Prince Salman honours King Faisal prize winners

On behalf of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Defence, patronized here last night the 34th King Faisal International Prize (KFIP) award ceremony. On arrival at Prince Sultan Hall of the Faisaliah Center, Prince Salman was greeted by Prince Khalid Al-Faisal bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Makkah Region and Director General of King Faisal Foundation and Chairman of King Faisal International Prize Commission; and a number of officials. The ceremony was attended by Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Riyadh Region, a number of princes and high-ranking officials. In an address at the ceremony, Prince Khalid Al-Faisal said the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is passing through a golden era under the wise leadership of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz. "This is an era of the wise leadership, fine governance and loyal people. It is also an era of reforms, development and achievements," Prince Khalid Al-Faisal noted. He hailed the Kingdom's prevailing peace and security. Prince Khalid Al-Faisal also praised large-scale contributions of scholars and scientists for the benefit of humanity. n an address, Prof. Abdullah S. Al-Othaimeen welcomed and introduced this year's winners of King Faisal International Prizes in various categories. He congratulated them for their well-deserved recognition and said "May Allah almighty assists and supports all of those working toward the welfare of humanity. The King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam has been awarded to Sheikh Sulaiman bin Abdulaziz Al-Rajhi (Saudi Arabia), a leading and distinguished philanthropist. His accomplishments include endowing more than 50 per cent of his wealth for humanitarian purposes; establishing an enormous Islamic banking institution; contributing generously to fight poverty; supporting and rewarding the Holy Quran Memorization groups; establishing Al-Rajhi Colleges as a nucleus for a University soon to be announced; building large Mosques; investing in major projects; contributing to the development of Muslim communities and encouraging Muslim youth to help them involve more in the private (sector) businesses. The King Faisal International Prize for Islamic studies was awarded to Prof. Adnan bin Mohammad Al-Wazzan, the Former Rector of Makkah-based Umm Al-Qura University. The title of his Arabic text is "An encyclopedia of human rights in Islam and its attributes in Saudi Arabia. This insightful and thoroughly researched , 8-volumed text is based on extensive resources from Islamic jurisprudence and contemporary human rights studies. The King Faisal International Prize for Arabic Language and Literature has been shared by Prof. Ali Hilmi Ahmed Mousa (Egypt), Professor Emeritus in the Department of Physics, College of Science, Ain Shams University, and Dr. Nabil Ali Mohammad, Corporate Consultant, Advanced Arabic Systems, Cairo. The topic of this category is "Computer Processing of the Arabic Language: Individual and Institutional Endeavors). Professor Mousa has been awarded the Prize in recognition of his distinguished contributions toward computer applications in Arabic language research. Dr. Nabil Mohammad has been awarded the Prize in recognition of his leadership in research and applications of computerized linguistic studies. The joint recipients of the Medicine in the topic of "Minimally Invasive Fetal Medicine" are Prof. Richard Berkowitz (USA), Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Columbia Medical Center in New York, and Prof. James Bruce Bussel (USA), Professor of Pediatrics and Director of Research and Teaching Program at Weill Medical College at Cornell University, New York. They have worked together for more than two decades to study the natural history, optimal diagnostic criteria and management of pregnant women having infants affected with Alloimmune thrombocytopenia. This disease causes intracranial hemorrhage either in-utero or during neonatal period, causing death or substantial disability in 10% of untreated cases. The King Faisal International Prize for Science in the topic of Biology has been awarded to Prof. Alexander Varshavsky (USA), Professor of Cell Biology at California Institute of Technology in recognition of his ground-breaking discoveries into how the Living Cell works. Prof.Varshavsky's work has unraveled the cellular mechanisms that determine how cellular proteins are being selected for destruction. He has also discovered how proteins are marked for rapid degradation. These advances have created a new realm of biology and have been essential for progress in research on human cancer, Neuro-degeneration, immune responses and other fundamental biological processes. This may lead to clinically useful therapies. In their acceptance speeches, the winners thanked King Faisal Foundation for honoring scientists, intellectuals and all other individuals who serve the beneficial causes of humanity. In his speech, Sheikh Sulaiman Al-Rajhi, which was read by his son Dr. Abdulrahman bin Sulaiman Al-Rajhi, said "We must strive relentlessly to serve Islam and Muslims. In this land (the Kingdom), we enjoy the bounty of peace and faith which enabled businessmen to institute vast projects that contributed substantially to fulfilling the needs of the poor and helped in moving them in achieving self-sufficiency and productivity and providing them with education and appropriate health care. Sheikh Sulaiman Al-Rajhi also requested to donate the monetary value of this prize to the "Quranic Memorization Societies" in the Kingdom.