RIYADH — Abdullah Al-Dughri from Morocco and Hamid Al-Raisi from the UAE were the last two competitors to qualify for the semifinals of the World Competition for Qur’an (recitation) and Azan (announcing the call for prayers), an initiative of the General Entertainment Authority (GEA).

Sixteen participants from 13 countries have now qualified for the competition’s semifinals, aired on the GEA-sponsored Otr Elkalam TV show of Ramadan on the MBC TV channel.

Semifinals qualifiers are from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, Iran, Yemen, the United Kingdom, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Germany, and Spain.

The semifinals in Qur’an (recitation) will kick off on Saturday with the participation of Mohammad Nour from Ethiopia, Salah Edin Metebid from Germany, Ahmad Alsayyed Ismail from Egypt, Abdulaziz Al-Faqih from Saudi Arabia, Abdullah Al-Dughri and Zakariya Al-Zirk from Morocco, Yunis Shahmaradi from Iran, and Mohammad Al-Habti from Spain.

The Azan category in Otr Elkalam contest will see the participation of Mohammad Hafez Al-Rahman and Ibrahim Assad from the UK, Issa Al-Jaadi from Yemen, Mohammad Al-Sharif from Saudi Arabia, Hamid Al-Raisi from the UAE, Rahif Al-Haj from Lebanon, Dialdin from Indonesia, and Riyan Hosawi, from Nigeria. — SPA