Pinoy wins
The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh celebrated Ramadan by hosting the first Asian Qur'an Memorization Contest recently at the newly constructed Philippine Embassy Multipurpose Building in Diplomatic Quarter, Riyadh.
The event was attended by ambassadors and other members of the diplomatic corps, officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Health, the Muslim World League, Riyadh Chamber of Commerce, and representatives of Filipino community in Saudi Arabia.
In his opening remarks, Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Adnan V. Alonto said that “the Holy Quran, which was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in Makkah and Madinah around 1,412 years ago, is considered to be the direct words of God. Today, this glorious revelation has inspired the way of life of billions of people including the political and socio-economic systems of many countries all over the world, including my own country—the Philippines.”
Twelve contestants from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Kazakhstan took part in the competition.
Philippine Airlines awarded the winner with a roundtrip plane ticket to the Philippines.
The board of judges, which included Saudi Qur’an scholars, declared Nabil Magandingan Aliman, a Filipino student from Imam Muhammad University, as the winner of the competition. He was followed by Mofti Saro Mohmmad Yasin (Philippines) as second placer, Amin Rois Abdul Jalil (Indonesia) as third placer, and Muhammad Sadique Hussain (Bangladesh) as fourth placer. The contestants received cash prizes and gifts. Philippine Airlines awarded the winner with a roundtrip plane ticket to the Philippines.
The Qur'an memorization contest is part of a series of cultural diplomacy activities initiated by the Philippine Embassy to highlight the strong historical and cultural link between the Philippines and Saudi Arabia and other Asian countries.