Registration for the 1403 AH Quran and Family Exhibition has ended.

The registration period for the 1403 Quran and Family Exhibition has ended.

The Working Group for the Promotion of Quranic Activities held a meeting on the topic of the 20th Isfahan Quran and Family Exhibition at the General Directorate of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Isfahan Province.

The specialized supervisor of the Isfahan Quran and Family Exhibition said: Holding the Quran Exhibition means presenting an image of the Holy Quran, and the outcome of the exhibition should be to encourage more people to engage in Quranic activities, and after its completion, we should witness an increase in the Quranic activities of the people of the city.

Ali Hajizaki, Head of the Quran and Family Office of the General Directorate of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Isfahan Province, stated at the beginning of the working group meeting: We expect those who have registered to attend the 20th Isfahan Quran and Family Exhibition to cooperate with us in reducing the shortcomings and errors of the exhibition, especially the shortcomings that exist regarding the events.

Regarding the venue of the exhibition, he said: Last year, the exhibition site at Pol-e-Shahristan was prepared with great difficulty, and new events took place in cooperation with the municipality to prepare the space; a third hall was also prepared for holding gatherings, which this year has been replaced by a meeting hall with a capacity of approximately 900 people and has a beautiful performance space.

The head of the Quran and Family Office of the General Directorate of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Isfahan Province stated: Physically, this year’s exhibition has a better capacity compared to the previous year; of course, the space for this year’s exhibition is more limited, considering the space at Pol-e-Shahristan last year and the Roshandasht exhibition two years ago; but we tried to eliminate sections unrelated to the Quran exhibition, including activities related to chastity and hijab, and focus solely on Quran and Family activities.

Hajizaki added: We are also serving the Al-Mustafa University complex in this year’s exhibition, and the presence of security guards has been added to the exhibition thanks to the efforts of the army and the police. The “Expectation and Mahdism” section was empty in last year’s exhibition, and this year the Mahdism Foundation has also been invited. The registration of institutions and departments in the exhibition has been completed and many institutions have announced their readiness to attend; as a result, the reception and participation in this year’s exhibition is very good.

He added: In the exhibition two years ago, the ISPA Opinion Polling Center affiliated with the Isfahan University Jihad Branch conducted a survey and opinion poll of the audience during the exhibition, and the results of this assessment showed that most of the audience was satisfied with the physical space of the exhibition; but the long distance of the exhibition from the city center had caused people to suffer; as a result, last year we tried to hold the exhibition in Pol-e-Shahristan.

The director of the Quran and Family Office of the General Directorate of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Isfahan Province, stating that the 20th Quran and Family Exhibition is in a much better condition compared to previous editions, said: The facilities that we did not have last year have been prepared for this year’s exhibition. In the past month, assessments have been made so that, if possible, the exhibition can be held in the Imam Khomeini (RA) Musalla in Isfahan; However, despite the traffic problems in this part of the city, which affects Friday prayers during the holy month of Ramadan, and also due to the heavy costs, we decided not to do so.

Also, Seyyed Hashem Mousavi, Director of the Center for the Development of Quran and Nahj al-Balagha Activities of the Cultural, Social and Sports Organization of Isfahan Municipality, said: Last year’s exhibition had merits that we should continue this year. In the field of events and games for children and adolescents, meetings and night gatherings were one of the points that we could not create special media coverage about; but it gave variety to the exhibition atmosphere, which attracted audiences. Activists in this field should help to improve this situation.

He added: Every year, we invited old masters of the Quran and the progeny to the exhibition. We do not abandon the masters and use them, but rather we awaken to a time to benefit from these people who are no longer with us; As a result, these people are invited to the exhibition every year so that we can prepare media content from this event and publish it in the media space. I request you to introduce us to the professors you know in any field so that we can benefit from their presence at the exhibition.

The director of the Center for the Development of Quran and Nahj al-Balagha Activities of Isfahan Municipality continued: Each of the people present in today’s meeting is aware of capacities that we are not aware of; as a result, introduce these people to us so that diversity and motivation are created for the activists in this field and the audience. Regarding the events, unfortunately, no interesting and suitable proposal has been presented to us; it is our responsibility to prepare the exhibition platform and it is your responsibility to implement the program in it.

