The contests of the first phase of Otr Elkalam (Scent of Speech) TV show came to an end today, with the last 4 contestants qualifying for the quarter-finals of the competition, reducing the number of contestants for the next phase to 24 contestants, with 12 contestants for the Quran recitation Branch and 12 for the call to prayer branch.
During the first phase, 6 competitive rounds were held, each of which included 3 contestants for each branch of the competition. Two contestants from each branch qualified, while the contestant who received the least number of votes from the specialized jury, which consists of 12 members, left the competition.
Six contestants participated in the last round of the first phase of the competition, three in each branch of the competition. In the call to prayer branch, Abdul Rahman bin Adel Kateb, the son of the muezzin of the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, competed with Mohammed Nahas, nephew of the muezzin of the Grand Mosque in Makkah. The two contestants who inherited the profession from their families were able to qualify for the next phase, while their Turkish rival, Mehmet Hashim Blair, left in the last round of the competition’s preliminary qualifiers.
In the Holy Quran recitation branch, the last qualifier for the next phase was the Iranian Seyed Jassem Mousavi, who is influenced by the Egyptian school, specifically Sheikhs Abdel Basset Abdel Samad and Mustafa Ismail. His excellence began by winning first place at school and achieving many advanced positions nationwide in Quran competitions. He continued his successes by moving to the quarter-final of the largest Quranic competition of its kind in the world.
The Syrian contestant Mutasim Billah Al-Asali, who inherited the talent of Quran recitation and a beautiful voice from his father, also participated in the last rounds of recitation. He met great Quran reciters in Egypt and Saudi Arabia to develop his skills in reciting the Holy Quran. Al-Asali impressed the jury with his voice and confidence, which enabled him to move to the next phase. His Saudi rival, Mohammed Al-Hajji, recited verses from Surat Al-Nur with his sweet voice that was liked by viewers and commended by the jury. However, he did not get enough votes to qualify, and the jury advised him to develop his talent and improve his performance.
The coming days will witness heated competitions between contestants competing to qualify for the semi-final phase. In each round, two contestants from each branch will compete and one of them will qualify for the next phase, fueling the enthusiasm and passion of the contestants, each of whom strives to reach the first place in the largest competition of its kind in the world.
The competition is broadcast daily on the Saudia channel and Shahid platform at 5 pm, Riyadh time. It is widely viewed in different countries, as the competition hosts contestants of different nationalities.