LIBYA: Charity run by leader Muammar Gaddafi's daughter Aisha hosts annual Koran memorising competition for women

Record ID: 575167

  • Title: LIBYA: Charity run by leader Muammar Gaddafi's daughter Aisha hosts annual Koran memorising competition for women
  • Date: 31st August 2010
  • Summary: JURY LISTENING TO CONTESTANTS VARIOUS OF WOMEN RECITING KORAN (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) CONTEST WINNER FROM SUDAN, UM SALAMA SAID, SAYING: "Nice feeling, thank God. I just entered the contest and competed. I did not expect to be among the winners." AUDIENCE AND PARTICIPANTS AT COMPETITION
  • Embargoed: 15th September 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVACIP8GIV8C3SVXPOS0O9IVFCEE
  • Story Text: A five-day long international Koran memorising competition for women concluded in the early hours of Tuesday (August 31). Sixty women from several countries, including Sudan and Pakistan, participated in the contest that started last Thursday (August 26).
    The event was organised by a charity called Waatasimo that is run by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's daughter Aisha.
    Organisers said the contest was a significant step forward for Muslim women.
    "This contest is a very clear change in the religious movement. Women's voices were not meant to be raised even while reading the Koran. Praise be to God, now there's an improvement in the performance of women, and their reading. We have completed 12 competitions, of which six are local and another six are international," said Khiriya Alwerfalli, chairwoman of the competition's cultural committee.
    The winners were visibly happy with their achievements.
    "Praise be to God. I did not expect to be one of the winners. Thanks to God and thanks to the good people who thought well of me. This time, it is considered an encouragement to us as Libyan women and encouragement from the whole Islamic world through the establishment of such contests," said Somaya Mohamed, one of the winners.
    The event was also an occassion for conversion. Organisers announced some women from countries such as Nigeria and Brazil had expressed their willingness to convert to Islam.
    A cleric showed them how to pray, while Aisha Gaddafi congratulated them.
    Many women who came to Libya for the event were accompanied by male relatives.
    "Nice feeling, thank God. I just entered the contest and competed. I did not expect to be among the winners," said Um Salama Said from Sudan.
    Experts from several Arab countries were part of the jury that also included women.
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