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British-Kuwaiti Friendship society holds annual book prize competition in UK

Sheikh Mubarak Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah and Ambassador of the State of Kuwait, Khaled Al-Duwaisan During the ceremony
Sheikh Mubarak Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah and Ambassador of the State of Kuwait, Khaled Al-Duwaisan During the ceremony
LONDON, Oct 20 (KUNA) -- The British-Kuwaiti Friendship Society held its 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.
During the ceremony, which was held at Kuwait Embassy in London last night, Ambassador of the State of Kuwait, Khaled Al-Duwaisan lauded the role by Abdullah Al-Mubarak Foundation for boosting Arab-British ties, especially scientific and cultural domains.
Celebrating the 19th anniversary of launching the award, the attendance of a large number of writers and academics reflects the event's success, he said, adding that the initiative was 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 Abdullah Al-Mubarak Foundation for sponsoring this initiative and the award.
For his part, representative of Abdullah Al-Mubarak Foundation Sheikh Mubarak Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah said that the aim of the award is to support the English valuable studies focusing on Arab and Islamic issues, which contributed to deepening the understanding between the Arab and Islamic cultures 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.
Meanwhile, Professor Yasir Suleiman of Cambridge University, announced the names of this year's contest winners.
In first place was Ilker Evirm for his book (Intellectual network in Timurid Iran: Sharaf al-Din "Ali Yazdi and the Islamic Republic of letters).
In second and third positions were Joas Wagemakers and Lisa Cooper for their respective books (Salafism in Jordan: Political Islam in Quietist community) and (In search of Kings and Conquerors: Gertrude Bell and the Archaeology of the Middle East).
Hundreds of authors took part in the book prize award since its inception in 1998. (end) kd.gta