Makkah : The Kingdom of Bahrain won second and third places at the 46th King Abdulaziz International Quran Competition, held in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, with the participation of 334 contestants representing 133 countries.
Amatelrahman Badiea Kolaib won second place in the female category, while Bader Saed Hamed placed third in the male category. Both competed in the competition’s second branch, which covers memorisation of the entire Holy Quran, proper recitation and Tajweed, and interpretation of Quranic vocabulary.
Judge Shaikh Omar bin Duaij Al Khalifa, Assistant Undersecretary for Islamic Affairs at the Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments, noted that the two achievements reflect the high standard of Bahrain’s participants in international Quran competitions.
Judge Shaikh Omar bin Duaij highlighted the efforts of the Quran Affairs Directorate in preparing and qualifying participants and supporting their participation in local and international competitions, contributing to enhancing Bahrain’s presence at Quran competitions.
Judge Shaikh Omar bin Duaij added that supporting and encouraging Quran memorisers contributes to developing their capabilities and encouraging them to continue to excel. He affirmed continued efforts to prepare and support them for Quran competitions, enhancing their ability to compete and achieve further leading positions for Bahrain.
The achievement adds to Kolaib’s record in local and international Quran competitions. She previously won second place at the Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak International Holy Quran Competition in 2023 and first place in the full Quran memorisation category at the 25th Bahrain Grand Quran Award.
She also won first place in the 20-part memorisation category at the sixth edition of the Bin Faqeeh Quran Award (Iqra) and third place at the second edition of the His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa Quran Award, in addition to participating in several local and international Quran competitions.
Bader Hamed has also achieved several leading positions in local Quran competitions, including first place in the 20-part memorisation category at the 30th Bahrain Grand Quran Award and first place in the 10-part memorisation category at the His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa Quran Award in 2025. He has also participated in several local competitions.
