Otr Elkalam: All the Way from Hollywood to Riyadh An American Contestant Travels to Participate in the Largest Religious Competition

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, March 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Otr Elkalam show, one of the initiatives of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority, witnessed the participation of Hollywood film and TV screenwriter, American contestant of Palestinian origin, Yasser Omar Shaheen, in the recitation track of the international Quran and adhan competition. Shaheen entertained the viewers with his melodious voice and distinctive recitation of the Holy Quran.

"My life has involved memorizing and reciting the Quran and writing scripts in the halls of Hollywood," Shaheen says. "I supervised the production of more than 130 programs, produced 14 documentaries, and contributed to many programs on TV channels in Arab and Islamic countries."

Shaheen found himself in the academic profession. He worked as a faculty member at San Jose University in California and participated in a number of competitions that led him to Otr Elkalam, where he has become among the international voices in the show that is broadcast in Ramadan on the MBC1 and the Shahid digital platform.

Thanks to his rich imagination, his teachers believe, Shaheen competed with filmmakers in their own fields and was present in areas that many Arab Americans missed. He gained many international experiences and occupied a significant part of his life teaching Muslim children the Quran and the rules of intonation in the mosques of Dallas, Texas.

Otr Elkalam is one of the prominent Ramadan TV programs. It combines the recitation of the words of revelation (the Holy Quran) and adhan (the Islamic call to prayer) with the most beautiful voices in the world. The competition has allocated prizes totaling $3.3 million to the winners, which is the largest prize in the history of international competitions of this kind. The first-place winner in the Quran recitation track receives $800,000, while the first-place winner in the Adhan track receives $534,000.

The competition aims to shed light on the distinguished voices in reciting the Quran and adhan and to contribute to improving the performance of the contestants and viewers. The competition episodes can be watched on the show's YouTube channel via the link:

https://www.youtube.com/@OtrElkalam 

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