DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS 
P R E S S  R E L E A S E
www.dfa.gov.ph                                                                        2330 Roxas Blvd., Pasay City, Philippines                                                                     Tel. No. 834-4000 
SFA-AGR-777-06                                                                                                                                                                        21 September  2006

FILIPINO MUSLIM CONTESTANT WINS 2ND PLACE IN INTERNATIONAL QU’RAN READING COMPETITION IN LIBYA 

21 September 2006 – Philippine Ambassador to Libya Bayani V. Mangibin reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that a Filipino Muslim contestant, Mr. Mohamad Siddiq Abunawas, won second place at the 3rd Annual Competition for the Al Fatah International Prize for Memorization and Tajweed (recitation) of the Holy Qur'an held on 18 September 2006 in Tripoli. 

Ambassador Mangibin said that the competition, which was participated in by 60 countries, was organized by the General Endowment and Zakat Affairs Body and sponsored by the Public Post and Telecommunications Company and Libyana Mobile Company, the leading telecommunications firm in Libya. 

Sheikh Rajab Abu Dagaga, Chairman of the organizing committee and the Director of the Holy Qur'an Department, General Endowment and Zakat Affairs Body, announced the results of the competition, which consisted of two parts, namely, memorization of the Holy Qur'an, and the tajweed (recitation) of the Holy Qur'an. It was in the latter part of the competition that Mr. Abunawas participated and won second place. 

The winners of the tajweed of the Holy Qur'an were: 

1.   Mr. Ahmed Al Had! Abdullah Al Alam (Libya), first place with a rating of 97%;

2.   Mr. Mohamad Sadiq Abunawas (Philippines), second place with a rating of 94%;

3.   Mr. Abuhanifa Al Hajj Abdullah (Indonesia), third place with a rating of 93%;

4.   Mr. Hamid Mahmud Safdari (Iran), fourth place with a rating of 91%; and

5.   Mr. Mahmud Molmmad Abdutfatah (Egypt), fifth place with a rating of 87 %. 

Mr. Abunawas is a native of Bito, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao. He completed his high school education at the Arabic Language and Islamic Studies, Mahad Kutawato Al Islamia in 1989. 

He is presently a Qur'an pronunciation teacher in the municipalities of Sultan Sa Barongis and Datu Odin Sinsuat in Maguindanao and Carmen in North Cotabato. 

Dr. Mohamad Muammar Qadhafi, the Secretary of the General People's Committee for Public Post and Telecommunications; Ali Umar Al Hasnuwi, the Secretary of the General People's Committee for Justice; Dr. Mohamad Sharif, the Secretary General of the World Islamic Call Society; and Ali Gomaa, the Mufti of Egypt, were among those who distributed the awards and prizes for both categories of the competition. 

Mr. Abunawas was recommended and nominated to the competition by the Islamic Da'wa Center in Digos, Davao del Sur. It was his first time to participate in an international Qur'an competition. He previously participated in ten (10) national Qur'an competitions.  END

/gary

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