In the presence of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, a ceremony to commemorate the Laylat al Qadr – the night when the Prophet Muhammad received the first revelation from Allah – kicked off at the Manara International Conference Centre in New Cairo on Wednesday.
Attending the ceremony are also Grand Imam of Al Azhar Dr Ahmed el Tayyeb, Speaker of the House of Representatives Hanafy Gebaly, Speaker of the Senate Abdel Wahab Abdel Razeq and Awqaf Minister Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa.
The ceremony started with a recitation of verses of the Holy Quran by Sheikh Hani el Husseini.
Addressing the ceremony, Awqaf Minister Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa said people should work their minds to correctly understand the Quranic text.
He said his Ministry is making constant strides in training and rehabilitating imams and preachers.
This year, the Holy Quran has been translated into the Urdu, Greek and Hausa languages, Gomaa announced.
The minister offered a copy of the Holy Quran to President Sisi
President Sisi then watched a documentary entitled “Egypt in the Service of the Holy Qur’an”.
It shed light on an updated international competition in memorising the Holy Qur’an, which now includes understanding and explaining the Quranic verses.
Grand Imam of Al Azhar Dr Tayyeb then spoke to the gathering. He said Muslims should remain committed to commemorating the Laylat al Qadr, the night when the holy Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet.
Qur’an has illuminated the whole world in such a short period of time, Tayyeb said, calling it a “divine light”.
Truely, Qur’an has come to put an end to chaos and turmoil, the grand imam said, adding that it has also established a high-level moral system.
President Sisi then honoured winners of the 28th international competition in memorising the Holy Qur’an.
Abdullah Ali Mohamed Mohamed, from Egypt, was first and received a reward worth 180,000 pounds.
His compatriots Sarah Ayman Ahmed Moussa and Eman Gamal Farouk came in the second and third places, and received 120,000 pounds and 100,000 pounds, respectively.
Addressing the ceremony, President Sisi stressed the importance of enlightened religious discourse, believing it plays a key role in countering destructive extremist ideologies.
Hopefully, further effort would be exerted to promote the correct understanding of religion, Sisi said.
“Our main goal is to … raise awareness of children and youth to be able to realise threats of the extremist ideology on the one hand, … and challenges on the other,” Sisi told the gathering.
The president then prayed to Allah to render successful all efforts exerted in this regard.
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