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| Source: King Faisal International Prize website. |
Winners of the 37th annual King Faisal International Prize (KFIP) were presented to His Majesty King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in early March. The award ceremony is one of the most important events of the year for the King Faisal Foundation, the philanthropic organisation established in 1976 by the children of the late King Faisal bin Abdulaziz, in commemoration of their father.
This year's award winners were Dr Zakir Naik for Service to Islam; Dr Abdulaziz Bin Abdulrahman Kaki for Islamic Studies; Professor Jeffrey Ivan Gordon for Medicine; and Professor Michael Grätzel and Professor Omar Mwannes Yaghi, who were jointly recognized for Science.
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| Source: King Faisal Foundation. King Salman Bin Abdulaziz hands over the award to Dr (Engineer) Abdulaziz Bin Abdulrahman Kaki. |
Dr Abdulaziz Bin
Abdulrahman Kaki from Saudi Arabia, Consultant at Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah Development
Commission, was awarded the King Faisal International Prize in
Islamic Studies for his distinguished research on the cultural heritage of Al-Madinah
Al-Munwwarah. This is best demonstrated by his multi-volume Arabic text
on architectural and historic landmarks of Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah,
particularly volume seven which deals with the foundations and
characteristics of the ancient architectural fabric of the city. In this
research, the author combines cultural dimensions with field work and
supports his study with various illustrations including old and modern
images, maps and other illustrations, making it a major reference in the
field.
Dr Zakir Naik, President of the Islamic Research Foundation in India, was awarded
the King Faisal International Prize in recognition of his services to Islam, including the following:
- Presenting hundreds of public lectures and debates which explain the Islamic creed, defend its teachings and propagate its principles on the basis of the Holy Quran and authentic sunnah*
- Shared his expertise on comparative religion. His religious knowledge extends to other religions including Christianity, Hindu, Judaism, Buddhism and Sikhism. He has also established a specialised organisation for comparative religious studies and organised several training courses for scholars of this field worldwide
- Founded a television channel, Assalam (Peace), which remains the only television channel in the world specialising in comparative religion. Its programs are broadcast in English, Urdu and Bangali and viewers of the English channel are estimated to exceed 100 million.
- Established a series of schools, initially in India and subsequently in a number of Arabic and Islamic countries. These schools train non-Arab students from an early age in Arabic language and Quranic studies, in addition to regular classes of other curricula in English.
The establishment of the King Faisal Foundation, and the inception of the King Faisal International Prize as one of the Foundation's projects, drew from the humanitarian values of Islam, which King Faisal championed throughout his life. The prize seeks to realise some of his aspirations for the progress of mankind, and particularly his desire to emphasise the role of Arabs and Muslims towards that progress, recognising the outstanding works of individuals and institutions in five categories: Service to Islam, Islamic Studies, Arabic Language and Literature, Medicine, and Science. No prize was awarded in the Arabic Language and Literature category this year.
Over the past 37 years, a total of 234 scholars from 42 countries have been awarded the King Faisal International Prize, with 17 winners also awarded the Nobel Prize.
Over the past 37 years, a total of 234 scholars from 42 countries have been awarded the King Faisal International Prize, with 17 winners also awarded the Nobel Prize.