The Ministry has issued invitations to 117 countries in the Muslim world and beyond to nominate their representatives to the Quran contest which aims at reviving the Quran's spiritual teachings and encouraging the youth to memorize the illuminating verses of the Holy Revelation.

The competition has been planed in 5 categories of memorization of the entire Quran and exegesis of the 17th part, memorization of the entire Quran, memorization of 20 consecutive parts, memorization of 10 consecutive parts and memorization of 5 consecutive parts of the Holy Book.

Under the regulations of the competition, only non-Arab entrants, who do not study at al-Azhar University, are entitled to take part in the last category.

The competition is open to any contender under 25 years of age.

Egyptian daily al-Akhbar cited Endowments Minister Mahmoud Hamdi Zakzouk as saying that advanced technologies will be employed in the forthcoming Quran contest in order to guarantee impartiality.

He noted that the prize-giving ceremony will be officiated by President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt.