LETTER FROM BEIRUT
As the cradle of Islam and the self-proclaimed guardian of Sunni orthodoxy, Saudi Arabia owed a prize. The kingdom of the two sacred mosques, Mecca and Medina, which aspires to preside over the destinies of the umma, the community of believers, was obliged to designate its great men. This function is fulfilled by the prestigious International King Faisal Prize, which highlights personalities and institutions from around the world, having contributed to the advancement of mankind and in particular the Muslim world. The winners of the 2021 edition were announced Wednesday, February 10, during a ceremony in Riyadh.
In the most important “Service of Islam” category, the award went to a Kuwaiti IT entrepreneur, Mohammed Al-Sharikh, who produced an electronic and English-speaking version of the Quran and developed educational programs for the faithful. . In “Arabic language”, a Moroccan professor of literature, Mohammed Mechbal, specializing in the study of rhetoric, was crowned.
In the “Science” category, the distinction went to British physicist Stuart Parkin, for his discoveries in the field of data storage. Finally, the “Medicine” prize went to two neurologists, the Briton Robin Franklin, a specialist in stem cells, and the American Stephen Strittmatter.
All will receive in March or April, from the hands of the current sovereign, Salman Ben Abdelaziz, a check for 200,000 dollars (165,000 euros) and a gold medal bearing the image of the late King Faisal, who reigned from 1964. to 1975.
Politico-diplomatic tool
His descendants, who form the renowned “intellectual” and liberal branch of the royal family, are at the origin of the Prize, created in 1979. “Their idea was to create a Muslim equivalent of the Nobel, explains political scientist Stéphane Lacroix, professor at Sciences Po and specialist in the Saudi kingdom. But in practice, this award has become a politico-diplomatic tool, a way for Saudi Arabia to display its preeminence, to establish itself as the voice of Islam ”.
The choice of a business leader for the “Service to Islam” prize, long awarded to religious or radical intellectuals, is in itself eloquent.
This fits perfectly with the modernizing ambitions of Crown Prince Mohammed Ben Salman, says MBS, the strongman of the crown. Anxious to break with his country’s reputation for obscurantism, this thirty-something authorized Saudis to drive, proclaimed his desire to return to a “moderate” Islam and strives to instill a spirit of initiative in his subjects, addicted to oil rent.
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