Algiers – Minister of Religious Affairs and Endowments, Youcef Belmahdi, inaugurated the ninth qualifying session for contestants nominated to participate in international Quranic competitions today, Tuesday, at Dar El Imam in Mohammadia. The event also marked the opening of the national training camp to select Algeria’s representative for the international Holy Quran competition for the year 1447 AH / 2026 AD.
Approximately seventy male and female Quran memorizers from various regions of the country are participating in this session.
In his guiding address, Minister Belmahdi emphasized that Quranic competitions are not limited to mere competition but represent a means of protecting society’s morals, preserving the nation’s identity, and safeguarding the country’s principles from intellectual deviations. He added that those who carry the Quran are inheritors of the message from the prophets and bearers of the responsibility of conveying the Book of God and spreading its tolerant values.
“There is no prophet after our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, but rather the intention is to fulfill the message of the Quran in society,” the Minister stated.
Belmahdi stressed the necessity of combining memorization of the Quran with adherence to its ethics and methodology, emphasizing that recitation that does not reflect in behavior does not achieve the true purpose of memorizing the Holy Book. He called on the participants to be role models in their morals and behavior and to represent Algeria in the best possible way in international forums.
The Minister clarified that Algeria, a land of faith and the Quran, has never abandoned the Book of God despite the colonial attempts to erase its religious identity and demolish its Quranic institutions. He affirmed that the Quran remains a force that revives hearts, changes souls, brings good, and wards off affliction.
The Minister concluded his statement expressing his hope that the ninth session will be as successful as its predecessors and that efforts will continue in serving and spreading the Quran. He praised the development witnessed by Quranic competitions and what they have produced in terms of schools, institutes, and honorable Quranic elites. He also stressed that the ministry’s policy is based on formation, embrace, and encouragement, not exclusion, in service of the Book of God and preserving its position in society.
