The final qualifiers of the local competition for the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman Award for the Holy Qur'an memorization, recitation and interpretation for boys and girls was launched on Monday in its 22nd session. The competition is organized by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance, with the participation of 131 contestants virtually for the first time via an electronic screen, in implementation of the precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. At the beginning of the launching ceremony, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs for Mosques Affairs, the Acting Secretary General of the Local and International Holy Qur'an Competition, Suleiman Al-Khamis affirmed in a speech that the leadership have made the Holy Qur'an a top priority, as the Ministry of Islamic Affairs implements two major competitions for memorizing Holy Qur'an every year, one at the international level and the other at the local level. Al-Khamis indicated that the 22nd session of the local competition this year was distinguished by adding a branch for memorizing the Holy Qur'an in the seven readings, and this is a great addition to the competition. Also another branch was added for the children of martyrs of duty in appreciation of those who sacrificed their lives in order to defend the country, which embraces the Two Holy Mosques. He added that a number of sons of the martyrs of duty from the security and military sectors would participate in this branch, indicating that the competition in its current session has more than doubled the value of the prizes of the winners to reach SR3,234,000. Al-Khamis said that the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance, represented by the General Secretariat of the Holy Qur'an Competition, is organizing this competition remotely and via live broadcast for the first time due to the measures taken to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. After that, the arbitration committee listened to the recitations of a number of contestants in the seven branches of the competition, which lasts for five days. — SPA
