Minarets, domed ceilings, large cool, tiled halls of marble and stone and … peace: those were my first impressions as I sat and listened to Qari Syed Sadaqat Ali perform on Saturday night.I am not a Muslim, and I cannot speak a word of Arabic but even to my untrained ear it was impossible to not feel the utter beauty and depth of the verses that were being recited.The winners of the 2011 National Qira'a Competition pose with their trophiesThe event was the second National Qira’a Competition and Cultural Evening at the International Conference Center.The main event however was the 2011 Qira’a Competition which was contested in three categories– Under 10 Years, Juniors and Seniors.? The Under-10 category was dominated by Abdul Muizz, who was followed by Esa Haniff and Abdul Munin.They took home a trophy and cash prizes of $50,000, $30,000 and $20,Wholesale NBA Jerseys,000 respectively.In the Juniors Category,Wholesale Jerseys From China, first place went to Yahyah Haniff, second to Rashand Majeed and third to Javed Shaheed. Again trophies were awarded along with cash prizes of $80,000,Cheap MLB Jerseys, $60,000 and $40,000 respectively.In the third and final category, the Seniors,Cheap NFL Jerseys co, the winner was Munaf Aziz, followed by `Sheik Haniff and Ayub Baidoo. The cash prizes for this category were $100,000, $75,000 and $50,000 respectively.Competitors in each category were given a section of the Qur’an from which they were required to memorise and perform a piece. The judges for the competition were the renowned Qari himself and Dr. Mustafa Kanaker, who delivered the evening’s feature address.Dr. Kanaker is Syrian by birth but lives in Guyana teaching and sharing his faith. His Doctorate is in Da’wa and Islamic Management.During his address, he chose to focus on the Holy Book of Islam,China Jerseys, the Qur’an. He called the tome the “most complete book” in the world. He drew the comparison that in most books authored by humans the author will in his introduction express that he is human and therefore prone to err, but not so with the Qur’an.Dr. Kanaker said that the Quran was not authored by humans but by Allah himself and so it was complete and without fault. In it, he argued,NFL Jerseys Outlet, there were no errors and no mistakes.He went on to say that Quranic recitation is truly unique, not just by melody but by tone as well. And after centuries of reciting these verses it still has the impact to change people and teach them about a different path.Dr. Kanaker said that listening to the Quran leads to a level of interest that will see a person wanting to read the Quran and reading the Quran leads to people practicing the Quran and this in turn eventually leads to the state of being people of the Quran.Master of Ceremonies for the evening, Naim Nasir, opined that the Qur’an is the only book in the world that can be memorized. He challenged that for any person to take any English book of 10 to 15 pages and memorise it word for word, is a feat nearly impossible for those who are not specially gifted.Yet the Quran, he noted, is specially given to memorization even though it is six to eight hundred pages long. And there are millions of ordinary people the world over who have done exactly this – memorized the entire Quran and in a language that is not their mother tongue either.The event which was jointly sponsored by Bakewell and Raf’s Variety Store saw the turnout of a capacity crowd which not only filled the main hall but had to be accommodated in the other halls as well.The evening was then closed by Qari Syed Sadaqat Ali engaging the entire audience in Quaseedas which are an ancient form of lyric poetry of Arabian origin and the closing dua or prayer.