Professor Abd Alkarim Zedan Biej
King Faisal Prize in Islamic Studies 1997 Laureate
Topic: "Studies on the Status of Women in Islam"
Women’s affairs, in terms of their rights and duties, have become a major issue in modern society
Abdulkarim Zedan was educated in Iraq and Egypt. He graduated from the College of Law in Baghdad University in 1950, and obtained the Diploma of the Sharia Institute in 1958 and a Ph.D. in Islamic Sharia from Cairo University in 1962.
Professor Biej taught Islamic Sharia at the College of Arts and the College of Law in Baghdad University for many years, and rose through academic ranks to full professorship and Deanship of the College of Islamic Studies. After his retirement, he was named a Professor Emeritus at Baghdad University in recognition of his contributions to teaching and research. He subsequently served as a Professor of Islamic Sharia and Comparative Fiqh at the Departments of Islamic Studies and Graduate Islamic Studies in the College of Arts at Sana’a University in Yemen.
Professor Biej authored numerous articles and several books; some of his works were translated into other languages – English, Turkish, Indonesian, Malaysian, and Hindi – and are being taught in several Arab and Islamic Universities.
This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.
- He authored many publications including:
- Mujaz Al-Adyan Fi Al-Quran (Al-Risalah Publications), (1998).
- Natharat Fi Al-Sharia Al-Islamiyah Wa Al-Qawaneen Al-Wadhaiyah (Al-Risalah Publications), (2004).
- He was chosen as a trustees board member at Al-Ayman University in 1999.
- Professor Abdulkarim Zedan Biej passed away in Sana’a on January 27, 2014.