Saudi Arabia is participating in Jordan’s Hashimiya International Holy Qur’an Competition for Women for the first time this year. Hasanat bint Ali Al-Harithy, a student of the Charity Society for the Memorization of Qur’an in Madinah, is representing the Kingdom in the memorization, recitation and interpretation of Qur’an competition. Mansour Al-Sumaih, secretary-general of the general secretariat for Qur’an competition at the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance, said Minister Sheikh Saleh Al-Asheikh received an invitation from his Jordanian counterpart to send a Saudi delegate to the competition. Accordingly, the general secretariat nominated Hasanat who won second prize in the local competition held in Madinah this year. Al-Sumaih said Saudi Arabia, for the first time, was also represented in the judging panel of the competition. Al-Asheikh has sent Aziza bint Hussein Al-Yousuf, assistant professor at Taiba University in Madinah, to Jordan as a judge. The judging panel included representatives of Jordan and the UAE in addition to Saudi Arabia. Al-Sumaih said Hasanat’s participation in the international competition would be a major boost to young Saudi women wanting to participate in Qur’an competitions. “This also highlights the significance of the great efforts made by the ministry in promoting learning and memorization of the holy book as well as in encouraging the younger generation to have closer contact with the Qur’an to prevent them from going astray and embracing deviant ideologies,” he said.