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Sunday, 18 June 2017
 

Sheikh al-Zain: A New Meaning for Stardom

KHARTOUM - (Sudanow)Every night and all through the Moslem fasting month of Ramadan cars of sorts completely block Street 60 (Shari Alsitteen) in Manshiyya

neighborhood.
The reason: worshippers from around Greater Khartoum are keen to perform the obligatory night prayer and the voluntary taraweeh prayer behind Sheikh al-Zain Mohammad Ahmed, famed for his captivating voice  and his mastery of the Holy Koran, at the landmark Sayda Sanhouri Mosque of the neighbourhood.
Sheikh al-Zain was born in 1982 in North Kordofan and was named after his grandfather al-Zain, a knowledgeable scholar of the Koran.
Sheikh al-Zain (Jr) began the memorization of the Koran when he was 10 years old, obtaining a license in the Koran from the Koran University, Omdurman, and another from al-Azhar University in Cairo.
Due to the unusual rush towards the Sayda Sanhouri Mosque, because of Sheikh Zain, the place has become a landmark in Khartoum.
Outstanding journalist Abbashar al-Mahi al-Sayim said "in the past stardom had one dimension: singing. But by the emergence of Sheikh al-Zain the meaning of stardom grew wider to accommodate Koran stars like Sheikh al-Zain."
“As a result, mosques now seek to attract one of the Koran stars, who enjoy a nice voice and good command of the Koran,’’ said Sayim.
“During Ramadan Sheikh Zain becomes popular entertainer Number 1, both at Sayda Sanhouri Mosque or in recordings played widely in the City’s shops and cars,’’ he said.