RIYADH, 2 February 2003 — The Prince Sultan Charitable Foundation of Riyadh was awarded the 2003 King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam yesterday. The announcement was made on behalf of Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, by Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Asir governor and director general of the King Faisal Foundation, at a function at the foundation’s headquarters.
Prince Khaled said the Foundation had been selected for its distinguished service to Islam and Muslims and to humanity at large, both inside the Kingdom and in Africa, Europe and the United States.
Paying tribute to the foundation, Prince Khaled called on other Islamic organizations around the world to emulate its example in “rendering genuine service to the cause of Islam and humanity at a time when Islam and Muslims are facing vicious attacks on our faith.” It was therefore imperative, he said, to project the true picture of Islam through words and deeds.
Later Dr. Al-Othaimeen, speaking to Arab News, highlighted the Foundation’s role in setting up centers for the rehabilitation of the deaf in Africa. It also built three townships for the poor in Asir, Hail and Tabuk areas, and facilities in Qassim. The foundation was involved in establishing Islamic centers in Italy and the United States, the secretary-general said.
The King Faisal Foundation last November named Dr. Ezzuddin Omar Mousa of Sudan and Dr. Ibrahim Abubakar Harakat of Morocco co-winners of the King Faisal International Prize for Islamic Studies. Other prize winners were Professor Axel Ullrich of Germany’s Max-Planck Institute for Biochemistry and Professor Umberto Veronisi of the European Institute of Oncology in Milan, Italy who shared the Medicine Prize for their work on breast cancer.
In the science category (chemistry), Professor Marion Frederick Hawthorne of the University of California shared the prize with Professor Koji Nakanishi of Columbia University. The award for Arabic literature was withheld.
The cumulative value of the awards is SR3.75 million ($1 million), with each winner receiving $200,000 in cash a 20 gram, 22-carat gold medallion, and a certificate summarizing the recipient’s work. The Sultan Foundation is a non-profitable charitable organization, which was set up by Prince Sultan on Feb. 20, 1995 and officially founded by Royal Decree A/77. It offers humanitarian, social and cultural services both within and outside the Kingdom.
