President Raeisi officially inaugurates 5th Mustafa Prize ceremony in Isfahan

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi has officially inaugurated the 5th Mustafa Prize ceremony in the central city of Isfahan in the presence of more than 130 luminaries from across the Muslim world.

The prestigious biennial event kicked off to host high-profile scientists from 57 Islamic countries and their ambassadors in addition to Isfahan’s academic elites, university faculty members and scholars in the field of artificial intelligence from September 28 to October 4.

The ceremony will also host the 9th round of Science and Technology Exchange Program (STEP), which is a platform organized by Mustafa Science and Technology Foundation to expand the scientific network among the Islamic world’s scholars by holding international events and laying the groundwork for enhancing scientific synergy and cooperation.

“We strongly believe that the honors of science and technology as in the past are on the shoulders of Muslim figures, and Muslim scientists are the ones who can bring a new message and a new civilization to the Islamic world and humanity again,” Raeisi said in an address to the gathering.

Stressing that the roots of many modern Western sciences and technologies are in the Islamic civilization, the Iranian president said, “The Islamic civilization seeks to make humanity prosper in the fields of justice, ethics and spirituality as the cornerstone of society.”

Raeisi also said the Mustafa Prize should be recognized as an “innovative move” as it enjoys a human-, society- and civilization-building perspective.

This year, five scholars and scientists have been nominated for the prestigious award over their scientific excellence, including Professor Omid Farokhzad in nanomedicine and Professor Ahmed Hassan in software engineering.

Mustafa Prize was established in 2012 as one of the symbols of scientific excellence and has been held biennially since 2015, recognizing leading researchers and scientists of the Islamic world.

The laureates are awarded $500,000, which is financed through the science and technology endowment. They are also be adorned with Mustafa Medal and Honorary Diploma.

The prize is awarded in the four categories of information and communication science and technology, life and medical science and technology, nanoscience and nanotechnology, and all areas of science and technology.

In 2016, the Science Magazine called the prize “the Muslim Nobel.”