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A former Iraqi president, Barham Salih, 65, at the start of the year became the first former head of state to run the UNHCR.
Barham Salih has known torture and the wrenching loss of exile. Four decades after his own ordeal, he has taken the helm of the UN refugee agency as it grapples with a funding shortfall and ever-rising needs.
A former Iraqi president, Salih, 65, at the start of the year became the first former head of state to run the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
“It is a profound moral and legal responsibility,” Salih said during his first trip in the new role, to Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya.
“I know the pain of losing a home, losing your friends,” he said.
The Kakuma refugee camp, which Salih visited on Sunday, is east Africa’s second largest, hosting roughly 300,000 people from South Sudan, Somalia, Uganda and Burundi. It has been in place since 1992.
The world “should not allow this to continue”, Salih said, praising a new initiative by Kenya to turn its camps into economic hubs.
“We should not only protect refugees … but also enable them to have more durable solutions,” he said, while adding, “The better way is to have peace established in their own countries … nowhere is nicer than home.”
The son of a judge and a women’s rights activist, Salih was born in 1960 in Sulaymaniyah, a stronghold of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which sought self-determination for Iraq’s Kurds.
He went into exile in Iran in 1974, spending a year at a school for refugees. As a teenager in 1979, back in Iraq and already a member of the PUK, he was arrested twice by former President Saddam Hussein’s regime.
“I was released after 43 days after having suffered torture, electric shocks, beating,” he said.
Upon release, he still managed to rank among Iraq’s top three high school students, according to a former colleague, before fleeing with his family to Britain where he earned a degree in computer engineering and a doctorate.
Salih has “real experience of exile … He brings a personal perspective of displacement, which is very important,” Filippo Grandi, his predecessor at UNHCR, said last month.
Salih went on to a successful career in Iraqi Kurdistan and Iraq’s federal government after Saddam Hussein’s overthrow in 2003, holding the largely ceremonial role of president from 2018 to 2022.
Refugee numbers have doubled to 117 million in the past decade, the UNHCR said in June, but funding has dropped sharply, especially since Donald Trump returned to the White House.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently praised Salih’s experience as a “crisis negotiator and architect of national reforms” at a time when the agency faces “very serious challenges”.
“We have had very serious budget cuts last year. A lot of staff have been reduced,” Salih said.
“But we have to understand, we have to adapt,” he said, calling for “more efficiency and accountability” while also insisting the international community meets its “legal and moral obligations to help”.
The decree for the first time grants Kurdish Syrians rights, including recognition of Kurdish identity as part of Syria’s national fabric
It designates Kurdish as a national language alongside Arabic and allows schools to teach it.
Syria’s President Ahmed Al-Sharaa issued a decree affirming the rights of the Kurdish Syrians, formally recognizing their language and restoring citizenship to all Kurdish Syrians, state news agency SANA reported on Friday.
Sharaa’s decree came after fierce clashes that broke out last week in the northern city of Aleppo, leaving at least 23 people dead, according to Syria’s health ministry, and forced more than 150,000 to flee the two Kurdish-run pockets of the city.
The clashes ended after Kurdish fighters withdrew.
The violence in Aleppo has deepened one of the main faultlines in Syria, where Al-Sharaa’s promise to unify the country under one leadership after 14 years of war has faced resistance from Kurdish forces wary of his Islamist-led government.
The decree for the first time grants Kurdish Syrians rights, including recognition of Kurdish identity as part of Syria’s national fabric. It designates Kurdish as a national language alongside Arabic and allows schools to teach it.
It also abolishes measures dating to a 1962 census in Hasaka province that stripped many Kurds of Syrian nationality, granting citizenship to all affected residents, including those previously registered as stateless.
The decree declares Nowruz, the spring and new year festival, a paid national holiday. It bans ethnic or linguistic discrimination, requires state institutions to adopt inclusive national messaging and sets penalties for incitement to ethnic strife.
The Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), that controls the country’s northeast, have engaged in months of talks last year to integrate Kurdish-run military and civilian bodies into Syrian state institutions by the end of 2025, but there has been little progress.
source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited)
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Syria’s President Ahmed Al-Sharaa issued a decree affirming the rights of the Kurdish Syrians, formally recognizing their language and restoring citizenship to all Kurdish Syrians, state news agency SANA reported on Friday. (Reuters/File)
Ibn Khaldoun, in full Abou Zeid Abdelrahman Ibn Mohammed Ibn Khaldoun Al-Hadrami, was born in May 27, 1332, Tunis, Tunisia — died March 17, 1406, in Cairo, Egypt. He is the greatest Arab historian and social scientist. Ibn Khaldoun has been described as the founder of the modern disciplines of historiography, sociology, economics, and demography.
He who finds a new path is a pathfinder, even if the trail has to be found again by others; and he who walks far ahead of his contemporaries is a leader, even though centuries pass before he is recognized as such.
Ibn Khaldoun.
Who is Ibn Khaldoun?
