Winners announced for Balkan International Quran Competition

The Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance and General Supervisor of Local and International Competitions, Abdullatif bin Abdulaziz Al-Sheikh, has approved the names of the winners of the fourth Balkan International Quran Competition, held in Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia. The event saw the participation of 200 contestants from 29 countries, with 30 male and female winners competing across five categories.

The minister directed the completion of organizational procedures for announcing the results and presenting awards to the winners during the competition’s closing ceremony. He praised the efforts of the organizing and judging committees for their role in ensuring the competition’s success and upholding its scholarly and Quranic stature.

The fourth edition of the Balkan International Quran Competition concluded with 15 male winners from various Balkan countries across five categories. In the first category (memorization of the entire Quran), Alban Fahmi Duli from Kosovo took first place and an €8,000 prize, Anes Agim Basha from Albania won second place and €6,000, and Mohammed Sabahuddin Suleimani from Bosnia and Herzegovina came third with €4,000.

In the second category (memorization of ten parts), Harith Almir Chusovich from Serbia won first place and €6,000, Abdullah Ismail Bardoshi from Albania took second and €4,000, and Malik Muharram Bajrich from Bosnia and Herzegovina secured third place with €3,000.

In the third category (memorization of five parts), Talha Suleiman from Bosnia and Herzegovina won first place and €4,000, Saadawi Mohammed Ali from Italy came second with €3,000, and Mohammed Oghru from Morina took third and €2,000.

In the fourth category (memorization of two parts), Besmir Ilir Beka from Albania won first place and €3,000, Adonis Ali Gjemaili from Kosovo took second and €2,000, and Mohammed Ardit Bahri from Albania came third with €1,000.

In the fifth category (recitation of five consecutive parts before the judging panel), Mohammed Nazim Murto from Albania won first place and €2,000, Ammar Ahmed Khoja from Kosovo came second with €1,000, and Asid Sultan Bajziti from Kosovo took third and €1,000.

The results for the women’s competition saw 15 female winners from five countries: North Macedonia, Kosovo, Belgium, Italy, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, across five categories. In the first category (memorization of the entire Quran), Suheila Igrio from North Macedonia won first place and €8,000, Abrar Adnan Demiroski from North Macedonia came second with €6,000, and Siham Akarkon from Belgium took third and €4,000.

In the second category (memorization of ten parts), Badia Marstawi from Belgium won first place and €6,000, Samra Atif Bashani Raja from Kosovo came second with €4,000, and Marigona Ali Milova from Kosovo took third and €3,000.

In the third category (memorization of five parts), Koki Zainab from Italy won first place and €4,000, followed by Bahara Salam Abdiji from North Macedonia with €3,000, and Daria Borem Smaji from Kosovo with €2,000.

In the fourth category (memorization of two parts), Amra Argin Shala from Kosovo won first place and €3,000, Zainab Ammar from Bosnia and Herzegovina came second with €2,000, and Aya Mastrawi from Belgium took third and €1,000.

In the fifth category (recitation of five consecutive parts before the panel), Ora Lazeem Aziri from North Macedonia won first place and €2,000, Rayana Kabel Agozai from Kosovo came second with €1,000, and Hawa Omar Azimi from North Macedonia took third and €1,000.