List of Muslim Nobel laureates

As of 2021, thirteen Nobel Prize laureates have been Muslims, more than half in the 21st century. Seven of the thirteen laureates have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, while three have been for the sciences. The recipient of the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics, Abdus Salam, was a member of the Ahmadi community of Pakistan. Aziz Sancar is the second Turkish Nobel laureate and was awarded the Nobel prize in Chemistry in the field of molecular biology in 2015.[1]

Distribution of Muslims in Nobel Prizes 1901–2015: 12 laureates have been Muslims, 1.4% of all Nobel prizes. Percentages are rounded.

Chemistry

Two Muslims have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Year image Laureate Country and profession Rationale comment
1999 Ahmed Zewail

(1946–2016)[2]

 Egyptian-American scientist The 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Ahmed Zewail "for his studies of the transition states of chemical reactions using femtosecond spectroscopy".[3] He is the first Muslim chemist to be awarded the Nobel Prize and the second Muslim scientist.[4][5][6][7][8]
2015 Aziz Sancar

(b. 1946)

 Turkish-American scientist The 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Aziz Sancar "for mechanistic studies of DNA repair"[9] He is the first Turkish chemist, and the second Turkish to date to be awarded the Nobel Prize and the third Muslim scientist.[10][11]

Literature

Three Muslims have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Year image Laureate Country and profession Rationale comment
1988 Naguib Mahfouz

(1911–2006)

 Egyptian author, noted for his contribution to modern Arabic literature The 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature was given to Naguib Mahfouz "who, through works rich in nuance—now clear-sightedly realistic, now evocatively ambiguous—has formed an Arabian narrative art that applies to all mankind".[12][13] The first Muslim author to receive such a prize.[4][14][15]
2006 Orhan Pamuk (b. 1952) Turkish author famous for his novels My Name Is Red and Snow The 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Orhan Pamuk "who in the quest for the melancholic soul of his native city has discovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures".[16][17] The first Turk to receive the Nobel Prize, He describes himself as a Cultural Muslim who associates the historical and cultural identification with the religion while not believing in a personal connection to God.[4][18][19][20]
2021 Abdulrazak Gurnah

(born 20 December 1948)

 Tanzanian author, noted for his contribution to modern African literature Gurnah was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2021 "for his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fates of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents".[21] "Muslim Writer"[22]

Peace

Seven Muslims have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Year image Laureate Country and profession Rationale comment
1978 Anwar al-Sadat (1918–1981) Egyptian President He, along with Menachem Begin was awarded 1978 Nobel Peace Prize "for their contribution to the two frame agreements on peace in the Middle East, and on peace between Egypt and Israel, which were signed at Washington on September 17, 1978".[23] The first Muslim to receive a Nobel Prize.[4][24][25][26][27][28][29]
1994 Yasser Arafat (1929–2004) Palestinian politician The 1994 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded jointly to Arafat, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin "for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East".[30][31] The only Muslim Palestinian to receive a Nobel Prize.[4][32][33][34][35][36]
2003 Shirin Ebadi (b. 1947) Iranian Human Rights Activist The 2003 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Ebadi "for her efforts for democracy and human rights. She has focused especially on the struggle for the rights of women and children".[37] The only Iranian to receive a Nobel Prize. She was also the first Muslim woman to receive such an honor.[4][38][39][40][41] Note that Doris Lessing born and raised for 5 years in modern day Iran is a fellow laureate.
2005 Mohamed El Baradei (b. 1942) Egyptian diplomat The 2005 Nobel Peace Prize was jointly awarded to El Baradei and IAEA "for their efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being used for military purposes and to ensure that nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is used in the safest possible way".[42][43] He was the second Egyptian to be awarded Nobel Peace Prize (2005).[4][44][45][46][47]
2006 Muhammad Yunus (b. 1940) Bangladeshi economist and founder of Grameen Bank. The 2006 Nobel Peace Prize was jointly awarded to Yunus and Grameen Bank "for their efforts to create economic and social development from below".[48] The first Bangladeshi and Bengali Muslim Nobel laureate, and overall, the fourth Bengali person to win a Nobel prize.[4][49][50][51][52][53][54]
2011 Tawakel Karman (b. 1979) Human rights activist based in Yemen. A prominent leader in the Arab Spring. The 2011 Nobel Peace Prize was jointly given to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Karman "for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work".[55] The first Arab woman and only Yemeni to receive a Nobel Prize.[56][57][58][59][60]
2014 Malala Yousafzai (b. 1997) Pakistani peace activist. At the age of 17, Yousafzai is the youngest Nobel Prize recipient ever.[61] She is also the second Pakistani and first ethnic Pashtun to be awarded a Nobel Prize.[62] Malala Yousafzai: ‘I’m a feminist and a Muslim’ [63]

