Sheikh Mishary bin Rashid Al-Afasy (Arabic: الشيخ مشاري بن راشد العفاسي‎), born in Kuwait in 1976, is a Kuwaiti national and a world-renowned qari. He is the Imam of Masjid Al-Kabir (Grand Mosque (Kuwait)) in Kuwait City and leads the taraweeh prayers in Ramadan every year. He studies in the College of the Holy Quran and Islamic Studies at the Islamic University of Madinah and has specialized in the ten readings and translations of the Quran. Also, he has been certified by a number of great scholars of Quran. He makes frequent appearances on television and his heartfelt recitations of the Quran are enjoyed by Muslims all over the world. Many of his recitations can be also found on YouTube or MukminTV. He is married and has two daughters and one son, he used to go by the nickname Abu Norah but after his newly born son he is now nicknamed Abu Rashied. On March 24, Sheikh Mishary traveled to the United States of America for a visit to three mosques. The first was the ICOI (Islamic Center of Irvine) in California, then to the ICD (Islamic Center of Detroit) in Michigan, and the third visit, which was intended to New Jersey or New York, was cancelled due to illness that formed after his arrival. The audio tapes of his recitations during his visit to America can be found on his website, and also on YouTube. On October 25th 2008, Sheikh Mishary was awarded the first Arab Creativity Oscar by the Arab Creativity Union in Egypt. / KUNA. The event was sponsored by the General Secretary of the League of Arab States Mr. Amr Mousa as a recognition of Sheikh Mishary Al-Afasy role in promoting Islamic principals and teachings utilizing the modern technology to deliver the peaceful message of Islam. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.