October 15, 2009
By Arsalan Iftikhar
True/Slant Contributor
When TIME Magazine named 2003 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Dr. Shirin Ebadi as one of their 2004 ‘TIME 100 Most Influential People in the World’, they rightfully noted that Dr. Ebadi was indeed “a woman of steel” and a human rights champion with “a heart of gold”.
On October 10, 2003, Dr. Shrin Ebadi became the first Muslim woman (and first Iranian citizen) to be awarded the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway. In giving her the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize, the committee members in Oslo noted her special dedication for “the rights of women and children” around the world.
Furthermore, the Nobel committee noted that Dr. Ebadi “has consistently supported non-violence” and as opposed to military armed conflict, she also “favors enlightenment and dialogue as the best path to changing attitudes and resolving conflict” around the world.
To the pleasure of us Washingtonians, 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Shrin Ebadi was in Washington last night (October 14, 2009) to receive the 3rd annual ‘Human Security Award’ sponsored by the Muslim Public Affairs Council Foundation.
At an exclusively-private dinner reception of nearly 40 journalists, members of Congress, ambassadors and other dignitaries at the suburban DC uber-mansion of Pakistani Ambassador-At-Large Raffat Mahmood, Dr. Ebadi graciously accepted her award that evening and gave us her current thoughts on Islam, democracy, human rights and the infamous ‘clash of civilizations’ theory.
Continue Reading Arsalan’s October 2009 Column Here…
