China Islamic Association - Koran Recital Competition

(Beijing, China) It's not clear what is being judged in a recital competition but, somehow, winners are chosen and apparently they become experts.

From Xinhua:

A five-day national Koran recital competition concluded in Beijing on Wednesday, with 13 candidates winning awards.

The competition, which was sponsored by the China Islamic Association, (CIA) was attended by 56 candidates of six ethnic groups from 24 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.

At the closing ceremony, CIA President Chen Wenyuan encouraged reciters to study "the profound essence of the Koran so as to carry forward Islamic traditions and contribute their bit to religious and social harmony."

The CIA has so far sent about 40 experts in reciting the Koran to countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Malaysia to attend international Koran recital competitions.

Maybe it's a memorization contest.

The China Islamic Association was launched six years ago by the government to provide oversight of Muslim imams and to vet their sermons. Sixteen Islamic religious leaders are charged with making sure that Islam is presented in "a correct and authoritative interpretation." Communist leaders are concerned that imams are using the sermons to spread sedition.

The primary region of dominant Muslim influence is the resource-rich Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region in western China. Uighur citizens are distinctly Muslim Turkic people with their own culture, language and traditions. Within Uighur society are prominent "ethnic separatist elements" and a menacing criminal underworld.

The communist regime in Beijing has no interest in allowing thoughts of self-determination to prevail in Xinjiang. The region has abundant oil, gas and minerals needed for China's growth and stability and the resurgence of Islamic extremism is a significant threat. For more than a decade, bombings and other terrorist incidents have occurred even though the separatists are small in number.

With all the preceding in mind, one must imagine that the recital competition uses "a correct and authoritative interpretation" of the Koran that is acceptable to the ChiComs. One must also wonder what the Islamic scholars in Mecca think of the communist Chinese slant on the Koran.