Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Dec 04, 2025

Otr Elkalam: GEA chief honors Saudi Arabia's Al-Sharif, Iranian  Shahmradi with valuable prizes

Otr Elkalam: GEA chief honors Saudi Arabia's Al-Sharif, Iranian Shahmradi with valuable prizes

In the closing episode of the Otr Elkalam show that was broadcast on Friday, Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of General Entertainment Authority, honored 20 winners of the competition.
Saudi contestant Mohammed Al-Sharif won the first place in the call to prayer (adhan) track and Iran's Younis Shahmradi won the first place in the Qur'an recitation track, bagging SR2 million and SR3 million respectively in prize money.

The competition, which concluded on Friday, won six certificates from the Guinness Book of Records. It set two records in terms of the number of participating countries in the competitions and the number of participants in the Qur'an track. It also made another record as the largest competition to attract participants in the adhan competition. The other records were fro the largest prize pool for a Qur'an recitation competition and the largest prize pool for a call to prayer (adhan) competition.

Alalshikh honored the winners of the competition and presented them with the prizes. Iranian contestant Shahmradi won the first place in the recitation track and received a prize of SR3 million, while Abdulaziz Al-Faqih from Saudi Arabia won the second place and a prize of SR2 million.

Moroccan contestant Zakaria Al-Zirk won third place and a prize of SR1 million, and his compatriot Abdullah Al-Daghri won the fourth place that carried a prize of SR700,000.

As for the adhan track, the second place was won by Indonesian Diaa Al-Din bin Nazar Al-Din with a prize of SR1 million, the third place by Raheef Al-Hajj with a prize of SR500,000, and the fourth place by British national Ibrahim Asad with a prize of SR300,000.

The episode, dedicated to honoring the winners of this year's Otr Elkalam competition, opened with the recitation of Qur'anic verses by the winner of the first edition of the competition, Moroccan reciter Younes Gharbi, and a call to prayer by Turkish national Mohsen Kara, the winner in the call to prayer category last year.

The Quran and adhan competition, which was organized this year in strategic partnership with the Muslim World League, is one of the international initiativesof the General Entertainment Authority. It allowed participation by Muslims from anywhere in the world by registering for the qualifiers through easy steps.

The initial qualifying round of the competition this year began last January. More than 50,000 contestants from 165 countries participated with 50 contestants qualifying for the next round. The 50 winners of the first round competed in the recitation and adhan tracks through the Otr Elkalam show, which was broadcast on MBC and the Shahid digital platform.

The competition is one of the most important initiatives of the General Entertainment Authority during Ramadan. its content is commensurate with the spirituality of the month, as well as its standards and provisions that enhance competitiveness through stages and qualifiers that ensure that only talented and distinguished people reach the final stage.

