Today, in the second episode of Otr Elkalam (Scent of Speech) TV show, the qualifiers for the international Holy Quran and call to prayer competition, which is organized by the General Entertainment Authority, started. The competition system, members of the jury and the criteria for evaluating the performance of contestants were introduced in the first episode of the show, which is broadcast daily on Saudia TV at 5 pm, Riyadh time, in addition to the Shahid platform.
In today’s episode, the competition started with the contestants seeking to convince the jury of their voices and their capabilities in reciting the Holy Quran and delivering the call to prayer according to the approved standards regarding pronunciation and the uses of phonetic layers and maqams that differ according to the Quranic verses and their meanings.
In the Quran recitation branch, the Moroccan contestant Abdullah Barkady succeeded in highlighting his abilities and talent in reciting the Holy Quran through a distinguished recitation that touched the hearts of the members of the jury.
In the same context, the Egyptian contestant, Izzat Al-Sayed Rashid, was able to successfully pass the first stage through his recitation, using a number of maqams, in which he focused on the maqam of Al-Bayat, which expresses both tenderness and grief. He also mixed many maqams in a distinct recitation. The Indonesian contestant, Salman Amrullah, delivered a quiet recitation of verses from Surat Fussilat that indicate the virtue of the Holy Quran before leaving the competition after voting, which selects three contestants in each round of the first stage of the qualifiers.
In the competition branch for the call to prayer, the sweet voice of Khalil Saeed Benshi succeeded in transferring the jury and the viewers to the atmosphere of the minaret of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and brought smiles to the faces of the assessors. Benshi managed to pass to the next stage.
The Turkish contestant Albijan Celik also delivered the call to prayer. Celik is a muezzin who does not speak Arabic except for the words of the call to prayer. He managed to impress the jury with his voice, which enhanced the greatness of the call to prayer and its position in the hearts of the audience and viewers.
The Malaysian contestant in the call to prayer branch, Zinor Irshadi, was not behind the other contestants, who were chosen by the jury to move to the second stage, but the precise criteria for selecting the best muezzin were enough to remove him from the competition.
