Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman presents the King Faisal International Prize for Islamic Studies to Dr. Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rahman Kaki in Riyadh on Sunday.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman presented awards to the winners of the King Faisal International Prize (KFIP) 2015, on Sunday.

Ministers, members of the royal family, senior government officials, academics and elite scholars were present.

Each prize consists of a handwritten Arabic certificate indicating the laureate’s achievements, a commemorative 24-carat 200-gram gold medal and SR750,000.

In his opening speech, Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, who is the chairman of the KFIP board, said the establishment of the King Faisal Foundation, and the inception of the King Faisal International Prize grew out of the humanitarian and noble values of Islam, which King Faisal held in utmost regard throughout his life.

“The prize seeks to realize some of his aspirations for the progress of mankind, and particularly to realize his desire to increase the role of Arabs and Muslims toward that collective progress,” Prince Khaled said.

Two internationally acclaimed scholars of chemistry, Prof. Omar Mwannes Yaghi from the US, and Professor Michael Gratzel from Switzerland, were cowinners of the award for the science category (chemistry).

Dr. Zakir A. Naik, president of the Islamic Research Foundation of India, received the 2015 King Faisal International Prize (KFIP) for Service to Islam. Dr. Naik has contributed to the conversion of about 34,000 Americans to Islam. In addition to his program ‘Peace TV’, many of Naik’s speeches and debates have also focused on correcting misconceptions about Islam in the minds of Muslim youths.

The award for Islamic studies was taken by Dr. Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rahman Kaki, a consultant at Madinah Development Authority, who has produced many works that have focused on researching, illustrating and documenting the cultural heritage of Madinah.

Professor Jeffrey Ivan Gordon from the United States was declared the winner of the prize for medicine. Approximately 239 laureates from 42 nationalities have received KFIP awards so far, and 17 of them have subsequently gone on to win nobel prizes.

KFIP winners are evaluated only based on merit, and their works are meticulously examined by specialized selection committees, whose strict selection procedure meet international standards.

Launched by the King Faisal Foundation (KFF) in 1979, the King Faisal International Prize (KFIP) recognizes the outstanding works of individuals and institutions in five major categories: Service to Islam, Islamic Studies, Arabic Language and Literature, Medicine, and Science.

It aims to benefit Muslims in their present and future, to inspire them to participate in all aspects of civilization as well as to enrich human knowledge and develop mankind.

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