Iran to create Islamic 'Nobel Prize'

Moscow: Iran, which only has one Nobel Prize laureate, announced the inception of a rival award intended solely for outstanding scientists of the Islamic world, the country's news agency Fars said on Saturday. The Great Prophet World Prize will be bestowed biennially on "the Muslim world scientists in three technological fields in which Iran has also make outstanding progress," said Iranian Vice President for Science and Technology Nasrin Soltankhah.

She did not identify the fields covered by the Great Prophet World Prize, but said it would help prepare Muslim scientists for tighter competition over global awards such as the Nobel Prize, identified in the report as "the Noble prize." The Nobel Prize, established in 1901, currently has six categories.

The only Iranian to win it so far has been human rights activist Shirin Ebadi, now living in London, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003.

The Great Prophet World Prize will be bestowed biennially on the Muslim world scientists in three technological fields.

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