TEHRAN – Iranian Quran reciter Abbas Hashemi came in first at the 28th International Quran Competition which ended here on Monday evening.

The contest, which kicked off at Tehran’s Summit Conference Hall on Thursday, was brought to an end on Monday night where the winners were also announced, the Persian service of IRNA reported on Tuesday.

The contest was held in three sections, including recitation of the Quran, memorization of the Quran and articles on Quranic issues.

Quran reciters from 52 countries including Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Lebanon, Tunisia, Austria, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Thailand, Algeria, Sudan, Azerbaijan and Germany took part in the event.

Darwin Hasibuan from Indonesia took second place in the recitation section, while Ahmad bin Yusuf from Bangladesh received the third place award.

The awards for the memorization of the entire Quran section were handed to Morteza Mohammadnejad from Iran, Muqdad Muzzaffar Jassem from Iraq and Farhad Yunis from Iraqi Kurdistan.

The jury also selected the best Quranic issues. Mehdi Akbarnejad, Sara and Nanci Saki from Iran shared the first award, while Mahmud Karimi and Vahid Khasian from Iran shared the second award, and the third award went to Mohammad-Taqi Diari Bidgoli and Alireza Kuhi.

The head of high council for the International Quran Competition Hojjatoleslam Ali Mohammadi, Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hosseini, and Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani were among the participants at the closing ceremony.

In addition, Quran veterans, competitors and the officials of the competition paid a visit to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei Tuesday morning.

Supreme Leader regarded Holy Quran the major means for solidarity among Islamic nations.

He said that Quran international competition proves the high capability of the Holy Quran, adding that all Muslim nations can learn from this divine source.

Ignoring the Quranic concepts and the promises of Almighty God is a negligence which acts as an obstacle on the way of unity and jurisdiction of Islamic nation, he added.