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Avicenna was born c. 980 in Afshana, a village near Bukhara (in present-day Uzbekistan), the capital of the Samanids, a Persian dynasty in Central Asia and Greater Khorasan. His mother, named Sitāra, was from Bukhara;[ his father, Abdullāh, was a respected scholar from Balkh, an important town of the Samanid Empire, in what is today Balkh Province, Afghanistan. He passed away 1037 in Hamadan a western Iranian city where he was buried.
He is regarded in the Oriental world even today as one of the most important physicians and scholars of all time. One peak of Oriental medicine was reached with the “Prince of physicians” as he has been reverentially named. For nearly 700 years, up until the beginning of modern medicine this universal scholar, scientist and philosopher was regarded as an undisputable authority, even in Europe.
Born to the son of a government dignitary, Avicenna was already an accomplished and celebrated scientist at the early age of sixteen. As an inheritor to a vast fortune, Avicenna led a travelling career on Persian Courts, where he was active as a physician, astronomer, politician and writer. Honored during his lifetime with the title as “Sheikh”, he spent the remaining fourteen years of his life serving as the personal physician and scientific advisor on the Court of the of an Isfahan prince.
His major work, the Canon of Medicine, with the original Arabic title “al-qanun fi at-tibb” (translated into Latin as Canon medicinae, was completed in 1030. Its scientific content inspired and paved the way for European medicine in the Christian-Latin Occident and was counted among the most significant medical textbooks in the Middle East as well as in Europe for a long time. This essential written work of the art of healing is ranked equally with the writings of Hippocrates (ca. 460 until 370 B.C.) and Galen (129 until ca. 200 A.C.) at all significant European universities.
”Kitab ash-Shifa” (“The Healing“), Avicenna´s best-known philosophical work, contains contributions about Aristotelian logic, metaphysics, natural sciences and other topics. In medieval scholastics, besides Averroes, he was the most outstanding Arab philosopher and mediator of Aristotelian philosophy and natural history. Since the 13th Century the works of Avicenna have not only been particularly adopted at medical faculties but also adhered in the philosophical and scientific spheres.
2019 Avicenna Peace Award LaureateRached Al-Ghannouchi
Affiliation at the time of the award: Co-founder and President of Tunisia’s Ennahda Party
Prize motivation: Promoting non-violent Islamism and political pluralism
Life
Rached Ghannouchi was born in June 22, 1941, is a Tunisian politician and thinker, co-founder of the Ennahdha Party and serving as its "intellectual leader". Ghannouchi was named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2012 and Foreign Policy's Top 100 Global Thinkers and was awarded the Chatham House Prize in 2012 (alongside Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki) by Prince Andrew, Duke of York, for "the successful compromises each achieved during Tunisia's democratic transition". In 2016 he received the Jamnalal Bajaj Award for "promoting Gandhian values outside India".
He received his certificate of attainment degree, equivalent to the Baccalauréat, in 1962 from the University of Ez-Zitouna (Zaytouna). He entered the school of agriculture at Cairo University in 1964 but, following the expulsion of Tunisians from Egypt, he left for Syria. He studied philosophy at the University of Damascus, graduating in 1968. Ghannouchi also spent some time in his 20s traveling and working in Europe as a grape picker and dish washer.
Islamic Tendency Movement
In April 1981 Ghannouchi founded the Islamic Tendency Movement. The Movement described itself as specifically rooted in non-violent Islamism, and called for a "reconstruction of economic life on a more equitable basis, the end of single-party politics and the acceptance of political pluralism and democracy." By the end of July 1981, Ghannouchi and his followers were arrested, sentenced to eleven years in prison in Bizerte, and were tortured. Both the religious and secular community, including numerous secular political organizations, rallied in his support. While in prison he translated a number of works and wrote on topics such as democracy, women's rights, and Palestine. He also wrote his most noted work, Al‐Hurriyat al‐'Ammah (Public Liberties).
He was released in 1984, but returned to prison in 1987 with a life sentence, then was again released in 1988. He moved to the United Kingdom as a political exile, where he lived for 22 years.
Ghannouchi's willingness to compromise with secularists in Tunisia and his country's unique success in maintaining a democratic system following the Arab Spring has been credited to his background.
Rached Al Ghannouchi's Acceptance StatementI am very pleased to have been recognized to receive the Ibn-e-Sina International Award for my humble efforts to promote intercultural dialogue and call for peace, understanding, freedom, democracy and dissemination of values such as moderation and peaceful coexistence in the Muslim world.
We live in a world where conflict and unrest have forced people to live with destructive wars.
Islam believes in differences and diversity as a base for peaceful competition, and not for elimination of others; because diversity leads to a better life for all of mankind.
Islam has established a set of mechanisms and a harmonic system of ethical values to deal with diversity among people in a way to enforce values such as justice and rights; and realize security and peace in the world, while keeping peoples’ identity intact.
The world today, more than ever, needs Islamic values; for they are human values and not [limited as] national or ethnic values. Islamic teachings and Muslim scholars, now more than ever, are responsible for leading towards peace and promotion of coexistence and recognition of each other. Islamic scholars and pioneers of Islamic movements should do their best to mend Islamic thought and free them of dogmas.
For the last fifty years, we have tried to emphasize freedom as a core measure of readings and understandings of religious texts and realities; while nurturing mankind on an individual level, and at the societal level. Freedom is the core value of Islamic teachings; the more this value affects life, the more other values like coexistence, peace, justice and security will be promoted.
We are optimistic that the world will come closer to Islamic values everyday; this fact makes us responsible to put more effort towards development, social welfare and human decency.
God bless you and your efforts towards human wellbeing. Once again, I express my gratitude for giving me this award.
Peace,
Rached Ghannouchi
Head of the Ennahdha Party, Tunisia