The competition was organized by the Quran and Sunnah International Association affiliated to the Muslim World League in cooperation with the Training and Development Charity Society, ioqas.org.sa website reported.

According to Sheikh Khalid Abdulkafi, deputy secretary general of the association, the categories of the competition included memorization of the entire Quran and memorization of 15, 10 and 5 Juzes (parts) of Quran.

Some 50 girls and boys from different parts of the African country participated in the national Quran competition, held at the Faculty of Medicine in Bujumbura.

The Cultural-Islamic Center of the city hosted the awarding ceremony on Wednesday. It was attended by Burundi officials, directors of Islamic centers and imams of mosques.

The speakers at the ceremony talked about the virtues of Quran memorization and the importance of acting upon Quranic teachings.

The Republic of Burundi is a landlocked country amid the African Great Lakes region where East and Central Africa converge.

Islam is a minority religion in Burundi where approximately 90 percent of the national population is followers of Christianity. Some five percent of the population identifies as Muslim, according to a 2010 estimate.