Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Dubai: People with special needs who are gifted in Quran recitation will have an opportunity to showcase their talents in a contest to be launched soon by the Dubai International Holy Quran Award (DIHQA).
Ebrahim Mohammad Bu Melha, Chairman of DIHQA's Organising Committee, directed the heads of DIHQA's units to formulate a comprehensive scheme regarding hosting the contest for people with special needs and listing it among DIHQA's activities.
"This step comes inline with our strategy to firmly establish the concept of integrating people with special needs into the society," Ahmad Al Zahid, DIHQA's head of media unit, told Gulf News yesterday.
"Until now we saw that special needs people, who are talented in Quran recitation or intonation, and would like to practice their talents require special treatment in that regard.
Capabilities
"We decided to approach them and launch a specific contest. Each contestant will be examined according to his capabilities," Al Zahid said.
A committee will approach special needs associations in the UAE to establish the vision and proposals to launch the contest, Al Zahid said.
"A special refereeing committee will visit the special needs' contenders and examine them," he said.
Maryam Mattar, a former member of the UAE Special Olympics and currently a special needs activist, was the one who initiated the proposal and recommended DIHQA to implement it, said a media statement.
"This step is a religious, moral and social commitment towards this category and we are entitled to put forth their voice before the community," said Bu Melha in the statement.
Gulf News 2007. All rights reserved.
