Under the auspices of the President of Shiite Endowment Diwan, Dr. Haider H. Al-Shammari, the 14th Annual National Elite Contest, which qualifies for international competitions in memorization and recitation of the Holy Quran, was launched on Wednesday morning, December 27, 2023.

The contest was held by Shiite Endowment Diwan/National Center for Qur’anic Sciences in cooperation with the SG of Kadhimian Holy Shrine under the slogan “Representing Iraq is an honor for all" in the presence of a number of representatives of Quranic institutions and associations and those interested in Quranic affairs from all Iraq's provinces.

The conference was started with reciting some verses of the Holy Quran and reciting Fatiha and prayers of mercy for the martyrs, followed by the speech of the National Center for Qur’anic Sciences, delivered by its head, Dr. Rafi’ Al-Aamiri, who highlighted that the participating memorizers and reciters were chosen from the directorates of the endowments of the provinces throughout Iraq through competitions supervised by Quranic-specialized committees with more than 56 experts.

More than 325 reciters and memorizers have registered, and nearly 200 of them participated in the memorization and recitation in these qualifiers.

Other speeches were also delivered on behalf of the Presidency of Shiite Endowment Diwan and the SG of Kadhimain Holy Shrine.

Moreover, the opening ceremony witnessed other activities, including displaying a documentary film about the activities held by the National Center for Qur’anic Sciences over the previous years and the participation of Al-Jawadain Chant Band with a poem titled (The Qur’an is the refuge of believers).

Following that, the contest activities took place at Al-Hamza Conference Hall at the Holy Shrine, which will last for four consecutive days by God's will.