Riyadh: Governor of Riyadh Region Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz honored the winners of the 47th King Faisal Prize 2025 yesterday evening in Riyadh, under the patronage of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
According to Saudi Press Agency, the ceremony saw the attendance of prominent figures, including King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies Chairman Prince Turki bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz, King Faisal Foundation Secretary-General Prince Bandar bin Saud bin Khalid, and King Faisal Prize Secretary-General Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Sabeel.
This year’s Service to Islam award recognized Tebyan Quran from Liajlehum Association for Serving People with Disabilities for its innovative interactive electronic application that uses sign language to present the Quran’s meanings-a global first enhancing inclusivity for the hearing-impaired.
Sami Almaghlouth, consultant at the General Authority for Survey and Geospatial Information, was also honored for his extensive documentation of Islamic history through over 40 historical and geographical atlases, many of which have been translated into multiple languages.
For the Islamic Studies category, themed “Studies of Archaeology in the Arabian Peninsula,” the prize was jointly awarded to archaeologist Professor Saad Alrashid for his key contributions to the study of Islamic inscriptions and Arabian Peninsula archaeology, and to Professor Said Alsaid for his comparative work on ancient Arabian inscriptions and pre-Islamic civilizations.
Professor Michel Sadelain from Canada, affiliated with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, received the Medicine award for “Cellular Therapy” due to his groundbreaking development of CAR-T immunotherapies, effective against blood cancers and showing promise for autoimmune diseases and solid tumors.
The Science award went to Professor Sumio Iijima from Japan, affiliated with Meijo University, for his pioneering discovery of carbon nanotubes via electron microscopy, a finding that launched a new field in materials science and nanotechnology with wide-ranging applications.
This year’s Arabic Language and Literature award, centered on the theme “Studies of Identity in Arabic Literature,” was withheld as the nominated works did not meet the required standards.
