The AMSS UK is pleased to announce that its prestigious 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award has been presented to two recipients at the A Common Word Between Us and You: A Global Agenda for Change Conference, 6-8 October 2009 at the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University, USA. The Award was presented by Dr. Ibrahim Kalin, Chief Advisor to the Prime Minister of Turkey, and Shaikh Amr Khaled on behalf of Dr. Anas S. Al-Shaikh-Ali, Chair, AMSS UK  

Professor John L. Esposito -  Founding Director, Prince Alwaleed Centre for Muslim-Christian Understanding, USA  - in recognition of his outstanding academic contributions and pioneering work in developing the academic study and understanding of Faiths and their relations.

Professor Charles E. Butterworth - Emeritus Professor, University of Maryland, USA - in recognition of outstanding scholarly service to the study of Islamic political philosophy and medieval Arabic giving academic prominence to advanced Islamic philosophical discourse and its relevance for the current era. 

The Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS UK), is a non-profit organization based in London and committed to the development of perspectives on contemporary local and global issues through research, scholarship, conferences and publications.

The AMSS UK presents two annual Awards which are given to either one or two recipients: the Building Bridges Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award. The Lifetime Achievement Award was inaugurated in 2000 and the Building Bridges Award in 2002.

Previous distinguished recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award have been, in date order:

• Professor Ali Mazrui (2000),
• HE President Ali Izetbegovic (2001),
• Dr. Zaki Badawi (2002),
• Professor Edward Said (2003),
• Dr. Martin Lings (2004),
• Professor Fuat Sezgin (2005),
• Professor Muhamad Abdel Haleem (2006),
• Dr. Mustafa Ceric (2007),
• Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr (2008).

Previous distinguished recipients of the Building Bridges Award have been, in date order:

• Charles Le Gai Eaton (2003),
• Karen Armstrong (2004),
• the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams (2005), 
• Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriquez Zapatero of Spain and Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdogan of Turkey (2006),
• Professor Ekmeledin Ihsnaoglu, Secretary General of the OIC (2007),
• A Common Word(2008),
• the British Council’s ‘Our Shared Europe’ Project and ‘1001 Inventions: Muslim Heritage in Our World’ (2009).