers category, the Saudi contestant Muhammad Al-Sharif won a prize of SAR 2 million ($533,127), while the second place went to Indonesian Diaa al-Din bin Nazar al-Din, who received a money prize of SAR 1 million ($266,500).
This is not the first time Moroccans have excelled in international Quran recital competitions. Last year, Youness Gharbi became the latest in a long list of Moroccans to have claimed an international prize for Quran recitation skills.
Gharbi, who captured the attention of audiences as he won the competition despite being visually impaired, claimed a prize of SAR 5 million ($1.3 million).
In 2020, five Moroccans featured among the winners in a Quran reciting contest in Abu Dhabi during a virtual ceremony. Nearly all prizewinners of the Abu Dhabi competition were Moroccans.
Moroccan Fatima-Zahrae Mrabet claimed the first place in the women’s “All Nationalities” category, and Moroccan Kaoutar Zribi and Chaimae Lchab trailed behind respectively in second and third place.
Moroccan men equally distinguished themselves at the competition, with Anas Mhamdi ranking first in the men’s “All Nationalities” category followed by another Moroccan in the third place, Abdellah Bela.
Read Also: 5 Moroccans Win Prizes in Abu Dhabi Quran Reciting Competition
