Suleiman Al-Rajhi to receive Faisal prize

Suleiman bin Abdul Aziz Al-Rajhi, a prominent Saudi businessman and philanthropist, will receive the King Faisal International Prize (2012) for services to Islam during a ceremony in Riyadh on Tuesday. Dr. Abdullah Al-Othaimeen, secretary-general of the prize, said Al-Rajhi was selected for the prize considering his great contributions to Islam and Muslims, especially his efforts to introduce Islamic banking. “Sheikh Suleiman allocated a large portion of his wealth for a charitable endowment fund established by him to support various educational, social and humanitarian projects,” Al-Othaimeen said. Al-Rajhi also initiated a program to create a culture of work among Saudi youth. The charitable foundation established by Al-Rajhi supports humanitarian projects, Qur’an studies and construction of mosques. “Sheikh Suleiman has donated more than half of his wealth for charitable work,” the secretary-general said. He printed thousands of copies of the Holy Qur’an and distributed them worldwide. Speaking about Al-Rajhi’s educational endeavors, Al-Othaimeen said the colleges established by him would be transformed into a university. He has established an institute in Riyadh for teaching Arabic to non-Arabs. Al-Rajhi also worked for achieving food security in Saudi Arabia by engaging in massive agricultural projects abroad, and boosting the economic development of Muslim countries by investing heavily in them. The prize is given to those who contribute their best in the service of Islam and carry out projects to promote the development of Muslim societies. The prize in Islamic Studies went this year to Adnan bin Muhammad Al-Wazin of Saudi Arabia for his work on the topic of human rights in Islam. In the area of Arabic language and literature Egyptians Ali Hilmi Ahmad Moussa and Nabil Ali Muhammad shared the prize. Dr. Richard Berkowitz and Dr. James Bruce Basil, both Americans, shared the prize for medicine and another American, Dr. Alexander Farzewski, won the science prize.