Service to Islam, Arabic language, medicine: 8 honoured with King Faisal Prize 2023
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Riyadh: The winners of the King Faisal Prize 2023 were honoured in a glittering award ceremony held in Riyadh on Monday.
The ceremony was held under the patronage of King Salman, and on his behalf, Prince Faisal bin Bandar, governor of Riyadh Region, handed over the awards to winners in recognition of their outstanding performance in the service to Islam, Islamic studies, Arabic language and literature, medicine, and science.
The King Faisal Prize 2023 was awarded to several distinguished individuals in different categories. Shaikh Nasser bin Abdullah of the UAE and Professor Choi Young Kil-Hamed from South Korea jointly received the prize for service to Islam.
Professor Robert Hillenbrand from the UK was awarded the prize for Islamic studies, while Professor Abdelfattah Kilito of Morocco won the prize for Arabic language and literature.
The prize for medicine was jointly awarded to Professor Dan Hung Barouch from the US and Professor Sarah Catherine Gilbert from the UK, and the prize for science was jointly awarded to Professor Jackie Yi-Ru Ying and Professor Chad Alexander Mirkin, both from the US.
The King Faisal Prize is widely considered the most prestigious award in the Muslim world. It was established in memory of the late King Faisal and has been presented to distinguished individuals since 1977.
The prize was first granted in 1979 in three categories: Service to Islam, Islamic studies, and Arabic language and literature. In 1981, two new categories were introduced: Medicine and Science. The first medicine prize was awarded in 1982, while the science prize was first presented two years later.
This year's award ceremony was notable for the fact that two women scientists were honoured with prestigious awards for their contributions to medicine and science.
Each prize laureate is given $200,000 (SR750,000); a 24-carat gold medal weighing 200 grams, a certificate inscribed with the laureate’s name and a summary of their work that qualified them for the prize, and the certificate signed by the chairman of the prize board, Prince Khalid Al-Faisal.
