Iraq’s 8th national Quran competition for women got underway in the holy city of Kadhimiya on Thursday. Organized by the National Center for Quranic Sciences—affiliated with the country’s Endowment (Waqf) Administration—in collaboration with the Kadhimiya holy shrine, the event will continue for three days.
The competition features categories for the memorization of the entire Quran and Quran recitation.
It aims to select representatives from Iraq to participate in international Quran competitions held globally. The event’s slogan is “Representing Iraq is an honor for all”.
Participants include a group of female memorizers (huffaz) and reciters (qaris) from various Quranic institutions and centers for women, based at Iraq’s holy shrines and religious sites.
The opening ceremony took place in the Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib Hall at the Kadhimiya holy shrine.
Sawsan Hashim Kadhim, head of women’s Quranic activities at the Quranic institute affiliated with the Kadhimiya holy shrine, delivered a message on behalf of the shrine’s custodian.
Welcoming the participants, she emphasized that competing in the field of Quranic sciences represents a contest in the noblest and most exalted of arenas, yielding immense benefits.
Subsequently, Fatimah al-Dhahiri, a memorizer and head of the competition’s organizing committee, spoke about the significance of these national elite-level competitions—held annually by the National Center for Quranic Sciences for both men and women—and the process of sending top-performing participants to international Quran competitions.
She said that the 8th edition of the contest features 45 participants from Baghdad and other Iraqi provinces, competing in the categories of full Quran memorization and recitation.