Multiple sources, such as Niccolò Machiavelli of the Renaissance and the 19th-century European scholars widely acknowledged the significance of his achievements and considered Ibn Khaldoun to be one of the greatest philosophers of the Middle Ages.
He is actually the one who developed one of the earliest nonreligious philosophies of history, contained in his masterpiece, the Muqaddimah (“Introduction”). He also wrote a definitive history of Muslim North Africa.
The past resembles the future more than one drop of water resembles another. Ibn Khaldoun
The easiest method of acquiring the habit of scholarship is through acquiring the ability to express oneself clearly in discussing and disputing scholarly problems. This is what clarifies their import and makes them understandable. Some students spend most of their lives attending scholarly sessions. Still, one finds them silent. They do not talk and do not discuss matters. More than is necessary, they are concerned with memorizing. Thus, they do not obtain much of a habit in the practice of scholarship and scholarly instruction
Ibn Khaldoun.
Ibn Khaldoun — Early Life
Ibn-Khaldoun was born in Tunis, Tunisia in 1332; the house where he believed to have been born is in the Khaldounia, a quarter in Tunis that still stands almost unchanged and well-preserved.
In his autobiography, Ibn Khaldoun mentioned that the family claimed descent from Khaldoun, who was of South Arabian origin, and had come to Spain in the early years of the Arab conquest. The family then moved to Sevilla, played an important part in the civil wars of the 9th century, and was long considered among the three leading families of that city.
During the following 4 centuries, the Ibn-Khaldouns successively held high administrative and political positions under the Umayyad, Almoravid, and Almohad dynasties; other members of the family served in the army, and several were killed at wars, mostly at the Battle of Al-Zallaqah (1086), which temporarily halted the Christian reconquest of Spain. But the respite thus won proved short, and in 1248, just before the fall of Sevilla and Córdoba, the Ibn-Khaldouns and many of their countrymen judged it prudent to cross the Straits of Gibraltar and landed at Sabtah (now Ceuta, a Spanish exclave), on the northern coast of Morocco.
Ove there, the refugees that came in from Spain were of a much higher level of socio-economic status than the local North Africans, and the Khaldoun family was soon called to occupy the leading administrative positions in Tunis. The Ibn Khaldoun’s father also became an administrator and soldier but soon abandoned his career to devote himself to the study of theology, law, and letters. In Ibn Khaldoun’s words:
He was outstanding in his knowledge of Arabic and had an understanding of poetry in its different forms and I can well remember how the men of letters sought his opinion in matters of dispute and submitted their works to him.
Ibn Khaldoun.
In 1349, however, the Black Death struck Tunis and took away both his parents.
Ibn Khaldoun — Education & Career
Ibn Khaldoun gives a detailed recap of his education, listing the main books he read and describing the life and works of his teachers. He memorized the Quran, studied its principal commentaries, had a good grounding in Muslim law, familiarized himself with the masterpieces of Arabic literature, and acquired a clear style for writing fluent verse that was to serve him well in later life when addressing eulogistic or supplicatory poems to several rulers back then.
At age 20, when he was given a post at the court of Tunis, followed 3 years later by a secretaryship to the Sultan of Morocco in Fes. By then he got married. After two years of service, however, he was suspected of participation in a rebellion and was imprisoned. Released after nearly two years and promoted by a new ruler, he again fell into disfavor, decided to leave Morocco, and crossed over to Granada, for whose Muslim ruler he had done some service in Fes and whose prime minister, the brilliant writer Ibn al-Khaṭib, was a good friend. Ibn Khaldoun was then 32 years old.
The following year Ibn Khaldoun was sent to Sevilla, Spain to conclude a peace treaty with Pedro I of Castile. There he saw “the monuments of my ancestors.” Pedro “treated me with the utmost generosity, expressed his satisfaction at my presence and showed awareness of the preeminence of our ancestors in Sevilla.” Pedro even offered him a post in his service, promising to restore his ancestral estates, but Ibn Khaldoun politely declined. He gladly accepted the village that the sultan of Granada bestowed on him, however, and, feeling once more secure, brought over his family, whom he had left in safety in Constantine.
But, to quote him once more, “enemies and intriguers” turned the all-powerful prime minister, Ibn al-Khaṭib, against him and raised suspicions regarding his loyalty; it can be conjectured that the task of these enemies must have been greatly facilitated by the apparent jealousy between the two most brilliant Arab intellectuals of the age. Once more, Ibn Khaldoun found it necessary to take his leave, and he returned to Africa. The following 10 years saw him change employers and employment with disconcerting rapidity and move from Bejaïa to Tlemcen, Biskra, Fes, and once more to Granada, where he made an unsuccessful effort to save his old rival and friend, Ibn al-Khaṭib, from being killed by order of its ruler.
