Translation

KING ABD ALLAH BIN ABD ALAZIZ AL SAUD

Winner of the 1428H / 2008G King Faisal International Prize
for Service to Islam

Sunday 1 Rabi I 1429H (9 March 2008G)

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate

Praise be to Allah and Peace and Prayers be upon our Prophet, Muhammad

Brothers and Sisters,

     Frankly, the first thing that came to my mind when I heard of my nomination to the Prize commemorating my brother, King Faisal, may Allah have mercy on him, for Service to Islam, was to apologize because there are so many Muslims whose feats and sacrifices make them worthier than me of this distinction. However, my confidence in the prudence and discern of the Prize’s Committee, have made me hesitate in taking that decision. With the guidance of Allah, I decided to accept the Award, not for my person but on behalf of all Muslim men and women who have served Islam silently, away from publicity and without waiting to be rewarded.

Brothers and Sisters,

     The Muslim scientist in his laboratory, the soldier defending his land, the preacher calling for moderation, the worker resisting temptations, the righteous and conscientious judge and the student striving to acquire knowledge – all of these serve Islam. In their name, wherever they are in the lands of Islam, I accept this honor and dedicate it to them all.

     I conclude by thanking the Foundation for selecting me, praying to the Almighty to help me shoulder the responsibility of serving first my religion, then my country and my family – the people of Saudi Arabia and the Muslims at large.

Assalam Alaikum.

Excerpt

EUGENE BRAUNWALD

Co-Winner of the 1422H / 2002G King Faisal International Prize
for Medicine

These important awards are particularly noteworthy this year because they come at a time which has been so unsetting for people all over the world, especially for people in this region as well as those in my country, the United States. These prizes, under the auspices for the King Faisal Foundation, celebrate activities that unite persons of good will everywhere they celebrate efforts to advance civilization and human well being through progress in the arts and sciences.

Excerpt

MICHAEL BERRIDGE

Winner of the 1406H / 1986G King Faisal International Prize
for Science

In this modern world we are all very dependent upon each other and to operate efficiently nations must learn to communicate with each other. In addition to honoring intellectual achievement, I believe that the King Faisal International Prize helps in such understanding by bringing different people together.

It is a great honor for me to receive The King Faisal International Prize the "custodians" of a civilization that in former times taught sciences to the West. Islam has embraced many peoples, seeking out knowledge from the far corners of the world, writing it down, and developing science by theory and experiment. In the Dark Ages of Europe it was the Muslim world that kept alive the flame of science.

The Science of alchemy was brought into Europe in the Middle Ages by the writings Al-Razi and provided a key strand in the development of medical chemistry in Europe. The writings of Ibn Sina provided Europe's principal text on medicine for centuries; for example Ibn Sina is mentioned in the “Canterbury Tales" by Geoffrey Chaucer, one of the most important manuscripts of English literature, and dating from the 14th century. This was an age in which the cross fertilization of Europe and the Muslim world was at its most intense. In our own age, the King Faisal Foundation stands for such traditions of thought and scholarship that transcend the barriers of language and culture.

GREGORY PAUL WINTER
Co Winner of the 1995
King Faisal International Prize
for Medicine

While preparing for this trip to Saudi Arabia I was thinking about the crucial contributions of Arab and Muslim scholars and scientists to our civilization. Six hundred years before Descartes, Averroes and Avecenne imposed the tripe axes on space by exporting from the human body the ideas of height, width, and depth. This idea is completely non trivial and has incredible consequences for quantitative science.

For several centuries of Muslim history there was great activity in many areas of science and philosophy and art. This activity was stimulated by the prosperity and the enlightenment of the great centers of Muslim civilization.

Can some of this glorious history of science happen again in the Muslim world? Some of the elements necessary are present.

DENNIS PARNELL SULLIVAN
Winner of the 1994
King Faisal International Prize
for Science

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