King Mohammed VI Foundation presents $6000 cash prize to three Ghanaians

Three candidates who represented the Ghana branch of King Mohammed VI Foundation of African Oulema - in the virtual Quranic memorization and psalmody competition held virtually a few weeks ago, have been presented with cash prizes to the tune of $ 6000 (dollars) - at a brief ceremony at the foundation’s office in Accra.

The candidates received $2000 (dollars) each as motivational prizes for proficiency in memorization, adhering to the rules of recitation of the Holy Quran, and displaying remarkable competitive spirit among their peers across Africa.

The King Mohammed VI Foundation of African Oulema, which is an umbrella grouping of African Islamic scholars from 34 countries was formed in 2015 to pool and coordinate the efforts, knowledge and experiences of African Muslim scholars around the principles of common religious grounds - to promote interfaith dialogue and tolerance of other’s beliefs among other objectives.

As part of the activities of the foundation, it runs an annual Quranic memorization competition at the various branches which culminates into a grand finale.

Travel restrictions and the social distancing protocol owing to Covid-19 pandemic compelled the organizers to opt for an unprecedented virtual alternative of the event - which was initially scheduled to be held in Libreville, Gabon.

Ghana displayed an unprecedented performance by out-competing other countries to be among the first nine best in all the three categories of the virtual contest.

In brief remarks before presenting the prize to Umar Issa, the candidate who came up 5th in the “WARASH” recitation method, the President of the Ghana branch of the foundation, Shiekh Mustapha Ibrahim congratulated the candidates and commended them for raising Ghana’s name high.

He observed that even though Ghana is not known as an internationally competitive country in Quranic memorization, the remarkable performance of these candidates showed signs of a promising future for the youth in various Quranic memorization study circles throughout the country.

He, however, cautioned them not to rest on these laurels but rather work harder to achieve greater heights in subsequent contests.

Shiekh Mustapha also advised them to augment their knowledge of the Holy Quran by seeking other areas of Islamic knowledge in order to consolidate their knowledge base for bigger roles as future Islamic scholars.

The General Secretary of the Foundation, Shiekh Usman Bari, who presented the cash prize to Hamza Khalil Tamim, who came up 6th in the mix Quranic recitation method, also commended the contestants for making Ghana proud by standing tall amongst their peers across the continent. He thanked the contestants’ parents and teachers for their efforts and sacrifice - while urging the prize winners to be obedient by adhering to the Islamic teachings through which they are being moulded.

Presenting the prize to Abdul Mou’min Abdallah who came up 9th in the 5 Ahzaab (thematic parts) of the Quran competition, the foundation’s Director of Administration, Shiekh Munir Abdallah Tawfiq congratulated the contestants and particularly commended Abdul Moumin Abdallah, the youngest Ghanaian contestant - who drew commendation from the panel of judges due to the quality of his recitation - despite his young age - relative to other contestants, and reminded him that there is a brighter future ahead of him if he works harder.

The overall winner of the first position will receive a cash prize of $6000, with the second prize taking home $5000, whereas the third prize bags home $4000 - at a ceremony to be held in Dakar, Senegal later this month.