Crown Prince Salman distributes Prince Naif international prizes

RIYADH: Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, yesterday distributed Prince Naif International Prize for Prophet's Sunnah and Contemporary Islamic Studies to its winners.
The winners were: Abdul Rahman bin Mualla Alluwaihek, a Saudi, (for his research on intellectual security in the light of Sunnah). Muwaffek Salim Al-Jawadi and Abdussattar Jassim Al-Hayati, both Iraqis, shared the prize for the second subject (cultural values in Sunnah). Raghib Al-Sarjani, an Egyptian, won the prize for Islamic studies (protection of Islamic environment).
On arrival at King Faisal Conference Hall, Prince Salman was greeted by Deputy Riyadh Gov. Prince Muhammad bin Saad, and Prince Saud bin Naif, head of the crown prince’s court and supervisor of the prize.
Addressing the ceremony, Prince Saud bin Naif commended Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Crown Prince Salman for their support to the prize.
He said the late Prince Naif had exerted great efforts in the service of Islam and Muslims. He said the prize instituted by Prince Naif would contribute to promoting Islamic research and studies on Hadith.
In a statement on the occasion, Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal said the prize was instrumental in creating competition among scholars and researchers all over the world and conduct studies on contemporary issues.
“The prize is making steady progress to achieve its objectives,” he added.
Interior Minister Prince Muhammad bin Naif said the prize had played a big role in encouraging Islamic scholars to conduct more studies on Hadith, which is the second main source of Shariah after the Holy Qur’an.
Saaed Al-Harithy, secretary-general of the prize, said the winners were selected from 322 research papers. “Since the beginning of the prize, we have received a total of 2,250 research papers. Among them 22 have won prizes.”
A total of 257,731 students took part in Hadith competitions held by the prize’s secretariat and 180 of them have won prizes. It has published 157 studies on the Sunnah and contemporary Islamic issues.