The British-Kuwaiti Friendship Society has held here the annual Book Prize Award for the best scholarly books on Middle Eastern studies, written in English.
The Award is sponsored by the Abdullah Al-Mubarak Foundation.
The first prize was awarded to authors Lara Deeb and Mona Harb on their book which deals with Islam in the Shiite regions in Lebanon. The second was shared by professor Asma Afsaruddin for her book "Striving in the Path of God - Jihad and Martyrdom in Islamic Thought" and professor Remke Kruk for her book "The Warrior Women of Islam: Female Empowerment in Arabic Popular Literature." Addressing the ceremony, held late on Friday, Ambassador of the State of Kuwait, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, Khalid Al- Duwaisan lauded the role by the Abdullah Al-Mubarak Foundation for boosting Arab-British ties, especially scientific and cultural. Celebrating the 16th anniversary of launching the award and the attendance of such large number of writers and academics offer an "evidence of continuous success." He added that the initiative is prompted by the belief that culture could help handle major global issues, extending bridges of understanding among nations and supporting dialogue of civilizations.
Al- Duwaisan also underlined the strong British-Kuwaiti relations that go back to more than two centuries.
He also thanked the Abdullah Al-Mubarak Foundation for sponsoring initiative, sponsoring the award.
For his part, representative of Abdullah Al-Mubarak Foundation Sheikh Mubarak Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah told the ceremony that the aim of the award is to support the English valuable studies focusing on Arab and Islamic issues, which contributes to deepening understanding between the Arab and Islamic cultures and countries, and the West.
Such intellectual and cultural initiatives will have a positive effect on bridging the gap and the cultural misunderstanding between the two sides, he added.