This article was produced and financed by University of Bergen
Video: Interview with Holberg Prize 2014 winner
Professor Michael Cook discusses Islam’s resurgence and how this ties in with political developments.
The Holberg Prize is celebrated at the University of Bergen (UiB) in the first week of June every year. On 4 June, Professor Michael Cook from the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University received the Holberg Prize for 2014.
The winner was announced in March.
Professor Cook is the first British recipient of the Holberg Prize.
The Holberg Prize is often referred to as a ’Nobel Prize of the social sciences’, and the prize winner is awarded with NOK 4.5 million (approximately EUR 550,000).
Professor Cook is one of the world’s leading scholars on Islamic history. He has contributed strongly to a greater understanding of the origins of Islam, as well as the ethics and politics of Islam. He was among the first to use non-Islamic source material in this research.
The Holberg Prize is awarded annually to scholars who have made outstanding contributions to research in the arts and humanities, social science, law or theology.