During this period Ibn Khaldoun served as prime minister and in several other administrative capacities, led a punitive expedition, was robbed and stripped by nomads, and spent some time “studying and teaching.” This extreme mobility is partly explained by the instability of the times. The Almohad Empire, which had embraced the whole of North Africa and Muslim Spain, had broken down in the middle of the 13th century, and the convulsive process from which Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia were subsequently to emerge was under way; wars, rebellions, and intrigues were endemic, and no man’s life or employment was secure. But in Ibn Khaldoun’s case two additional factors might be suspected—a certain restlessness and a capacity to make enemies, which may account for his constant complaints about the “intriguers” who turned his employers against him.
The Muqaddimah of Ibn Khaldoun
In 1375, craving solitude from the exhausting business of politics, Ibn Khaldoun sought refugee in Algeria for about four years, “free from all preoccupations,” and wrote his massive masterpiece, the Muqaddimah, an introduction to history.
His original intention, which he subsequently achieved, was to write a universal history of the Arabs and Berbers, but before doing so he judged it necessary to discuss historical method, with the aim of providing the criteria necessary for distinguishing historical truth from error. This led him to formulate what the 20th-century English historian Arnold Toynbee has described as “a philosophy of history which is undoubtedly the greatest work of its kind that has ever yet been created by any mind in any time or place,” a statement that goes even beyond the earlier eulogy by Robert Flint:
As a theorist on history he had no equal in any age or country until Vico appeared, more than three hundred years later. Plato, Aristotle and Augustine were not his peers . . . .Robert Flint.
Ibn Khaldoun went even further with the Muqaddimah. His study of the nature of society and social change led him to evolve what he clearly saw was a new sciences, such as for example what he called “the science of culture” and which he defined thus:
This science . . . has its own subject, viz., human society, and its own problems, viz., the social transformations that succeed each other in the nature of society. Ibn Khaldoun.
Obviously, for Ibn Khaldoun, history was an endless cycle of flowering and decay, with no evolution or progress except for that from primitive to civilized society. But, in brief descriptions of his own age, which have not received as much attention as they deserve, he showed that he could both visualize the existence of sharp turning points in history and recognize that he was witnessing one of them: “When there is a general change of conditions . . . as if it were a new and repeated creation, a world brought into existence anew.” The main cause he gives for this great change is the Black Death, with its profound effect on Muslim society, but he was fully aware of the impact of the Mongol invasions, and he may also have been impressed by the development of Europe, the merchants and ships of which thronged the seaports of North Africa and some of the soldiers of which served as mercenaries in the Muslim armies.
Ibn Khaldoun’s Journey to Egypt
After have completed the first draft of the Muqaddimah, nostalgia for the more active world of politics, drew him back to seek city life. A severe illness finally convinced him to leave his refuge; he secured permission to return to Tunis, where he “engaged exclusively in scholarly work,” completing much of his history. But once more he aroused both the jealousy of a prominent scholar and the suspicion of the ruler, and in 1382, at age 50, he received permission to sail to Egypt, ostensibly for the purpose of performing the pilgrimage to Mecca.
After 40 days Ibn Khaldoun landed in Alexandria and shortly afterward was in Cairo, then, as now, by far the largest and most opulent city in the Arab world. Its impact on him was profound: “I saw the metropolis of the ear, the garden of the world, the gathering place of the nations . . . the palace of Islam, the seat of dominion . . . .” His curiosity about Cairo was evidently of long duration, for he quotes the replies several eminent North Africans had made to his enquiries on their return from that city, including: “He who has not seen it does not know the power of Islam.”
Within a few days “scholars thronged on me, seeking profit in spite of the scarcity of merchandise and would not accept my excuses, so I started teaching at Al-Azhar,” the famous Islamic university. Shortly afterward, the new Mamluk ruler of Egypt, Barquq, with whom he was to remain on good terms except for one or two brief periods of misunderstanding, appointed him to a professorship of jurisprudence at the Quamḥiyyah college and, within five months, made him chief judge of the Mālikī rite, one of the four recognized rites of Sunnite Islam. Barqūq also successfully interceded with the ruler of Tunis to allow Ibn Khaldoun’s family to rejoin him, but the ship carrying them foundered in the port of Alexandria, drowning all on board.
Significance
Ibn Khaldount did make a big impact and he was, as described by many sources, such as Niccolò Machiavelli of the Renaissance and the 19th-century European scholars, to be one of the greatest philosophers of the Middle Ages. Indeed, it is perhaps not too fanciful to attribute to Ibn Khaldun’s influence the remarkable revival of historical writing in 15th-century Egypt and North Africa.
Later, several distinguished 16th- and 17th-century Ottoman scholars and statesmen took a keen interest in Ibn Khaldoun’s work, and a partial translation of the Muqaddimah into Turkish was made in the 18th century. But it was only after the 1860s, when a complete French translation of the Muqaddimah appeared, that Ibn Khaldun found the worldwide audience his incomparable genius deserved.
We often come across news reports about Egyptians abroad who have attained prominent leadership positions, yet we rarely give them a second thought – unless, of course, they are movie stars like Rami Malek or football legends like Mohamed Salah.
