Awqaf Ministry Announces Winners of Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah Al-Thani Endowment Award

DOHA — The Department of Islamic Research and Studies at the Ministry of Endowments (Awqaf) and Islamic Affairs has announced the winners of the current edition of the Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah Al-Thani Endowment Award in both its international and local categories, at a press conference held on Wednesday, July 22, 2026.

The Winners

The second edition of the local category was awarded to Qatari researcher Ahmed Mejeb Al-Dosari, who received QR200,000. The 16th edition of the international category was shared between two winners: Dr. Ahmed Dhib of Algeria and Dr. Ibrahim Ahmed Yahya of Yemen, each receiving QR100,000.

Assistant Director of the Research and Studies Department at the Ministry, Mishari Ali Al-Nomlan, said that more than 70 researchers from 16 countries competed for the international award, while nine researchers competed in the local category.

Enriching Islamic Scholarship

Al-Nomlan said the award, which consists of international, local, and imam categories, has enriched Arabic and Islamic scholarship with high-quality academic research, including submissions that did not win. He noted that it is the first and largest peer-reviewed endowment award in Qatar dedicated to culture, Islamic outreach (da'wah), and Islamic thought, established to promote scholarly research and prepare a new generation of researchers and specialists in the Islamic sciences.
The imams category, he added, is dedicated to imams, preachers, and muezzins working for the Ministry. That branch of the award was launched in December 2025 in cooperation with the Mosques Department, with a total value of QR100,000 distributed among the top three recipients: QR50,000 for first place, QR30,000 for second, and QR20,000 for third.

Expansion Planned From 2029

Al-Nomlan announced that, starting in 2029, the total value of prizes across all three categories will increase to QR1.1 million, with each category having three winners rather than one. The move seeks to broaden participation and further promote research into Islamic thought and contemporary issues.

A Growing Legacy

The Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah Al-Thani Endowment Award has grown steadily over its editions, drawing researchers from across the Arab and Islamic world. In its previous edition, announced in September 2025, the 15th international prize, themed on social solidarity and its role in achieving community security, went to Moroccan researcher Ismail bin Abdullah Al-Hajj, while the first local edition, on family cohesion and its role in raising children, was shared among several researchers.

Looking ahead, the Ministry has previously announced that the theme of the 18th International Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah Al-Thani Endowment Prize will be "Artificial Intelligence and Technology Ethics in Islamic Thought: A Study of the Challenges of the Digital Revolution from an Islamic Perspective," while the upcoming local prize will focus on financial education for children according to Islamic methodology and its impact on the family economy.