Otr Elkalam, which telecasts the competitions, is one of the most famous Ramadan shows and enjoys wide popularity not only in the Islamic world but in several other countries around the world.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
As Trump Deepens Ties with Saudi Arabia, Push for Israel Normalization Takes a Back Seat
Thai Food Village Debuts at Saudi Feast Food Festival 2025 Under Thai Commerce Minister Suphajee’s Lead
Saudi Arabia Sharpens Its Strategic Vision as Economic Transformation Enters New Phase
Saudi Arabia Projects $44 Billion Budget Shortfall in 2026 as Economy Rebalances
OPEC+ Unveils New Capacity-Based System to Anchor Future Oil Output Levels
Will Saudi Arabia End Up Bankrolling Israel’s Post-Ceasefire Order in Lebanon?
Saudi Arabia’s SAMAI Initiative Surpasses One-Million-Citizen Milestone in National AI Upskilling Drive
Saudi Arabia’s Specialty Coffee Market Set to Surge as Demand Soars and New Exhibition Drops in December
Saudi Arabia Moves to Open Two New Alcohol Stores for Foreigners Under Vision 2030 Reform
Saudi Arabia’s AI Ambitions Gain Momentum — but Water, Talent and Infrastructure Pose Major Hurdles
Tensions Surface in Trump-MBS Talks as Saudi Pushes Back on Israel Normalisation
Saudi Arabia Signals Major Maritime Crack-Down on Houthi Routes in Red Sea
Italy and Saudi Arabia Seal Over 20 Strategic Deals at Business Forum in Riyadh
COP30 Ends Without Fossil Fuel Phase-Out as US, Saudi Arabia and Russia Align in Obstruction Role
Saudi-Portuguese Economic Horizons Expand Through Strategic Business Council
DHL Commits $150 Million for Landmark Logistics Hub in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Aramco Weighs Disposals Amid $10 Billion-Plus Asset Sales Discussion
Trump Hosts Saudi Crown Prince for Major Defence and Investment Agreements
Families Accuse OpenAI of Enabling ‘AI-Driven Delusions’ After Multiple Suicides
Riyadh Metro Records Over One Hundred Million Journeys as Saudi Capital Accelerates Transit Era
Trump’s Grand Saudi Welcome Highlights U.S.–Riyadh Pivot as Israel Watches Warily
U.S. Set to Sell F-35 Jets to Saudi Arabia in Major Strategic Shift
Saudi Arabia Doubles Down on U.S. Partnership in Strategic Move
Saudi Arabia Charts Tech and Nuclear Leap Under Crown Prince’s U.S. Visit
Trump Elevates Saudi Arabia to Major Non-NATO Ally Amid Defense Deal
Trump Elevates Saudi Arabia to Major Non-NATO Ally as MBS Visit Yields Deepened Ties
Iran Appeals to Saudi Arabia to Mediate Restart of U.S. Nuclear Talks
Musk, Barra and Ford Join Trump in Lavish White House Dinner for Saudi Crown Prince
Lawmaker Seeks Declassification of ‘Shocking’ 2019 Call Between Trump and Saudi Crown Prince
US and Saudi Arabia Forge Strategic Defence Pact Featuring F-35 Sale and $1 Trillion Investment Pledge
Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund Emerges as Key Contender in Warner Bros. Discovery Sale
Trump Secures Sweeping U.S.–Saudi Agreements on Jets, Technology and Massive Investment
Detroit CEOs Join White House Dinner as U.S.–Saudi Auto Deal Accelerates
Netanyahu Secures U.S. Assurance That Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge Will Remain Despite Saudi F-35 Deal
Ronaldo Joins Trump and Saudi Crown Prince’s Gala Amid U.S.–Gulf Tech and Investment Surge
U.S.–Saudi Investment Forum Sees U.S. Corporate Titans and Saudi Royalty Forge Billion-Dollar Ties
Elon Musk’s xAI to Deploy 500-Megawatt Saudi Data Centre with State-backed Partner HUMAIN
U.S. Clears Export of Advanced AI Chips to Saudi Arabia and UAE Amid Strategic Tech Partnership
xAI Selects Saudi Data-Centre as First Customer of Nvidia-Backed Humain Project
A Decade of Innovation Stagnation at Apple: The Cook Era Critique
President Trump Hosts Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Washington Amid Strategic Deal Talks
Saudi Crown Prince to Press Trump for Direct U.S. Role in Ending Sudan War
Trump Hosts Saudi Crown Prince: Five Key Takeaways from the White House Meeting
Trump Firmly Defends Saudi Crown Prince Over Khashoggi Murder Amid Washington Visit
Trump Backs Saudi Crown Prince Over Khashoggi Killing Amid White House Visit
Trump Publicly Defends Saudi Crown Prince Over Khashoggi Killing During Washington Visit
President Donald Trump Hosts Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at White House to Seal Major Defence and Investment Deals
Saudi Arabia’s Solar Surge Signals Unlikely Shift in Global Oil Powerhouse
Saudi Crown Prince Receives Letter from Iranian President Ahead of U.S. Visit
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Begins Washington Visit to Cement Long-Term U.S. Alliance
×