He explained: You can be the trustee in the field of events and solve problems and count on us wherever you need help. We will have a meeting with the groups that have registered in the coming days to divide the children’s and adolescents’ sections and other sections. With this approach, we can consider a good space in the exhibition for the groups and individuals who have registered and, if possible, use the stands.

Mousavi pointed out the role of universities in the exhibition and continued: Scientific, specialized and academic meetings should be held with the presence of people who are followed by the public. Certainly, if the presence of these people is announced in cyberspace, it can increase the attraction of the audience; I request you to encourage students to attend the exhibition. The program is planned to be implemented in four formats to use the stands, and each group can have suggestions in this regard.

He emphasized: The evening hours of the exhibition should be used for the presence of students. We have a capacity of 1500 to

We have prepared two thousand students and if we do not use it, the opportunity will be lost. We are ready for students to attend even in the mornings.

Economic activity should be prohibited at the exhibition
Then Masoud Abutalebi, director of the Isfahan Quran and Family Cultural Institute of the Seventh Imams (AS), stated: The visual appeal of the Quran and Family Exhibition has been very weak in recent years. We should embed beautiful Quranic symbols that have meanings before the collections enter the exhibition halls; this can also be done in the halls themselves. Exhibitors and exhibition companies should not be content with a simple banner, which may be very old, to introduce themselves to the audience. We should remind the Quranic collections that have registered of this point so that last year’s mistakes can be corrected.

He continued: Noise pollution was a very important problem at last year’s exhibition and the audience complained about this.

The director of the Samen-al-Aimmah (AS) Institute in Isfahan stated: It is very necessary to help Quranic institutions. These institutions need a significant budget for an active and effective presence in the exhibition, which is at least 100 million Tomans, and we must support them in this very important cultural activity so that they have sufficient motivation to participate in this exhibition; also, considering a shuttle service can help Quranic institutions to participate in the Quran exhibition.

He explained: Non-Quranic activities, including sales and economic goals, should be prohibited in the Quran exhibition; also, field advertising for the holy month of Ramadan and the Quran and the Progeny exhibition in the city is very weak, so that many people in Isfahan who are really active in Quranic fields are not even aware of the exhibition. Selling Shabbo flowers or donating them for free on the eve of Nowruz can also be an interesting action for the audience.

Abutalebi stated: If the exhibition is held in the morning, the possibility of schools attending will also increase, which will be desirable for attracting students and teenagers. In addition, it is necessary to make arrangements with the electricity department for the problem of power outages during the exhibition so that we do not encounter any problems during the exhibition.

Honoring the audience of the Holy Quran
At the end of the exhibition, Farkhunda Karimzadeh, the specialized supervisor of the Isfahan Quran and Family Exhibition, stated: For the past two years, we have spent money and asked people in the range of poorly veiled and well-veiled to visit the exhibition, and they considered themselves bound to visit all the booths in return for the payment, and finally a complete report was prepared on all the booths of the exhibition. People expect and imagine that all the officials of the Quran exhibition, even the law enforcement officers, must behave in accordance with the Quran; because they think that everything in the Quran exhibition has the tenderness of Gabriel; but unfortunately, we do not see this point being observed in the exhibition, which is very damaging.

He continued: We should pay attention to the fact that holding a Quran exhibition means presenting an image of the Holy Quran, and the outcome of the exhibition should be to encourage more people to engage in Quranic activities, and after its completion, we should witness an increase in the Quranic activities of the city’s people; while last year I asked some of the exhibition’s audience, “Would they like to visit this exhibition again?” and their answer was negative.

The specialized supervisor of the Isfahan Quran and Family Exhibition explained: I am waiting for something that will actually change this audience’s response. We must greatly strengthen the content and the type of behavior with visitors; what we observed in this regard last year was not at all desirable; even seating space was not considered for those who were tired or mothers who needed space to breastfeed their babies.

He clarified: If the audience does not come to visit the Quran exhibition, what are we going to do? I ask the organizers of programs and wars not to joke with Quranic verses and to have appropriate language when dealing with the audience. Respect for the audience of the Holy Quran, most of whom are women, should be given great attention and emphasis. At the very least, we, who are holding the Quran exhibition, should use the teachings of the Quran on treating our fellow human beings properly and treat our audience with respect.