An Ibn Anas Malik Islamic School student has won GACH Global’s prestigious Quran recitation competition after besting over 269 participants nationwide.
Abdoulie Mamud Kanyi secured first place in the first edition of GACH Global CEO Abubakary Jawara’sD1.5 million nationwide Qur’anic competition for young people named after his late father, Ba-JaejaJawara, held at Masjid Bilal Boarding School.
The D1.5 million was distributed among the 20 best students. Mr. Kanyi, the overall winner of the reading of the full Quran, was awarded a certificate and a cash prize of D100,000, the runner-up, AbdoulieMuhammed, was awarded D60,000, and Sainey Badjie, the winner of the best reciters category, was awarded D70,000.
About 269 students in the country participated in the recitation contest.
The competition commenced in February at Kerewan, North Bank Region, where 32 Qur’anic students were selected, followed by Janjangbureh, Gambisara, Mansakonko, and the West Coast Region at the Supreme Islamic Council grounds and the Masjid Bilal Boarding School, respectively. The Soninkes Scholars’ League coordinated the competition.
The President of Soninkes’ Scholars’ League, Sheikh Essa Mouhamad Jawara, said annual Qur’anic competitions produce several memorizers (Huffaz) who can compete favorably with any of their counterparts anywhere in the world.
He thanked Mr. Jawara for his unwavering support for Gambians and Islam. He said the competition is limited to a certain age group because it wants to promote young Qur’anic reciters. Jawara advised the participating schools to avoid age-cheating.
The League’s Vice President, Sheikh Mouhamad Kabbah Musa, commended Mr. Jawara for funding the competition and urged him to continue spending his wealth on promoting Islam.
An emotional Yusupha Jawara, deputy CEO of GACH Global Group, said Mr Jawara has committed to spend part of his wealth on promoting Islam and supporting the poor.
“This is why when the organizers of this Qur’anic competition contacted him, asking for a D200,000donation to stage the competition, he insisted that it had to be countrywide, and he instantly pledged D1.5 million,” he said.
The President of the Gambia Supreme Islamic Council, Alhagie Sheikh Essa Darboe, said the initiative has exposed the brilliant work scholars are doing across the country. He commended all the winners for a brilliant recitation of the Qur’an, adding that Mr. Jawara has been doing tremendously for Gambians of all walks of life, but the Qur’anic competition has stood out as the highlight of his good deeds.
Sheikh Darboe urged the business community to follow in Mr Jawara’s footsteps and ensure the Arabic schools receive the needed support so that Qur’anic education will be free in The Gambia. He commended the government for creating the enabling environment for Qur’anic schools to thrive, saying the country has been doing tremendously on the world stage, which demonstrates that Gambia is not lagging when it comes to Islam.
“Just recently, a Gambian took third place in Qur’anic recitation in a competition stage in Dubai,” he added.