The Light Foundation, an Islamic Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) operating in less endowed communities in Ghana has organised the 2019 edition of its annual Quranic recitation competition in the Northern Regional capital of Tamale. The theme for the competition was: ‘The Quran, a Global Message of Peace.’Â
Winners of the various categories went home with certificates, copies of the Holy Quran and cash sums of between GH¢200.00 and GH¢1, 200.00
The competition was attended by scores of Muslims from the Northern, Upper East, North East and Ashanti regions. The ceremony also saw the attendance of prominent and notable Sheikhs from Tamale, representatives of the Northern Regional Ghana Muslim Students Association of Ghana, Tamale College of Education Chapter and other well-meaning Muslims.
The first category, captioned, ‘Full Quran Category’ involved 10 Muslims aged 20 years and below who have committed the Quran to memory.
The second category, ‘Half Quran Category’ saw seven Muslims aged 20 years and below turn up for the audition, of which five qualified for the final contest.
The third category, ‘20 Hibz Category’ saw eight Muslims aged 18 years and below turn up for the auditioning of which five people qualified for the final contest.
The last category ‘10 Hibz Category’ saw seven people turning up for audition and five making it to the finals after the screening.
The competition also had five respectable Imams in Tamale as the judges; Sheikh Yusuf Yakub, Sheikh Ali Abubakar, Sheikh Salman Jibreel, Sheikh Yussif Iddris and Sheikh Alhassan Mohammed.
The competition commenced with the least category, the ‘10 Hibz Category’ which saw the contestants exhibiting their memorisation of the Quran with questions from the Judges.
This category saw all five participants, who had qualified from the auditioning to contest the finals, take turns to answer questions from the Judges.
The contestants for the various categories all took turns to recite the Quran to the applause and excitement of the audience, upon which they were scored by the judges based on their performance.
Sheikh Abdallah Abdul Nasir, who took the podium to introduce the Light Foundation to the public, in his speech acknowledged Sheikh Ali Napari who founded the foundation which has been operating in Ghana for more than a decade.
Winners of the various categories went home with certificates, copies of the Holy Quran and cash sums of between GH¢200.00 and GH¢1, 200.00.
Sheikh Ali Abubakar Napari, the Chief Executive Officer of the Light Foundation on his part first thanked the Almighty Allah for the successful completion of this year’s Ramadan and the Eid-Ul-Fitir celebration.
The Light Foundation has over the years been engaging communities that are less endowed across all regions of the country. As an Islamic NGO, their focus has been on how to empower the less-privileged in society, therefore the Foundation has over the years provided schools, health facilities, potable drinking water and support to orphans among others.