Ashraf AboArafe
Under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and on his behalf – may God protect him – His Royal Highness Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Governor of the Riyadh Region, attended yesterday evening the ceremony of handing over the King Faisal International Award (KFIA) to the winners of its forty-sixth session in the year 2024. In the Prince Sultan Grand Hall at the Al Faisaliah Hotel in Riyadh.
Upon his arrival to the ceremony, he was received by His Royal Highness Prince Turki bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, His Highness Prince Bandar bin Saud bin Khalid, Secretary-General of the King Faisal Charitable Foundation, and the Secretary-General of the King Faisal International Award, Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Sabeel.
The ceremony began with the recitation of verses from the Holy Qur’an, then His Royal Highness Prince Turki bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz delivered a speech in which he appreciated the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud – may God protect him – for the award, expressing his thanks and appreciation to His Highness the Governor of the Riyadh Region for his attendance at this ceremony. In the name of His Royal Highness Prince Khalid bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz, Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Governor of the Makkah Region and Chairman of the King Faisal Award Authority, he welcomed everyone to the King Faisal Award ceremony in its forty-sixth session.
He stressed that this award, which bears the name of King Faisal, comes to honor science and scientists from various countries of the world and those who contributed to providing scientific research and inventions that contributed to the progress of humanity and the service of humanity without regard to any geographical, ethnic, religious or sectarian considerations, to the point that it became appreciated by universities and scientific centers.
Then, the Secretary-General of the King Faisal International Award, Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Sabil, presented the winners of the award branches, where the Service to Islam Award was awarded, jointly to the Japanese Muslim Association, and to Professor Muhammad Al-Sammak – Lebanese nationality, and the Islamic Studies Award was awarded to Dr. Wael Hallaq – American nationality, while the Arabic Language and Literature Award was withheld.
As for the Medicine Prize, it was awarded to Dr. Jerry Roy Mindel – an American national, while the Science Prize was awarded to Dr. Howard Yuan-Hao Chang – an American national.
His Royal Highness Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz handed over the prizes to the winners, congratulating them on this achievement.
