TEHRAN -- The winners of the 23rd International Holy Quran Competitions were announced here on Tuesday.

The event was held at Tehran’s Summit Conference Hall from Sept. 26 to Oct. 3.

In the Quranic interpretation section, Mohammadreza Khaleqi from Iran, Muhammad Abd ur-Rab un-Nabi Ali al-Balakusi (Egypt), Abd ur-Rahim al-Amrawi (Morocco), Saad Abrash (Syria), and Hatam Abdullah al-Qalib (Libya) won the first to fifth places respectively.

Mo’taz Aqaii (Iran), Juma Ali Muhammad (Libya), Muhammad Ismail (Bangladesh), Ahmad Fathi Juma Ahmad (Egypt), Abdullah Ali Muhammad al-Arsh (Yemen) gained the first five places in the Quran memorization section.

The first five prizes in the Quran recitation section also went to Mohammad-Javad Kashefi (Iran), Abd ur-Rahman (Indonesia), Hossein Heidarzadeh (Sweden), Hani Abd ul-Aziz al-Hussaini (Egypt), Al-Sayyed Hassanein al-Halw (Iraq).

Some 70 people from 38 countries contended at the Quran memorization, recitation, and interpretation contests of this year competition.

The competitions were judged by seven jury members from Iran and seven other from Egypt, Lebanon, Zagreb, Indonesia, and Tunisia.

The event mainly aimed to promote Quranic culture, cement Muslims’ cultural ties, and familiarize Islamic states with Iran’s capacities.