By M.A. Egge
The President H.E. Muse Bihi Abdi, presented various prizes to the top three competitors who excelled in the annual national Quran competition always held during the holy month of Ramadan.
Amongst the audience who graced the occasion were the VP, members of the cabinet, the clergy, MPs, politicians and eminent personalities.
Initially, the Director General of the Ministry of Religion and Endowments of the Republic of Somaliland, Mr. Adan Abdullahi Abdille, elaborated on the different stages of the competition and the role of the ministry in it.
The Minister of Religion and Endowment Hon. Mohamed Haji Aden Ilmi, praised the participants who won the annual competition of the Holy Quran, and thanked the president of the nation for funding the competition at the national level.
The President on his part congratulated all the participants in the competition, especially the top-most trio.
The President awarded a motor car to the overall winner, Suhayb Ase Abdilahi from the Marodi-jeh region, while the first runner-up Suhayb Mohamud Adan from the Togdeer region presented a laptop computer, a mobile phone and $2,000 (two thousand) dollars. The second runner-up Abdirahman Abshir from Awdal region was presented with a Laptop, a Mobile phone and an amount of $1,500.
Various awards were also presented at the forum to some of the scholars who participated in the competition.
Five young scholars who were presented at the forum are to be facilitated by the religion ministry to have their voices recorded in production of complete Holy Quran recitations that would be aired by the radios.
The competition of the Holy Quran in the holy month of Ramadan is held every year in the month of Ramadan, with its epitome being the Head of State presenting the winners with awards.