Makkah Emir Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, chairman of King Faisal International Prize Commission, will announce the winners of this year's King Faisal International Prize in Riyadh on Tuesday. Prince Khaled, who is also adviser to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and CEO of King Faisal Foundation, chaired here on Sunday a meeting of the selection committee for the "Service to Islam" prize of the prestigious King Faisal International Prize. The members of the committee are Alpha Oumar Konaré, former president of Mali; Abdullah Ahmed Badawi, former prime minister of Malaysia; Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen, secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation; Dr. Mohammad Al-Issa, secretary-general of the Muslim World League, and Dr. Khalid Al-Mathkoor, professor at Kuwait University. Apart from the Service to Islam category, the King Faisal International Prize, which is now in its 39th session, honors exceptional achievements in four other categories: Islamic Studies, Arabic Language and Literature, Medicine, and Science. Established in 1977 and awarded for the first time in 1979, the Service to Islam prize recognizes individuals and institutions with outstanding records of service to Islam and Muslims. To qualify for the prize, an individual or an institution should have rendered exceptional services to Islam and Muslims through knowledge and deeds or provided other outstanding services that offer far-reaching benefits to Islam and Muslims. Such an individual or institution must also meet one or more of the Prize's objectives as determined by the respective Selection Committee. The King Faisal International Prize recognizes outstanding works of individuals and institutions in the areas of thought and science. Its aim is to benefit Muslims both in the present and in the future, and inspire them to be active participants in all aspects of development. Representing benevolence and Islamic values in social life, the prize seeks to highlight these values to the entire world and contribute to the enrichment of human knowledge and development of mankind. Prince Khaled will announce the winners at a press conference on Tuesday at the Conference Hall of Al-Khozama Center. The award ceremony will be attended by the members of the selection committees, leading scholars, scientists, intellectuals and media representatives. The KFIP Prize topics for 2017 are: (1) Islamic studies: Muslim Political Thought up to the 9th Century H/15th Century, (2) Arabic Language and Literature: Efforts of Individuals and Institutions to Arabicize Science and Technology for Transfer, Research and Educational Purposes, (3) Medicine: Biological Therapeutics in Autoimmune Diseases, and (4) Science: Physics. The King Faisal International Prize is awarded by the King Faisal Foundation, founded by the sons and daughters of the late King Faisal, who passed away in 1975. The prize was launched in 1977 with its first session taking off two years later. Eighteen scientists who were awarded the King Faisal International Prize also won the Nobel Prize. Seventeen of them became Nobel laureates after winning the prize, a fact that reflects the accurate international standards adopted by the King Faisal International Prize when selecting the scientists for their contribution to mankind. Among the winners were British scientist Sir James Fraser Stoddart, the late Egyptian scientist Ahmed Zuwail, South African biologist Sydney Brenner and German physicist Theodor Hansch.
