Jeddah: Tataristan President Mintimer Shaymiev has been declared the winner of the King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam for 2007.
A panel of judges chaired by Crown Prince Sultan picked Shaymiev as the winner of the prestigious award.
Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, governor of Asir and director general of King Faisal Foundation, said President Shaymiev was selected for the prize in appreciation of "his services to revive Islamic culture in his country, promoting Islamic studies among his people and reconstructing mosques that were destroyed in the past."
Prince Khaled, who is the chairman of the King Faisal Prize jury, also commended Shaymiev's wise policies, saying they had made Tataristan an example for peaceful social coexistence and a model for tolerance. Shaymiev was named Man of the Year by Cambridge University in 1997 and 1998 and won the Ibn Sina Medal from UNESCO.
The panel of judges included Dr. Muhammad Tantawi, the head of Al-Azhar, Dr. Saleh Bin-Humaid, chairman of the Shoura Council, professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary-general of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and Dr. Abdullah Al-Turki, secretary-general of the Muslim World League.
By P.K. Abdul Ghafour
© Arab News 2007
