List of Muslim Nobel laureates

As of 2023, fifteen Nobel Prize laureates have been Muslims, more than half of them in the 21st century. Eight of the fifteen laureates have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, while four have been for the sciences and three for Literature. 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]

Chemistry

Three 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 Turk to date to be awarded the Nobel Prize.[10]
2023		Moungi Bawendi (b. 1961)	American- Tunisian-French	The 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Moungi Bawendi "for the discovery and development of quantum dots"[11]	He is the first Tunisian to date to be awarded the Nobel Prize.[12][13]

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".[14][15]	The first Muslim author to receive such a prize.[4][16][17]
2006		Orhan Pamuk (b. 1952)	Turkish-Circassian 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".[18][19]	The first Turk and Circassian 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][20][21][22]
2021		Abdulrazak Gurnah (b. 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".[23]	"Muslim Writer"[24]

Peace

Eight 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".[25]	The first Muslim to receive a Nobel Prize.[4][26][27][28][29][30]
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".[31][32]	The only Muslim Palestinian to receive a Nobel Prize.[4][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]
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".[47]	The first Bangladeshi and Bengali Muslim Nobel laureate, and overall, the fourth Bengali person to win a Nobel prize.[4][48][49][50][51][52]
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".[53]	The first Arab woman and only Yemeni to receive a Nobel Prize.[54][55][56][57][58]
2014		Malala Yousafzai (b. 1997)	Pakistani peace activist.	At the age of 17, Yousafzai is the youngest Nobel Prize recipient ever.[59] She is also the second Pakistani and first ethnic Pashtun to be awarded a Nobel Prize.[60]	Malala Yousafzai: ‘I’m a feminist and a Muslim’ [61]
2023		Narges Mohammadi (b. 1972)	Iranian human rights activist.	The 2023 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Mohammadi "for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all"[62]	She is the second Iranian to win the Nobel Peace Prize and the Nobel Prize in general.[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". The life work of Abdus Salam was key to defining a theory of particle physics still used today, and it laid the groundwork for the 2012 discovery of the God particle, the particle that holds the physical fabric of the universe together as Abdus Salam viewed it theoretically and introduced it in the electroweak and strong interactions theory of the quantum field.[64]	He may be categorized as the first Muslim nobel laureate in science and only one in physics till now.[65][66] Abdus Salam openly identified himself as an Ahmadi Muslim throughout his life. He was a devoted member of the Ahmadiyya community and actively participated in its activities. However, it's worth noting that the Pakistani government declared the Ahmadiyya community as non-Muslim in 1974, which created significant challenges and discrimination for Ahmadis, including Dr. Salam.

By Country

Country	Number of Wins
Egypt	4
Pakistan	2
Turkey	2
Iran	2
Bangladesh	1
Yemen	1
Palestine	1
Tanzania	1
Tunisia	1

Further reading

Articles

• Mysticism in Contemporary Islamic Political Thought: Orhan Pamuk and Abdolkarim Soroush by John von Heyking, University of Lethbridge^[67]
• "Islam, Melancholy, and Sad, Concrete Minarets: The Futility of Narratives" in Orhan Pamuk's The Black Book by Ian Almond^[68]

Books

• The Age of Deception: Nuclear Diplomacy in Treacherous Times by Mohamed El Baradei.^[69]
• 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.^[70]
• Orhan Pamuk and the Politics of Turkish Identity: From Islam to Istanbul by Erdag Goknar, ISBN 0415505380, 978-0415505383, Routledge Publication.^[71]

Biography

• Cosmic Anger: Abdus Salam – The First Muslim Nobel Scientist. by Gordon Fraser [1], ISBN 0199697124, 978-0199697120.^[72]
• Yasser Arafat (Biography (Lerner Hardcover)) by George Headlam. ISBN 0822550040, 978-0822550044.^[73]
• Anwar Sadat: Visionary Who Dared by Joseph Finklestone.^[74]

Autobiography

• Iran Awakening: One Woman's Journey to Reclaim Her Life and Country (2007) by Shirin Ebadi (ISBN 9780676978025).^[75]
• Ahmed Zewail Autobiography.^[76]
• Banker to the Poor: The Autobiography of Muhammad Yunus, Founder of Grameen Bank. ISBN 0195795377, 978-0195795370.^[77]
• Sadat, Anwar (1978). In Search of Identity: An Autobiography. New York: Harper & Row. ISBN 978-0060137427.

See also

• List of Nobel Peace Laureates
• List of black Nobel Laureates
• List of Jewish Nobel laureates
• List of Christian Nobel laureates
• List of Nobel laureates by country
• List of Nobel laureates
• List of female Nobel laureates

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,^[78] and search the corresponding year of reception of Nobel Prize in the respective field.

References

External links

• [2] “Nobel Laureates and the Muslim World” by Saleem H. Ali, Newsvine, February 14, 2010
• [3] “Nobel laureates of the Islamic world” - S Iftikhar Murshed, The News International, April 3, 2011
• [4] “Professor Abdus Salam”
• [5] “No Nobels for the Muslim World” by Aziz Akhmad, The Express Tribune, October 6, 2011
• [6] “Abdus Salam, 'First Muslim Nobel Laureate'”, ‘The Culture Trip’. (Abdus Salam was a theoretical physicist who became the first Pakistani and the first Muslim to be awarded the Nobel Prize in the sciences.)
• [7] “Dr. Abdus Salam: Nobel Laureate in Physics”
• [8] “Tawakul Karman speaks: Islam Supports Democracy”, 'Onislam', December 10, 2011
• [9]^{[permanent dead link]} “A Muslim woman's place is in society: Nobel Laureate”, France 24, November 2, 2009
• [10] Archived 2018-10-06 at the Wayback Machine “Nobel Prize reflects women's struggle in the Muslim world”
• [11] “Nobel Peace Prize Winner Tawakkul Karman Profile: The Mother of Yemen's revolution”, The Huffington Post, October 7, 2011
• "Nobel Prize winner highlights women’s role in Arab Spring" The Michigan Daily. November 15, 2011
• [12]“Nobel Peace Prize Winner Tawakul Karman: Islam No Threat to Democracy”, reprinted ‘Positive Islam’, December 12, 2011, 1st printed Reuters[13] December 9, 2011
• [14] “The Nobel Prize – Muslim Winners”, by Sadaqat
• [15] “Women Nobel Peace Laureates Congratulate Three New Women Laureates”, Nobel Women's Initiative, October 7, 2011
• [16] Archived 2021-06-30 at the Wayback Machine“Pamuk on Multiculturalism, Secularism, Islam, and the EU ”,‘Turkish Politics in Action’, January 18, 2009
• [17]“Two Souls – In Europe And Turkey”, an interview with Orhan Pamuk by Nathan Gardels,‘Nobel Laureates Plus’,NPQ, November 28, 2006
• [18]“Nobel author bridges Islam and the West” by Mark Feeney, The Boston Globe, October 13, 2006
• [19]“Listen to the damned” by Orhan Pamuk, The Guardian, September 29, 2001
• [20]“Muhammad Yunus addresses Islamic finance forum ” by Talal Malik,‘ Arabian Business’, April 13, 2008
• [21]‘Anwar Sadat’, about.com
• [22]“Thirty years later, Sadat's widow still hopes for peace”, CNN, March 26, 2009
• [23]“The Tragedy of Muslim Civilization” by Aftab Zaidi, Nirmukta, November 13, 2011
• [24]“Naguib Mahfouz and modern ‘Islamic identity’” by ‘Mehnaz Mona Afridi’, UNISA, November 2008
• [25] 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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