Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has expressed his pride following the victory of seven-year-old Musa La Ode Abu Hanafi in the International Musabaqah Hifzil Quran (Quran Memorization Competition) in Sharm El Sheik in Egypt.

"We are proud of Musa La Ode Abu Hanafis achievement, a seven-year-old hafiz, in the International Musabaqah Hifzil Quran in Egypt- Jkw," the President wrote on his Twitter account on Sunday.

The Head of State also posted a picture of Musa posing with other participants of the competition.

Musa has become a hafiz, a person who memorizes verses of the Quran, at the age of seven.

He was the only Indonesian to participate in the competition held on April 10-14, and the youngest as rest all were above the age of ten years.

The boy contested in the children category by memorizing 30 chapters of Quran.

"Musa made other nations love Indonesia," the Coordinator of Educational, Social and Cultural Functions, the Indonesian Embassy in Cairo, Egypt, Cairo Lauti Nia Sutedja said in a press release received on Friday.

Some 80 people participated in the International MHQ Sharm El Sheikh in all categories from 60 countries, including Egypt, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Morocco, Chad, Algeria, Mauritania, Yemen, Bahrain, Nigeria, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines, Thailand, Australia, Ukraine and Indonesia.

Although he won just the third prize, Musa was a success as he had not even mastered Arabic.

He was able to recite the Quran properly, though with a slight slur, because of his age.

The chairman of the Jury, Sheikh Helmy Gamal, said Musa has great potential, although he did not win the top honor.

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Editor: Suryanto
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