Ministry of Culture names 15 finalists for Akhlaq Arabic Calligraphy Award

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The Ministry of Culture announced Saturday the names of 15 calligraphers shortlisted for the finals of the second Akhlaq Award ...

Doha, Qatar: The Ministry of Culture announced Saturday the names of 15 calligraphers shortlisted for the finals of the second Akhlaq Award - International Arabic Calligraphy Art Competition for 2026, as part of its efforts to promote Arabic calligraphy, encourage creative talent and reinforce the art's stature as an enduring component of Arab and Islamic cultural identity.

The finalists are Muhannad Daifallah Abdulqaisi, Bilal Mukhtar Salah Atiya, Kirzan Abu Bakr Karim, Muhammad Abu Bakr Siddiq, Nour Faisal, Ali Irani, Hussam Al Matar, Ahmad Ali Namazi, Omar Nour Fouad Alaywa, Ahmad Abdulhadi bin Shamsoul, Ahmad Majid Jabbar, Abdulrahman Hassan Ibrahim Al Saidi, Safouh Al Mustafa, Abdulrahman Al Muhammadi Al Maliki and Abdulwahab Saif.

The international contest is organized by the ministry in recognition of the significance of Arabic calligraphy as one of the foremost creative arts that have helped chart Arab and Islamic civilization, embodying the interlocking of the beauty of letters and humanitarian and moral indications.

The notion behind the award is grounded in highlighting the relationship between the aesthetics of Arabic calligraphy and the loftiness of virtuous values by incorporating value-laden texts into artistic works that reflect the traditional foundations and authentic rules of Arabic calligraphy.

The competition has received submissions from calligraphers and creatives at home and abroad under specific artistic criteria, including limiting each contestant to one entry, selecting the text from an approved list of 20 sentences for the first stage, and essentially hewing to the time-honored rules of Arabic calligraphy.

The contest has designated Jali Thuluth for the first stage and Regular Thuluth for the second, requiring contestants to execute their works using traditional inks on Ahar paper and submit digital copies at a resolution of at least 600 dots per inch (dpi).

Contestants have been prohibited from adding signatures or any identifying marks that…

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