Hafiz Mohamed Jalloh has won the 9th National Quranic Memorisation Competition organized by the Foundation of Islamic Information in Sierra Leone (FOISIL) at Fourah Bay College amphitheater.

Jalloh, representing the Northern region, recited with a melodious and audacious tone that left the crowd mesmerized on Sunday afternoon.

The Hafiz scored 100 marks with a cash prize of NLe 10,000.

Hafizat Mariam Seray Bah representing the Eastern region also won the female category taking home a prize of NLe 10,000.

Both winners will represent Sierra Leone in next year’s Dubai Quranic Memorisation Competition in UAE.

Other reciters were also awarded cash prizes provided by UK humanitarian organization, Abdullah Aid.

Participants in the competition selected envelopes that contained five questions each.

Consultant for FOISIL, Sheikh Farouk Adam Bah said that participants in the national competition went through a rigorous vetting process thereby leading to nine participants (four females and five males) from all regions in Sierra Leone.

The consultant said their interest in the competition is to ensure that Sierra Leone will be well represented next year in Dubai.

Abdul Lateef Kargbo, speaking during the opening that in 2013 FOISIL organized the first competition from the backdrop that some locals were with the notion that Quranic recitation could be limited to ‘marabouts’.

He pleaded with Muslim stakeholders to assist in ensuring that the competition would receive further developments.

“We have an issue with women’s participation over the years,” he said.

He said that the competition is divided into two categories. One specifically for women and one for men.

“The prizes for both categories are the same because we want to tell the world that Islam frowns at discrimination,” Kargbo said.

He announced two former participants in last year’s competition are representing Sierra Leone in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Ivory Coast.

He ended by commending the government for providing a piece of land where  Abdullah Aid built their fifth mosque in the country.