UNU Jogja's JQH IAC Wins First Place in the Men's Category and Overall Champion at the 11th PBNU Barzanji Festival

Yogyakarta, Indonesia – The Jam'iyyatul Qurra' wal Huffazh Islamic Art Community (JQH IAC) of Universitas Nahdlatul Ulama Yogyakarta (UNU Jogja) won First Place in the Men's Category and was named the Overall Champion at the 11th PBNU Barzanji Festival Trophy, organized by the Nahdlatul Ulama Youth Association (GMNU) of Bantul Regency at the Manunggal Grand Mosque, Bantul, on Saturday, July 25.

The PBNU Barzanji Festival is an Islamic arts competition that showcases participants' skills in hadrah performance and Barzanji recitation. The competition evaluates vocal performance, rawi (Barzanji) recitation, musical arrangement, stage presentation, and adherence to Islamic artistic values. This year's festival featured men's and women's categories.

JQH IAC Chairman Akhyar Sabqi said the achievement was the result of more than a month of intensive preparation. Although the competition schedule was postponed, the team used the additional time to refine its musical arrangements, improve technical performance, and strengthen teamwork.

"We are grateful to Allah SWT for this achievement. We began our preparations in early June. Throughout the process, the team remained committed to practicing despite their academic responsibilities. We continuously refined our arrangements, evaluated every rehearsal, and improved every technical aspect to deliver our best performance," said Akhyar.

He added that the victory was made possible by the dedication, discipline, and strong teamwork demonstrated by every team member. He also expressed hope that the achievement would inspire other students to develop their talents and confidently participate in competitions in various fields.

The Director of Student Affairs and Employability at UNU Jogja, Rinanti Nur Hapsari, M.Psi., also praised the team's accomplishment. She noted that the achievement reflects the students' commitment to excelling beyond academics while preserving Islamic arts and the traditions of Nahdlatul Ulama.

"This achievement demonstrates that our students are not only growing academically but are also actively preserving Islamic arts and Nahdlatul Ulama's cultural traditions. We hope this success will inspire more students to continue creating, competing, and achieving excellence at both regional and national levels," she said.

The success of JQH IAC adds to the growing list of student achievements at UNU Jogja, a university in Yogyakarta. It also reflects the university's commitment to supporting student talent development through extracurricular organizations, enabling students to excel while contributing to the preservation of Islamic arts and the traditions of Ahlussunnah wal Jamaah. [Latifah]