A Salt River teenager is representing a maqaamat (melodious recital of the Holy Quran) at the 56th International Quran Recital Assembly currently taking place in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. Sixteen year old Qudsieya Allie, a hifz student under Sheikh Abduragmaan Salie of Wynberg, will be the female contestant participating in the melodious recital of the Holy Quran.

The Malaysian Embassy anticipates that a Capetonian will take the gold bar prize. Qudsieya has a lot of support from educators, sponsors and the public.

“All I want is for her to do well and do her best,” says Thoerria Najaar, PRO of the talent search which was sponsored by DeenTV.

She is being coached for the competition by Sheikh Abdul Aziz Brown who will be in Malaysia to further assist her.

“Young women must excel and we are confident that Qudsieya will do well and be an inspiration to the youth to love the Quran, recite the Quran and to recite it in melodious way which the competition is all about,” said community activist Ganief Hendricks, who helped with the talent search.

The recital was first held in Malaysia in 1961 when the idea was mooted by the YTM Tunku Abdul Rahman Al Haj, the country’s first Prime Minister. The Assembly was later established by the government to become one of Malaysia’s initiatives to promote global Muslim solidarity, performed as an aim to preserve the words of the Quran as part of Muslim identity and build enthusiasm regarding the Quran.

For decades, Malaysia has been staging the Assembly annually, gathering some of the finest qurrah from all over the world. It is one of the main highlights on Malaysia’s event calendar.  27 countries are taking part including contestants from America, Mozambique and other African countries.

Imam Edries Mohamed of the Maitland Mosque who was the adjudicator for the talent search identifying the two contestants wished both contestants well and asked South Africans to hold thumbs for the two South African contestants. VOC