The latest cultural headlines in the media.

Philosophy of Ferdowsi discussed at Tehran conference

Tehran Times: The philosophy of Abolqasem Ferdowsi, the composer of the Persian epic masterpiece Shahnameh, was discussed at a conference in Tehran Saturday.

The Ferdowsi Foundation and the Iranian Institute of Philosophy jointly organized the Conference of the Philosophy of Ferdowsi, which was held at the Humanities Thinkers House.

Gholamhossein Dinani delivered a speech about the institutionalization of wisdom in Ferdosi and Gholamreza A’vani talked about the practical philosophy of the poet.

The philosophy of art in the Shahnameh was discussed by Hassan Bolhakri and sageness of Ferdoswsi was conferred by Nasrollah Purjavadi.

Saeid Hamidian, Najafqoli Habibi, Mostafa Mohaqeq-Damad and a number of other academics and experts also gave lectures during the conference.

-----------------------------------------

Iranians win first prizes at 29th International Quran Competition

Tehran Times: An Iranian Quran reciter and a memorizer won the first prizes at the 29th International Quran Competition, the organizers announced in Tehran on Friday.

Qasem Moqaddami received the first prize in the recitation category and Hossein Motamedi won the first prize in the memorization category, Persian news agencies reported on Saturday.

They were selected from among over 50 reciters and 40 memorizers competing from about 70 countries.

Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani, Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hosseini, and a number of Iranian officials attended an award presentation ceremony held at Tehran’s Milad Tower on Friday.

The second prize in the recitation category was handed to Ezzat Sayyid Rashid from Egypt and the third prize went to Mahmood Salman Ali from Bahrain.

Reciter Sabruddin Abdulrahman from Indonesia was selected as the fourth winner and the fifth was Najam ul Hassan from Bangladesh.

In the memorization category, the second prize was given to Ainul Arefin Rafiqul Islam from Bangladesh, while Abdullah Omar from Libya got the third prize.

The fourth and fifth awards were handed to Mahdi Khair Al-Balil from Sudan, and Abdul Malik Muhammad Rahim from Afghanistan.

A jury panel of 14 selected from Egypt, Malaysia, Algeria, Indonesia, Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Lebanon and Iran judged the event.

Egyptian master Quran reciter Ahmed Naina was among the jury members for this year’s competition.

--------------------------------------

Christie’s sets new world record for US historical document


Presstv: George Washington’s annotated copy of the Constitution and Bill of Rights has set a new world auction record for an American book or historical document.


The 1789 copy fetched USD 9,826,500 at Christie’s New York auction on June 22, Artdaily reported.

“The successful bidder was a representative of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association of the Union, the non-profit educational organization which owns and operates the historical site and museum of George Washington’s Virginia home,” said Senior Specialist of Books and Manuscripts Chris Coover.

“The unique book had been in the Mount Vernon library until 1876 and will soon be returned to that library,” he added.

The document is in a very good condition and bears the President’s bold signature, armorial bookplate and marginal notes.

The Estate of H. Richard Dietrich, Jr. offered Washington’s personal copy of the Acts of Congress for sale upon the President’s death.

George Washington’s autograph letter written to his nephew Bushrod Washington in 1787 held the previous world auction record for a Washington document.

The previous world record for an American document belonged to an autograph manuscript of Lincoln’s 1864 election victory speech, which sold at Christie’s New York auction for USD 3,442,500 in 2009.


--------------------------------------

Tehran's 29th intl. Qur'an competitions names winners


Presstv: Tehran’s 29th edition of the international competitions in Qur’an Recitation and Memorization has named the winners in a closing ceremony.


Two Iranian representatives, Qasem Moqaddami in recitation and Hossein Mo’tamedi in memorization, won the top prizes of this year’s competition.

The participants from Egypt and Bahrain were announced as the second and third winners of the recitation category. The prize for best memorizers of the holy Quran, after Iran, went to competitors from Bangladesh and Libya.

Some 50 reciters and 40 memorizers of the holy Qur’an from about 70 countries participated in this year’s competitions held at Tehran’s Milad Tower.

About 14 experts from Malaysia, Egypt, Algeria, Indonesia, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Lebanon and Iran judged the competitions during the six-day event.

Ahmed Naina, an eminent Egyptian reciter, was among the jury members. Five Iranian experts, Abbas Emam-Jom’e, Mohammad-Hossein Sa’idian, Mohammad Derayati and Abdorrasoul Abaie, served on juries as well.

An exhibition of Qur’anic productions was held on the sideline of the event. The participants also attended a seminar on Qur’anic research on June 21.

The 29th International Holy Qur’an Competitions kicked off on June 17 and came to end on June 22, 2012.

Id : 141083