During a recent visit to Canada, I was struck by how many university presidents and faculty deans were of Egyptian origin of whom, for the most part, we have never heard.
A couple of days ago, my attention was caught by two items that were headline news everywhere, while we barely paid them any heed. The first is the appointment of the Egyptian-American Sherif Soliman as the New York City budget director. This is in the global capital of finance, home to Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange, the largest stock exchange in the world. Soliman is a highly regarded economist with more than thirty years of financial experience. In the course of his career, he has rescued several major commercial institutions from bankruptcy and succeeded in reducing the debt of others by record proportions.
The recently elected New York mayor, Zohran Mamdani, said that Soliman far surpassed rival candidates for budget direct. Soliman, for his part, said, “I feel a deep sense of pride joining the administration of the first Muslim mayor of the city of New York.” He will be managing a budget of approximately $121 billion – one of the largest municipal budgets in the world.
Soliman was born to Egyptian parents who emigrated to New York 45 years ago. He is married to the Egyptian Hanan Thabet. They have two children, Lina and Ziad.
At around the same time, on the other side of the Atlantic, the British Muslim Laila Cunningham announced her intent to run for Mayor of London in the British capital’s 2028 mayoral race. She will be the first candidate of Egyptian origin to seek the post. Born in London to parents who emigrated from Egypt in the 1960s, she studied law and joined the Conservative Party, then switched to Reform UK. A controversial figure, she advocates empowering and increasing the police force to curb crime, which she claims has turned London into an unsafe city. She also calls for combating what she terms “Islamic terrorism.” She is married to an American and is the mother of seven children.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 15 January, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, honoured the six winners of the Great Arab Minds 2025 edition at the Museum of the Future in Dubai.
Great Arab Minds is the largest Arab initiative dedicated to celebrating outstanding Arab achievement, highlighting contributions to advance human civilisation, support the expansion of scientific and knowledge-based endeavours, and showcasing the creative impact of Arab talent across the region and globally.
His Highness affirmed that the Great Arab Minds initiative was designed to expand the horizons for established and emerging Arab talent, nurturing and investing in their potential; recognise Arab achievement across research, development, innovation, technology, culture, and architecture; and to reinforce a culture of pride and sustained support for Arab individuals who have inspired significant progress in key fields.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed said, “Today, we honour Great Arab Minds in recognition of achievements that advance civilisation and build societies. From the Museum of the Future in Dubai, we reaffirm our support for Arab talent committed to innovation, creativity, and excellence.”
His Highness further said, “We congratulate the winners of the Great Arab Minds 2025: Professor Abbas El Gamal in the Engineering and Technology category, Dr. Nabil Seidah in the Medicine category, Professor Badi Hani in the Economics category, Professor Majed Chergui in the Natural Sciences category, Dr. Suad Amiry in the Architecture and Design category, and Professor Charbel Dagher in the Literature and Arts category. We encourage them to continue their journey of achievement and contribution, serving as true role models for younger generations in our region and around the world, inspiring them to shape a better future through science and knowledge.”
His Highness expressed his confidence in the ability of Arab talent to drive progress in scientific research, knowledge creation, and the cultural sector, supported by expertise, institutional support, and the ambition of young people across the region.
Focused on a better future
Sheikh Mohammed noted that the Great Arab Minds initiative will continue to highlight the achievements of Arab individuals who look to the future with optimism and pursue ambitions that recognise no limits.
The awards ceremony was attended by H.H. Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the UAE; H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Second Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Media Council; H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports, and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group; His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE National Olympic Committee; H.H. Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture); and H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid bin Mohammed bin Rashid.
Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chair of the Higher Committee for the Great Arab Minds initiative, was among numerous ministers and senior officials in attendance along with scientists, academics and diplomats.
His Excellency Al Gergawi stated that the Great Arab Minds initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed represents a profound recognition of Arab achievement across disciplines, and a significant strategic investment in empowering talent and encouraging renewed contributions to Arab intellectual and scientific progress.
He added that the Great Arab Minds initiative embodies Sheikh Mohammed’s vision to inspire confidence in Arab capabilities and motivate individuals to take an active role in shaping their societies and the future of a region that has long contributed to human civilisation through science, literature, thought, and architecture.
‘Powerful message’
He praised the achievements of the Great Arab Minds awardees across medicine, engineering, technology, sciences, architecture, arts, and literature, saying, “Your presence today on the Great Arab Minds 2025 platform at the Museum of the Future sends a powerful message to hundreds of millions of young people to pursue excellence, achievement, and leadership in research, innovation, creativity, and knowledge, and to help shape a brighter future for Arab and human civilisation.”
The award recognised one winner in each of its six categories: Medicine, Economics, Engineering and Technology, Natural Sciences, Architecture and Design, and Literature and Arts.
In Medicine, Dr. Nabil Seidah was honoured for his medical and research achievements in cardiovascular health and cholesterol regulation.
