The Washington Foreign Law Society seeks to promote and recognize serious student scholarship in the United States and Canada in the area of Islamic jurisprudence and related legal developments in the Muslim World.  In support of this goal, the WFLS has established an annual writing prize in honor of the late Dr. Ibrahim Shihata, former World Bank General Counsel, past recipient of the WFLS Harry Leroy Jones Award, and revered member of the Washington and international legal communities.  The winner of the Shihata Prize will receive a $2,500 cash prize sponsored by the MEH Foundation as part of that organization’s support of the Society’s efforts to promote student scholarship.

The MEH Foundation of Manlius, New York is a private foundation dedicated to the promotion of scholarship in Middle East affairs.  In addition to the Shihata Prize, the foundation supports academic programs at various institutions, national and community organizations promoting inter-religious dialogue, and the Mohamed El-Hindi Book Series on Arab Culture and Islamic Civilization published by the Syracuse University Press