Cleric wins Quran reading tilt

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines - A cleric in Datu Odin Sinsuat town emerged as champion in a provincial Ramadhan Quran reading contest Saturday night.

Hadji Arih Abdul, a resident of Datu Odin Sinsuat, defeated 30 contestants from different towns in the province.

The Quran reading contest was jointly organized by Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu and Vice Gov. Lester Sinsuat.

Maguindanao’s appointed deputy governor, Ramil Dilangalen, who represented Mangudadatu in the opening program of the contest, on Tuesday said the provincial government embarked on the event in support of the activities of the local religious communities in connection with the observance by Muslims of the Ramadhan atonement season.

Muslims fast from dawn to dusk during the Ramadhan, which last for one lunar, about 28-29 days, both as a religious obligation and as a means to inculcate among them the importance of self-restrain in achieving spiritual perfection.

The Ramadhan, which started on June 29, will last until the third week of July, depending on the sighting by scholars of the new moon, which will signal the start of the month of Shawwal in the lunar based Islamic Hijrah calendar.

Dilangalen said the involvement of Mangudadatu and Sinsuat in facilitating the Quran reading contest, in the hometown of the vice governor, was enough to dispel rumors being spread by adversarial political camps that the two officials, who are related to each other by blood, have become estranged.

“There is no political animosity between the governor and the vice governor, who is his nephew. They remain united from day one of their candidacy as running mates in 2013 until today,” Dilangalen told reporters on Tuesday.

Abdul, as a champion Quran reader, received P20,000 worth of cash prizes and gifts from Mangudadatu and Sinsuat. 

Mangudadatu will also hire Abdul as a provincial consultant on religious affairs with a fixed monthly salary.