Jamal recently called himself the “number one” (Qari) and spoke rudely about such iconic Qaris as Abdul Basit Abdul Samad and Sehikh Mustafa Ismail leading to a backlash and revocation of his membership in Egypt’s Association of Quran Reciters and Memorizers.
Later, in a telephone conversation with the association’s spokesman, Mohamed al-Saati, Jamal said he did not mean to be disrespectful and made the comments as a joke.
He added that he has learned a lot from legendary Qaris like Abdul Basit, Ismail, and Minshawi and always listens to their recorded recitations.
Jamal apologized for hurting the feelings of the admirers of the late Qaris.
Egypt is a country in North Africa with a population of around 96 million.
Muslims account for around 90 percent of the country’s total population.
Quranic activities are very common in the Muslim-majority Arab country and many of the Muslim world’s top Qaris in the past and present have been Egyptian.