Latest update February 7th, 2025 6:13 AM
Latest News
- VP Jagdeo tries to compare 75 acres of jungle lands Nigel Hughes wants to acquire with 35 acres of prime city lands sold to Ed Ahmad and others
- Greaves tells Govt ‘clean money’ used to acquire New York properties- Jagdeo
- Trump says Israel would hand Gaza to the US after fighting is over
- Speeding truck ploughs into house at Lusignan
- ‘No law preventing GECOM from employing digital fingerprinting at elections’
Suriname emerge as overall winner of Qaseeda Competition
Suriname came out as the winner in the male segment of the eleventh International Qaseeda Competition hosted by the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG) and the Anjuman Hifazatul Islam (HIFAZ) at the National Cultural Centre yesterday.
(Second from right) is Haroon Subhan of Suriname who is the winner of the male segment of the Qaseeda Competition posing with his father (extreme left) and relatives who also won trophies in the competition.
The Qaseeda competition is an event that is hosted annually on a rotation between Guyana, Trinidad and Suriname. Qaseeda is a song or poetry sang in praise, love, and honour of the Holy Prophet Muhammad.
The event was grace by members of the Cabinet and Parliament, religious representatives from the various faiths along with other dignitaries. The first place prize was given to Haroon Subhan of Suriname followed by his countryman Subhan Hassan in second place. Hamza Bacchus also of Suriname and Shoied Hussein of Trinidad tied for the third position.
The female segment of the competition was held on Saturday last at the Ocean View Hotel Convention Hall, Liliendaal East Coast Demerara with Suriname again emerging as the overall winner for that competition. Rookshana Bafati of Suriname walked away with the coveted crown followed by Shafeena Hussein and Fazeela Khan.
Male and female winners received accolades with the top five in each category receiving cash awards, trophies and certificates.
The first historical record of Qaseedas was recorded over 1400 years ago when the Holy Prophet Muhammad (OWBP) migrated from Mecca to Medina. When the Prophet arrived in Medina, the people came out in their numbers and greeted him with a song which is the first recorded Qaseeda known.
This song “tal’a al Badru Alayna” is still very popular in all Muslim communities throughout the world, and is taught in all Muslim schools.
Qaseedas are sung in different languages by Muslims in different countries, including Arabic, Swahali, Pushtu, Farsi, English and Urdu, among others. The CIOG indicated that it does not have any record of the Qaseedas sung by the first Muslims who came to Guyana from West Africa, but expressed hope that “one day contact will be made with our African brothers and sisters and revive this part of our Islamic heritage for our people of Guyana”.
It was noted that over the years there has been a decline in the Urdu language. One of the objectives of the Qaseeda competition is to revive the Urdu language and to promote the singing of Qaseedas. Another objective, the CIOG emphasised, is to promote unity among the Caribbean people so that there can be more interaction and familiarisation between the people of Guyana, Trinidad, and Suriname. There is also the hope that this can be extended to other countries in the Caribbean and South America.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
What Guyanese leaders can learn from Donald Trump
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News-There is little dispute that Donald Trump knows how to make an entrance. He does so without... more
OAS Secretary General Election and renewed OAS Consensus
Antiguan Barbudan Ambassador to the United States, Sir Ronald Sanders By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News- The upcoming election... more
Weekend Cartoon
