Culture House of the Islamic Republic of Iran in New Delhi and in cooperation with the Cultural Counseling Office of the Embassy of  Republic of Iraq in New Delhi, the opening ceremony of the 26th round National Quranic Competition was held with the presence of Dr. Faridoddin FaridAsr, Cultural Counselor of Iran in New Delhi, Dr. Ali Sadeq from the Cultural Counseling Office of the Embassy  Republic of Iraq in New Delhi, Dr. Qaherman Soleimani, Director of the Persian Research Center in New Delhi, Ostad Masoud Sayyah Gorji, from Iran, Hafez Amir Aghaei, from Iran, Qari Sheikh Sabah Sarai from Iraq, Qari Rahmatullah Erfani and Qari Badr Al-Duja Forqani, Indian judges, and Hafizs and Qaris participating in the competition.

The program began with the recitation of a few verses from the Holy Quran by Qari Sheikh Sabah Sarai, followed by Dr. Faridoddin FaridAsr, in his speech, while welcoming all the participants, called the holding of such programs a symbol of Islamic unity and said: Unity around the Holy Quran and the Prophetic Sunnah is very important, and the Islamic Republic of Iran has proven to the world that it is ready to sacrifice all its assets for the promotion of sacred cause.

In another part of his speech, he added: Until yesterday, there were those who did not understand the importance of the unity of the word, but today, when the enemies of Islam are trying to destroy Islam by pushing the Zionists forward, everyone understands the importance of this unity, and if anyone has not yet reached this conclusion, it is due to a lack of understanding of the political situation in the world or their own betrayal.

Iran’s cultural counselor has emphasized that today there is a right front and a wrong front, and whoever is against the Zionists is undoubtedly on the right front, and today is not a question of confrontation between Iran and Israel, but rather a question of confrontation between Islam and infidelity.

Dr. FaridAsr finally referred to the process of the 26th round of Quranic competition and said: This year, out of two hundred applicants, 70 people were selected to participate in the two disciplines of memorization and recitation.

Dr. Ali Sadiq from the Iraq Embassy in Delhi, in his speech, thanked the Cultural Counselor of Iran for its cooperation in organizing this competition and considered holding such programs important.

In another part of the program, Qari Masoud Sayyah Gorji recited the Holy Quran.

Qari Badr Al-Duja Forqani, Qari Masoud Sayyah Gorji, and Osrad Amir Aghaei explained the technical aspects of the competition, the scoring method, and the judging process.

It should be noted that the 26th round of National Quran Memorization and Recitation Competition will be held for two days from September 8 - 9 and the names of the winners of the two memorization and recitation categories will be announced during the Milad-un-Nabi celebration program, which will be held on September 9, 2025.