JEDDAH, 26 January 2007 — The Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Islamic Studies Program at Harvard University was inaugurated recently. The program, established with a $20-million gift from Prince Alwaleed in 2005, is aimed at building on Harvard’s commitment to religious studies. It will also augment Harvard’s existing strength by increasing the number of faculty members focused on Islamic studies, providing additional support to graduate students and digitizing rare Islamic texts. “I am pleased to support Islamic studies at Harvard and I hope this program will enable generations of students and scholars to gain a thorough understanding of Islam and its role both in the past and in today’s world,” Prince Alwaleed said in a statement. “Bridging the understanding between East and West is important for peace and tolerance.”
TB Outbreak in Saudi Prison
JIZAN, 26 January 2007 — Two inmates infected with tuberculosis died in a prison in the southern city of Jizan. According to Al-Watan daily yesterday, the first inmate, who was serving time stemming from drug-smuggling charges, was moved to King Fahd Hospital in Jizan on March 13 after testing positive for the disease. He died on Wednesday. A second inmate, serving time for gun-smuggling, was also diagnosed with the disease in April. He did not respond to treatment and died on Tuesday. Nine other inmates have tested positive. It is not clear on how the disease spread inside the maximum-security prison.