In Economics, Professor Badi Hani was awarded for his pioneering contributions to econometrics and the development of economic analysis tools, particularly in panel data analysis. His work enabled more accurate and in-depth analysis by combining data across multiple time periods and sources.
In Engineering and Technology, Professor Abbas El Gamal was awarded for his pioneering contributions to network information theory.
In Natural Sciences, Professor Majed Chergui was honoured for his contributions to understanding light-matter interactions, developing techniques and applications that enable the study of ultrafast molecular and material dynamics at the atomic level.
In Architecture and Design, Dr. Suad Amiry was honoured for her contributions to preserving Palestinian architectural heritage through documentation, restoration, and adaptive reuse of historical buildings.
In Literature and Arts, Professor Charbel Dagher was honoured for a body of work that constitutes a key reference in the study of Arab and Islamic arts, Arabic calligraphy, and modern visual arts.
Professor Abbas El Gamal said, “I extend my sincere gratitude to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for his vision in launching Great Arab Minds. Being honoured in this way is deeply meaningful to me.”
Professor Majed Chergui said, “I am Algerian of Syrian origin, born in Morocco and raised in Algeria and Lebanon. In this way, the Arab world comes together in who I am. For me personally, this award is not only the highest recognition of my achievements; it touches me deeply because it comes from an Arab country.”
Dr. Suad Amiry said, “In 1981, when I decided to live in the city of Ramallah, my aim was to study traditional architecture in rural Palestine. Ten years later, I founded the Riwaq Centre, which since then has been dedicated to documenting, restoring, and rehabilitating architectural heritage in Palestine. Winning this award is a great honour for me and for the Riwaq Centre.”
Professor Badi Hani said: “This award recognises not only my work, but also the people and places that shaped me, my family, my mentors, my city, and the Arab world that nurtured my earliest aspirations.”
Dr. Nabil Seidah said, “My father’s adage, that knowledge is something no one can ever take away from you, has been the principle that guided me throughout my journey. Your trust represents a powerful motivation for Arab scientists to serve as role models for future generations, and I pledge to continue serving science with the same passion that has always driven me.”
Professor Charbel Dagher said: “Commitment to the Arabic language has remained a defining hallmark of everything I have done: teaching, writing, and research, to the point that I live within Arabic itself. We cannot exist outside our language or our culture. Allow me to share this award with those who supported me, and my gratitude extends to everyone who has worked and continues to work to ensure that Arabic remains a living language of science, knowledge, and culture.”
The awardees were chosen by six high-level specialised committees, one for each category. Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Tourism, chaired the Economics Committee; Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of Education, chaired the Engineering and Technology Committee; Mohammed Ahmed Al Murr, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Library Foundation, chaired the Literature and Arts Committee; Dr. Amer Sharif, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Health and President of the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences headed the Medicine Committee; Professor Sehamuddin Galadari, Senior Vice Provost-Research and Managing Director of the Research Institute at New York University Abu Dhabi chaired the Natural Sciences Committee; Professor Hashim Sarkis, Dean of the School of Architecture and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology chaired the Architecture and Design Committee.
In addition to the committee chairs, the specialised committees also included Essa Kazim, Governor of the Dubai International Financial Center; Dr Mohammed Madhi, Dean of the College of Business and Economics at UAE University; Dr Rabah Arezki, Chief Economist for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region at the World Bank and Senior Fellow at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government; Ferid Belhaj, Fellow at the Policy Center for the New South; and Dr Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund.
The committees also included Professor Ismael Al Hinti, President of Al Hussein Technical University; Adel Darwish, Regional Director of the International Telecommunication Union; Dr Ahmed Zayed, Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandria; His Excellency Dr. Alawi Alsheikh-Ali, Director General of Dubai Health Authority; Professor Elias Zerhouni, Professor Emeritus at Johns Hopkins University; Dr Noureddine Melikechi Dean of the Kennedy College of Sciences and Professor of Physics at the University of Massachusetts Lowell; Professor Nader Masmoudi, Professor at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University Abu Dhabi; Dr Latifa Elouadrhiri Laboratory Directed Research Staff Scientist at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility; and Professor Dr Jehane Ragai, Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at The American University in Cairo.
The specialised committees also included Dr Adrian Lahoud, Dean of the School of Architecture at the Royal College of Art; and Professor Ali Malkawi, Professor of Architectural Technology, Director of the Doctor of Design Studies Program, and Founding Director of the Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities.
The Nominations Committee included Huda Al Hashimi, Deputy Minister of Cabinet Affairs for Strategic Affairs; Chucrallah Haddad, Partner and Head of Advisory at KPMG Lower Gulf; Abdulsalam Haykal, President and Founder of Majarra Company; Ali Matar, Head of LinkedIn Middle East and North Africa and Emerging Markets in Africa and Europe; and Saeed Al Nazari, Secretary-General of the Great Arab Minds Initiative.
