British-Kuwait Friendship Society announces winners
LONDON: The British-Kuwait Friendship Society and the Sheikh Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah Foundation on Friday held a prize giving ceremony in London for winners of the 24th edition of the contest of the best scholarly work on the Middle East in the English language. The winners of this edition are the Last Great War of Antiquity by James Howard-Johnston (Oxford University Press) and Shari’a Inshallah: Finding God in Somali Legal Politics by Mark Fathi Massoud (Cambridge University Press), announced Sheikh Mubarak Abdullah Al-Mubarak in a speech on behalf of Sheikh Abdullah Al-Mubarak Foundation at the ceremony.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish to extend a special thank you to everyone who took the time to submit for this year’s book prize, and special gratitude to our panel of judges for their time to assess all the submissions by undergoing a rigorous selection process,” Sheikh Mubarak said. He pointed out that the British-Kuwait Friendship Society Book Prize was founded in 1998 under the endowment of his late father Sheikh Abdullah Al-Mubarak AlSabah Foundation.
The book prize was affiliated with the University of Cambridge and the patrons of the prize were His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and Her Excellency Sheikha Dr Sheikha Suad Al-Sabah. Sheikh Abdullah Al-Mubarak also announced the renewal of the memorandum of understanding for additional three years of the joint scholarship program between Sheikh Abdullah Al-Mubarak AlSabah Foundation and the Mansion House Scholarship Scheme.
He noted that the joint scholarship started in 2019 designed to provide funding for two students each year from the Arab world wishing to study for a one-year Master’s degree at an accredited university in the UK or to take a post-graduate course of similar status at a recognized training establishment in the United Kingdom. “We trust this joint scholarship would, in a small way, further promote and cement the close links between the UK and Kuwait, the UK and the Arab world,” he affirmed.