Several teenagers won attractive prizes at a Quranic competition organized on September 27 in Freetown.

Participants from different parts of the country took part in the competition hosted at the Iranian Cultural Center in Freetown. The competition involved memorization, recitation and reading part or the whole of the Quran..

The chief judge who is also chief Imam of the Freetown Central Mosque Sheikh Ahmad Tejan Sillah thanked the Iranian Cultural Consulate for its support to the event, which he described as very inspiring to young Muslims. "It was the Iranian Cultural Consulate that introduced Quranic competition in the country", he said. He added that by so doing, the Consulate has "enabled Sierra Leoneans to fish for themselves rather than be given fishes everyday".

The Iranian ambassador to Sierra Leone Dr. Nasrallah Maliki said, "The event is to commemorate the revelation of the Holy Quran to Prophet Muhammad".

He pointed out that since its revelation there had been no interpolation in it. He described the Quran as an ocean where children get shells and fishes.

The chancellor of the Iranian Cultural Consulate Mohamed Reza Ghezel Sofla told the gathering that the Quran protects and bless believers both "in this word and in the next world".

He described the Quran as a manual for the direction of man's activities. He said, "God created man and gave him dominion over all His creations. Everything in existence is meant to be utilized for your development"

According to him, "the Quran is a pharmacy for curing the malaise of society. It is the solution to the political, economic, social and cultural problems". He established a connectivity between faith and action. "The two are inextricably interwoven", he said.

Pertaining to the month of Ramadan, Sofla said, "It is a one-month workshop. You should try to preserve the Ramadan achievements"