Jakarta, NU Online
Indonesia is hosting the Quran and Hadith Memorizing Competition for the Asia-Pacific region at the Istiqlal mosque in Jakarta.

"This is the seventh such competition in which contestants from Asia-Pacific countries will participate," the Chairman of the Organizing Committee, Soabah Syamsi, said here on Monday (18/04).

He said the competition to memorize the Quran and Hadith this year has been extended to the Asia-Pacific region, while previously it was limited only to the ASEAN-Pacific region.

Eighteen countries are participating in the competition, which will witness 103 participants aged 13-20 years.

Participating countries include, apart from the countries in the ASEAN region, South Korea, Japan, China, Australia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Hong Kong and New Zealand.

Fifteen Indonesian participants were selected since they had won the Quran and Hadith memorizing competition at the national level.

The contest is aimed at encouraging communities and young people to read, memorize, understand and practice the Quran as well as strengthen international relations among Muslims around the world.

"The goal of the competition is to foster love for the Quran and to inspire Muslim youth to read and understand the scriptures," Soabah was quoted by Antara news agency as saying.

He mentioned that the first, second and third winner of the competition will receive money and will be eligible to go on Hajj. (Masdar)