Widely known as the ‘Arab Nobel,’ the Great Arab Minds initiative recognises distinguished Arab achievement and highlights extraordinary contributions that reflect the region’s historic role in advancing knowledge and human progress globally. For a third consecutive edition, the initiative continues to strengthen its position as a platform for celebrating Arab creators and as a point of reference for promising Arab talent, by highlighting achievements that inspire young people and contribute to expanding Arab participation in global knowledge and civilisational advancement.
Inspired by his childhood in Amman, Malek AlQadi’s latest project, ‘The Folly Mojave’, injects desert minimalism with sustainable luxury.
Born in Amman, Jordan, raised in Florida, and based in Los Angeles, Jordanian-American architect Malek AlQadi has dedicated his life to his follies. In architecture, a folly is a building that serves no purpose aside from aesthetics. But AlQadi’s follies? They are worlds unto themselves; portals to places only visited in daydreams and memories.
His first folly came about as part of his thesis project, during which he designed and executed a humble, fully self-sustaining stay in California’s Joshua Tree National Park. Though his design language has evolved over the years, his core principles remain the same: sustainability, minimalism, and a reconnection with nature, all rooted in a childhood spent marvelling at Jordan’s deserts.
In Jordan, ancient structures like Petra dominated his early experiences. In Florida, his exposure to contrasting environments shaped his understanding of space, structure and purpose. AlQadi’s obsession with follies finds its roots in his desire to push the boundaries of design. He’s not interested in the grandiosity of skyscrapers or the utility of commercial buildings. Instead, his work delves into the ethereal, focusing on creating spaces that encourage introspection, exploration and escape.
The Folly Mojave, a series of standalone suites dotted across 200 acres at the intersection of The Mojave National Preserve and Joshua Tree National Park, is AlQadi’s most recent and most ambitious project to date. The project is a retreat that blends into the arid environment while providing visitors with an isolated, immersive experience. “A lot of it was navigating childhood memories and connecting them with real-life scenarios and architectural elements, tying vastly different places in the world together, yet still grounded in similar principles and environments.” AlQadi tells SceneHome.
For AlQadi, the desert isn’t just a backdrop. It’s a critical component of the project, shaping the way the Folly Mojave interacts with the land. The retreat’s location in such an extreme environment is intentional; it encourages guests to detach from their everyday lives and engage more fully with their surroundings.
At first glance, the Folly Mojave may appear simple, but its simplicity belies the thoughtfulness of its design. The structure is fully off-grid, powered by solar energy, and equipped with self-sustaining water systems. The retreat is designed for minimal impact on the surrounding environment. Inside, the space is surprisingly open, with large windows that frame the vast desert views.
“A big part of the experience is having less light pollution and being able to see the stars at night. All of that fed into the idea of disconnection,” AlQadi explains. “It’s about having the luxury of time and space to relax and take in nature, which, at its core, is the ultimate healer.”
Malek AlQadi emphasises the “site-responsive” nature of his architectural philosophy. Unlike architects who adhere to a singular aesthetic, AlQadi’s approach is shaped by the environment he works within, adapting to the unique qualities of each location. “No two projects are ever the same,” he explains, yet there’s always a recognisable touch that connects his work. Symmetry, the use of natural materials, and a minimalist design language are core to his style, while he doesn’t shy away from incorporating brutalist elements when appropriate.
For AlQadi, creating spaces that resonate beyond the present – lasting decades or even centuries – is a key part of his architectural philosophy. “Guests often describe the experience as surreal, unique and unplugged,” AlQadi reflects. “Many mention feeling a deep connection while staying there. It’s rewarding to know that people from all walks of life have been able to share in that experience.”
AUC Press author Ibrahim Nasrallah, a Palestinian novelist and poet, has won the prestigious Neustadt International Prize for Literature, announced The American University in Cairo (AUC) Press and its literature imprint, Hoopoe.
Nasrallah is the 29th laureate of the prize, an honour frequently dubbed the “American Nobel.”
Nasrallah’s novel, Time of White Horses (Hoopoe, 2016), published in English translation by Hoopoe, was selected as the representative text for the prize.
The AUC Press “is proud that author Ibrahim Nasrallah and his novel, published under our Hoopoe literary imprint, have received such distinguished recognition,” said AUC Press Executive Director Thomas Willshire.
Time of White Horses tells “a deeply moving story rooted in Palestinian history and identity, exactly the kind of powerful, boundary-crossing narrative that embodies Hoopoe’s mission to bring distinguished voices from the Middle East to readers around the world,” he added.
Hoopoe has published four of Nasrallah’s novels in English, including Time of White Horses (2016), Gaza Weddings (2017), and The Lanterns of the King of Galilee (2015).
As outlined in the Neustadt Prize charter, “Any living author writing in any language is eligible, provided that at least a representative portion of their work is available in English—the language used during the jury deliberations.”
Presented biennially by the University of Oklahoma and World Literature Today, the Neustadt International Prize for Literature recognizes writers of exceptional literary achievement across all genres and languages.
The 2025 winner was announced in October, and the next Neustadt Lit Fest, organized by World Literature Today, will be held in the fall of 2026 in honour of Nasrallah.
Nasrallah was nominated for the prize by Shereen Malherbe, an award-winning novelist and children’s book author.
In her nominating statement, Malherbe said “Nasrallah’s literary works span universal issues and themes woven into the Palestinian struggle that allow readers to connect deeply with Palestine outside of a colonial framework.”
“His work is now more important than ever, considering the plight of Palestinians. It is time the world sees the true Palestine, and Nasrallah’s work can offer this perspective.”
Nasrallah’s powerful storytelling, exploring exile, identity, and resistance, places him alongside past laureates such as Gabriel García Márquez, Edwidge Danticat, and Tomas Tranströmer.
Nadine El-Hadi, senior acquisitions editor at AUC Press, noted that Nasrallah is “a writer of a generation and truly deserving of this prize.”
“Never has it been more important to amplify Palestinian voices such as his,” she added.
A leading Arab literature voice
Born in 1954 to Palestinian parents in a Jordanian refugee camp, Ibrahim Nasrallah has become one of the most important voices in contemporary Arab literature.
He has written fourteen poetry collections and fourteen novels, as well as works of literary criticism.
His writing has been translated into multiple languages, earning him international acclaim for his exploration of exile, identity, resistance, and the human condition.
Pioneering scientist behind revolutionary weight-loss drugs, global scholars, innovators among winners.
The King Faisal Prize 2026 winners were announced at a ceremony in Riyadh on Wednesday night.
The event honored pioneering scientists, global scholars and innovators for their transformative contributions to medicine, science, Arabic language, Islamic studies and the service of Islam.
Prof. Svetlana Mojsov was named winner in the medicine section for her groundbreaking discoveries that are now reshaping how we treat obesity.
Prof. Carlos Kenig was announced as science laureate in the field of mathematics for helping to revolutionize understanding of nonlinear partial differential equations.
Mojsov, the Lulu Chow Wang and Robin Chemers Neustein research associate professor at The Rockefeller University in New York, pioneered research on glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) that has fundamentally transformed how obesity and diabetes are treated.
She discovered and characterized the biologically active form of GLP-1, a natural intestinal hormone that regulates blood sugar and appetite, and identified its receptors in the human pancreas, heart, and brain.
Through cutting-edge biochemistry and physiological studies, Mojsov demonstrated that GLP-1 powerfully stimulates insulin secretion while reducing hunger and managing glucose levels.
Her groundbreaking work enabled the development of an entirely new class of medications that mimic this natural hormone, sparking a paradigm shift in obesity treatment.
These therapies today provide life-changing benefits for hundreds of millions of people worldwide living with obesity and its complications — a global health crisis affecting 890 million adults and 160 million children and adolescents in 2022 alone, according to the World Health Organization.
Mojsov’s groundbreaking contributions have earned numerous prestigious honors, including Time magazine naming her one of the 100 Most Influential People in 2024.
Kenig was honored for his groundbreaking contributions to mathematical analysis. His work has transformed understanding of nonlinear partial differential equations — the mathematical equations describing how things change and move in the physical world — and provided researchers with a now-ubiquitous set of techniques. His insights have opened new research frontiers with applications spanning fluid mechanics, optical fibers, and medical imaging.
Kenig, the Louis Block distinguished service professor at the University of Chicago, is recognized for applying harmonic analysis techniques across different areas of partial differential equations.
His work on free boundary problems — determining unknown boundaries such as where ice meets melting water or how fluids flow through soil — has been particularly influential.
Kenig has spent three decades figuring out how complex waves behave over long periods of time, especially in tricky situations where they could either spread out peacefully or build up dangerously.
This matters for understanding everything, from ocean waves to light pulses in fiber optics and to how energy moves through different materials.
His work helps explain phenomena in quantum mechanics, optics, and ocean waves. By combining different mathematical techniques, he has solved longstanding problems that had puzzled mathematicians for decades.
In addition to medicine and science, the King Faisal Prize recognized the achievements of outstanding thinkers and scholars in the field of Arabic language and literature, Islamic studies, and exemplary leaders who have played a pivotal role in serving Islam, Muslims, and humanity at large.
Pierre Larcher, an emeritus professor of Arabic linguistics at Aix-Marseille University and emeritus researcher at the Institute for Studies and Research on the Arab and Muslim Worlds, won this year’s King Faisal Prize for Arabic Language and Literature on “Arabic literature in French.”
His novel presentation of Arabic literature to French readers has earned widespread acclaim from critics and specialists, while his rigorous scholarly approach to classical Arabic literature has made it accessible and appropriate for French culture.
His critical translation project of “Al-Mu’allaqat” and rigorous study of pre-Islamic poetry demonstrate exceptional scholarly depth.
For this year’s Islamic Studies Prize, Abdelhamid Hussein Mahmoud Hammouda, the professor of Islamic history and civilization at Fayoum University, and Mohamed Waheeb Hussein, the professor of archaeology and history of art at the Hashemite University, were announced as co-laureates.
Hammouda’s work encompasses the trade routes across the Islamic world — the Mashreq, Iraq and Persia, Arabian Peninsula, Greater Syria, Egypt, Sahara, Maghreb, and Al-Andalus. This expansive scope delivers coherent understanding of Islamic trade trajectories across history, serving as an authoritative reference for both specialized research and broader scholarship.
Hussein’s groundbreaking work uses archaeological surveys, GPS documentation, and analytical mapping to systematically correlate Qur’anic texts with geographical data. His research offers definitive scholarly interpretation, significantly advancing documentation of early Arabian Peninsula trade routes.
Sheikh Abdullatif Al-Fozan and Dr. Mohammad Abou Moussa were announced as co-laureates in the Service to Islam Prize.
Laureates’ names were announced by Prince Turki Al-Faisal and the King Faisal Prize’s Secretary-General Dr. Abdulaziz Alsebail.
Selection committees included experts, specialists, and scholars who met in Riyadh and examined the nominated works. They selected the laureates in an objective and transparent manner, in accordance with the rules and regulations.
The KFP was established in 1977, and was awarded for the first time in 1979 in three categories: service to Islam, Islamic studies, and Arabic language and literature. Two additional categories were introduced in 1981: medicine and science. The first medicine prize was awarded in 1982, and in science two years later.
Since 1979 the KFP has given awards to more than 300 laureates who have made distinguished contributions to different sciences and causes.
Each prize laureate is endowed with $200,000, a 24-carat gold medal weighing 200 grams, and a certificate inscribed with the laureate’s name and a summary of the work that qualified them for the prize.
source/content: arabnews.com (headlines edited)
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King Faisal Prize laureates’ names for 2026 were announced in Riyadh on Wednesday night by Prince Turki Alfaisal and the Prize’s Secretary General Dr. Abdulaziz Alsebail. (Supplied)
Dr Suad Amiry recognised for decades of heritage conservation work.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Sunday congratulated the winner of the 2025 Great Arab Minds Award in the Architecture and Design category.
Sharing his congratulations on social media, Sheikh Mohammed said: “We congratulate the winner of the Great Arab Minds Award in the Architecture and Design category for 2025, Dr Suad Amiry from Palestine, founder of the Riwaq Centre for Architectural Conservation.”
He praised Dr Amiry for her pioneering efforts to preserve Palestinian architectural heritage, highlighting her work in restoring and reusing historic buildings in ways that strengthen urban identity.
Dr Amiry, who leads the Riwaq Centre, was recognised for her role in one of the largest architectural documentation projects in Palestine. The initiative produced a registry of more than 50,000 historic buildings and contributed to the revival of 50 historic centres.
Her projects have also created job opportunities and training for craftsmen working with traditional building materials, while actively involving local communities in restoring their villages.
Sheikh Mohammed extended his “heartfelt congratulations to Dr Suad Amiry for her well-deserved recognition and decades of dedication”. He also prayed for the protection of Palestine, saying: “May God protect Palestine and breathe new life into its historic villages and buildings, ensuring its heritage endures as long as the Arab memory lives on.”
Dr Amiry’s research has been widely recognised for its detailed documentation of traditional Palestinian homes, including stonework, flooring, decorative features and architectural layouts that reflect the richness of the region’s built heritage.
The Great Arab Minds Awards honour influential figures whose work has made a lasting impact on Arab culture, scholarship and society.
Her tenure as Minister of Environment included a modern waste management system, the issuance of the region’s first sovereign green bond, work across protected areas, and nearly 20,000 green jobs.
The Nobel Sustainability Trust has selected Dr. Yasmine Fouad to receive the 2025 Nobel Sustainability Medal, an announcement that comes as she concludes her role as Egypt’s Minister of Environment and takes up the position of Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Over 26 years, Fouad’s work has moved across environmental policy, climate diplomacy, and sustainable development, from early research on ecological resilience to convening communities, scientists, and policymakers. That human-centred lens has taken her to countries facing climate impacts, meeting pastoralist communities navigating drought, women rebuilding livelihoods after environmental shocks, and youth calling for climate justice. In Egypt, her tenure as minister included a modern waste management system, the issuance of the region’s first sovereign green bond, work across protected areas, and nearly 20,000 green jobs. During COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, she put adaptation and resilience at the centre of negotiations, bringing the needs of vulnerable communities into the room. The medal reflects values present in her work — resilience, collaboration, and belief in people’s role in shaping their future — and places attention on the Arab region and Africa within the sustainability conversation. As climate pressures intensify — from water scarcity to land degradation and drought — Fouad often frames sustainability as a human agenda focused on dignity, safety, and livelihoods, with an eye on what future generations will inherit. In her acceptance message, she dedicated the medal “to the women who rebuild their communities, the young people who refuse to inherit despair, the workers who turn scarcity into innovation, and the families who choose hope every day.
