The Dubai International Holy Quran Award celebrated the closing ceremony of the 8th edition of the Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak International Holy Quran Competition. The ceremony was held at the Cultural and Scientific Association Theater Hall in Al Mamzar area in Dubai, in the presence of Her Excellency Hessa Bint Essa Buhumaid, Director General of the Community Development Authority in Dubai, Her Excellency Noura Khalifa Al Suwaidi, Deputy of the “Mother of the Emirates” Her Highness Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, may God protect her , Her Excellency Sheikha Naima Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, Her Excellency Reem Abdullah Al Falasi, Secretary General of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and a large gathering of women from society, contestants and their companions, directors of Quran memorization centers, and representatives of the awards and Quranic institutions in the country.
The ceremony was opened with the recitation of verses from the Holy Quran by contestant Zahra Ansari from Iran, followed by a speech by the Dubai International Holy Quran Award delivered by Her Excellency Amina Al Daboos, Executive Director of the Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed Award for Childhood Creativity, on behalf of Counselor Ibrahim Mohammed Bu Melha, Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Dubai International Holy Quran Award. The attendees then watched a short film about the activities of the Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak International Holy Quran Competition. Afterwards, the attendees listened to selected recitations by the contestants, where Maryam Habib from Nigeria, Fatima Ibrahim Jassim Al Hammadi from the United Arab Emirates, and Safiya Mohammed Taher from Sweden recited whatever verses from the Holy Quran were easy for them. The attendees then watched a recorded supplication by His Eminence Professor Dr. Suhail Mohammed Iqbal, a member of the jury of the international competition from the Republic of Kenya.
Afterwards, the patron of the ceremony, Her Excellency Hessa bint Essa Buhumaid, Director General of the Community Development Authority in Dubai, accompanied by Her Excellency Noura Khalifa Al Suwaidi, honored the winners of the first ten places and all participants in the eighth session of the competition. The Swedish contestant Safiya Mohammed Taher won first place, the contestant Khadija Sayed Al Mukhtar from Mauritania won second place, the contestant Fati Hassan Rashid from Kenya won third place, the contestant Maryam Habib from Nigeria and the contestant Afnan Rashad Ali Salem from Yemen won fourth place, the contestant Asma Younis Ibrahim Al Baz from Egypt won sixth place, the contestant Asma bint Abdul Razzaq Shalabi from Tunisia won seventh place, the contestant Zahra Ansari from Iran won eighth place, the contestant Putri Amina bint Mohammed Hanif from Malaysia won ninth place, and the contestant Munia Ahmed Al Sagheer Hassan Al Qadi from Libya won tenth place, together with the contestant Aisha Bilal Jakhoura from South Africa.
