Dubai: President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan was honoured on Tuesday night as Islamic Personality of the Year for his humanitarian and charitable initiatives to people in distress.
Shaikh Khalifa was honoured by the Dubai International Holy Quran Award (DIHQA) on Tuesday.
A senior DIHQA official had earlier said the honour is in gratitude for Shaikh Khalifa's humanitarian efforts. It is also for the special attention he gives to building mosques, schools and clinics, said Dr Saeed Hareb, deputy chairman of DIHQA.
He said Shaikh Khalifa has a special place in the people's hearts for his benevolent initiatives that has also won the respect of world leaders.
"Shaikh Khalifa's charitable traits are well known," Ebrahim Bu Melha, chairman of DIHQA's organising committee, was earlier quoted as saying. "He spares no efforts to bring happiness to his citizens," he said.
"The love and effort that he shows and exerts for his citizens spreads even further to Islamic countries," he added. "Shaikh Khalifa, the Islamic Personality of the Year, stands as a role model for us all," he said.
Noble services
Dr Yousuf Jumma Salama, first vice-president of Islamic High Authority in occupied Jerusalem, had lauded the election of Shaikh Khalifa as Islamic Personality of the Year.
He told Emirates News Agency WAM that he deserves the prize because of his noble services to Islam and Muslims. He cited services being provided by the Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Humanitarian and Charity Foundation for Somalia. He also noted the President's support to Palestine, citing that he had set up Khalifa City in Rafah Province in Gaza Strip and Islamic Centre in occupied Jerusalem.
Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan had earlier won the Islamic Personality of the Year in 1999. The late Shaikh Mohammad Metwally Al Shaarawy of Egypt was the first winner of the Islamic Personality Prize. Former Sudanese President Field Marshal Abdul Rahman Swar Al Dahab was the winner of the Prize last year.
Shaikh Khalifa was earlier also named winner of the Shaikh Rashid Award for the Humanitarian Personality. He had been nominated by Islamic and international charity organisations for his philanthropy without distinction to colour, race, nationality and faith.
