A Saudi and an Iranian Win Top Prizes in the World's Largest Religious Competition in Riyadh

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, April 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, in the closing episode of the Otr Elkalam show, the largest religious competition in the world, whose episodes were broadcast from the Saudi capital, Riyadh, the Saudi contestant Mohammed Al-Sharif won first place in the adhan (Islamic call to public prayer) track with a prize of $533,000, while the Iranian Younis Shahmradi won first place in the Quran recitation track with a prize of $800,000. His Excellency Advisor Turki bin Abdel Mohsen Alalshikh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority, presented the awards to the winners.

The competition, which concluded today, won 6 certificates from the Guinness Book of Records. It achieved two record numbers in terms of participating countries in both the Quran and Adhan tracks of the competition and a record number of participants in the Quran competition. It also achieved another record as the largest competition to attract participants in the adhan competition, and two other records as the largest prize pool for a Quran recitation competition and the largest prize pool for a call to prayer (adhan) competition. The prize pool for both tracks amounted to $3.3 million.

His Excellency Advisor Alalshikh honored the winners of the competition prizes in the recitation and adhan tracks. The Iranian contestant Younis Shahmradi won first place in the recitation track, while the Saudi Abdulaziz Al-Faqih won second place and a prize of $533,000. The Moroccan contestant Zakaria Al-Zirk won third place and a prize of $266,000, and his compatriot Abdullah Al-Daghri won fourth place and a prize of $187,000.

As for the adhan track, the first place was won by the Saudi contestant Mohammed Al-Sharif, the second place was won by the Indonesian Diaa Al-Din bin Nazar Al-Din with a prize of $266,000, the third place was won by Raheef Al-Hajj with a prize of $133,000, and the fourth place was won by the British Ibrahim Asad with a prize of $80,000.

The Quran and adhan competition, which comes this year in strategic partnership with the Muslim World League, is one of the international initiatives of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority.