Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel receives honorary knighthood

Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel, Chairman and President of Abdul Latif Jameel Group. Courtesy of Heather Chuter

Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel has received an honorary knighthood from the Queen of England for his philanthropic activities and support for the development of the arts and culture in the UK.

Mr Jameel is the chairman of Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives (ALJCI), which supports numerous programmes to address unemployment issues, enables research for poverty alleviation, and provides education and training opportunities across the Arab world.

He is also well recognised for his support for the development of the arts and culture. Most notably, Mr Jameel has played a significant part in a project to restore the Islamic Gallery housed in the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) in London and for founding the Jameel Prize, an international art prize awarded to up-and-coming artists and designers inspired by Islamic traditions of art, craft and design.

From one of Saudi Arabia’s most important families, Sir John Jenkins, the British Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, congratulated Mr Jameel on this “well deserved honour”.

Tim Stanley, senior curator in the Middle East department of the V&A said that he was “very pleased” that Mr Jameel had been recognised in this way.

“We have had a very postive relationship with Mr Jameel over the last 10 years. When we came the museum in the early 2000s, the main gallery had not been redeveloped since the 1940s and we had an Islamic art collection of world standing quality. Mr Jameel gave us the opportunity to produce a new gallery for these pieces. He not only gave us funding, he gave us ideas and it is thanks to him that we brought about the travelling exhibition, which now reaches new audiences world wide. We are constantly developing our relationship and hope it continues to be fruitful.”

In addition to his work in the UK, Mr Jameel has worked with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to establish the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and the Abdul Latif Jameel World Water and Food Security Lab (J-WAFS) to utilise scientific methodology and inform government policy in order to improve lives worldwide.

On accepting the award, Mr Jameel said: “I am deeply humbled that Her Majesty The Queen would see fit to bestow this honour upon me. This award is a great honour for my family and me, and also reflects the hard work and support of the hundreds of ALJCI team members who run the numerous programmes that help make such a difference.

“I would also like to thank the many partners that we work with across the globe, including MIT, and particularly the Victoria & Albert Museum for their support in preserving and promoting Islamic arts and culture.”

* Honorary knighthoods are awarded by the Queen, on the advice of the Foreign Secretary, to those who have made an important contribution to British interests.