The King Abdul Aziz Qur'an Memorization competition will start here Monday with the participation of representatives of several Arab and Muslim countries. As many as 165 contestants, representing 96 countries and 71 Islamic centers and societies from around the world will take part in the competition. The Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance, the organizer of the competition, seeks to employ several new techniques to search for talent in the seven-day event, “Every year many new faces join us from different countries through our website,” said Abdul Aziz Bin Abdurrahman Sbihin, Secretary General of the competition. The website has several development programs for the conservation and interpretation of the Holy Qur'an this year to make the competition easy. “That way we can get more accurate results,” added Sbihin. The Grand Mufti of Mauritania, Sheikh Ahmed Bin Shankiti, a regular at the annual event, lauded the Kingdom's efforts in the service to Islam. “There is no area in the service to Islam where the Kingdom is not playing a prominent role,” said Shankiti. He said many problems are now being faced by the Muslim World. “There is no way to overcome these problems unless countries use the Qur'an as their reference,” he said. Many charity associations will take part in the competition. The Jeddah Charity Association for Memorizing Qur'an will be representing the Kingdom this year. “This is a great honor for us,” said Al-Aziz Bin Abdullah Hanafi, president of the association. The Holy Qur'an acts as a strong link to unify Muslims and strengthen ties among them, he said. __