Physics

One Muslim has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.

Year image Laureate Country and profession Rationale comment
1979 Mohammad Abdus Salam

(1926–1996)

 Pakistani physicist The 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded jointly to Sheldon Glashow, Salam, and Steven Weinberg "for their contributions to the theory of the unified weak and electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles, including, inter alia, the prediction of the weak neutral current".[64] He is the only Pakistani scientist to be awarded the Nobel Prize.[65][66] He was a member of the world wide Ahmadiyya Muslim community and as such not considered a Muslim by the government of Pakistan.[67] In 1974, the Pakistan parliament made the Second Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan that declared Ahmadi to be non-Muslim. In protest, Salam left Pakistan for London.

By Country
Rank Country Number of Wins
1 Egypt 4
2 Pakistan 2
3 Turkey 2
4 Iran 1
= Bangladesh 1
= Yemen 1
= Palestine 1
= Tanzania 1

Further reading

Articles

Books
  • The Age of Deception: Nuclear Diplomacy in Treacherous Times by Mohamed El Baradei.[70]
  • Islam, Orientalism and Intellectual History: Modernity and the Politics of Exclusion since Ibn Khaldun (Library of Middle East History) by Mohammad R. Salama ISBN 1848850050, 1848850050.[71]
  • Orhan Pamuk and the Politics of Turkish Identity: From Islam to Istanbul by Erdag Goknar, ISBN 0415505380, 978-0415505383, Routledge Publication.[72]

Biography
  • Cosmic Anger: Abdus Salam – The First Muslim Nobel Scientist. by Gordon Fraser , ISBN 0199697124, 978-0199697120.[73]
  • Yasser Arafat (Biography (Lerner Hardcover)) by George Headlam. ISBN 0822550040, 978-0822550044.[74]
  • Anwar Sadat: Visionary Who Dared by Joseph Finklestone.[75]

Autobiography

See also

References

The year of receiving Nobel Prize is given after each Nobel Laureate in this article. For verification of candidacy of above listed Nobel Laureates, please go to nobelprize.org,[79] and search the corresponding year of reception of Nobel Prize in the respective field.

References
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  • “Nobel Laureates and the Muslim World” by Saleem H. Ali, Newsvine, February 14, 2010
  • “Nobel laureates of the Islamic world” - S Iftikhar Murshed, The News International, April 3, 2011
  • “Professor Abdus Salam”
  • “No Nobels for the Muslim World” by Aziz Akhmad, The Express Tribune, October 6, 2011
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  • “Nobel author bridges Islam and the West” by Mark Feeney, The Boston Globe, October 13, 2006
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  • “Muhammad Yunus addresses Islamic finance forum ” by Talal Malik,‘ Arabian Business’, April 13, 2008
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  • “Thirty years later, Sadat's widow still hopes for peace”, CNN, March 26, 2009
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  • “Naguib Mahfouz and modern ‘Islamic identity’” by ‘Mehnaz Mona Afridi’, UNISA, November 2008
  • Malak, Amin, “The Qur’anic Paradigm and the Renarration of Empire: Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Paradise” in Muslim Narratives and the Discourse of English. – Albany : State University of New York Press, 2005
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