Iranian woman wins Nobel Peace Prize

Christian Century, Nov 1, 2003

Iranian jurist and activist Shirin Ebadi has won the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize, the first Iranian and the first Muslim woman to he so honored. The announcement from Oslo on October l0 disappointed admirers of Pope John Paul II, who later in the month celebrated the 25th year of his pontificate. But many praised the choice of Ebadi, who had praise for the pope as well.

"I have always admired the pope, still more because he condemned the American intervention in Iraq," Ebadi, 56, told a news conference in Paris. The Nobel Peace Prize Committee said it was honoring the Muslim activist for her courage and commitment to democracy. It noted that those she has defended from persecution by Iran Islamic leaders included Bahais, whose religion was founded in Tehran in 1859.

The announcement of the winner was a surprise because bookmakers from Norway to Australia had made the 83-year old Catholic pontiff an odds-on favorite for his efforts to end conflict in the world, fight poverty and encourage dialogue between religions. Others reported to be in the running included former Czech President Vaclav Havel, Irish U2 rock star Bono and President Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva of Brazil.

Mario Marazziti, a founder of the Rome-based Community of Sant'Egidio also believed to be in the running for the prize, said John Paul did not need more honors, and it was "important and significant" that the Nobel committee had honored a moderate Muslim. "It is a Nobel of great significance because it indicates that the road of the struggle against terrorism and war must pass through the recognition of that Islam that knows how to join democracy and human rights with an intelligent relationship with modernity," he said.

Indeed, in the words of Nobel Peace Prize Committee Chairman Ole Danbolt Mjoes, "'She sees no conflict between Islam and fundamental human rights." Ebadi's arguments for women's equality, according to foreign scholars, are grounded in law and the text of the Qur'an, contending that abuse of women in Islamic countries is based on a misreading of Islamic tradition and teachings.

Iran's first female judge during the shah's regime and later a dissident lawyer, writer and lecturer, Ebadi fought battles with the hard-line conservative clerics and as a result was imprisoned in 2000. Reaction in Iran ranged from conservatives accusing the Nobel committee of pandering to the West's political views to reformers who saw her honor as a possible catalyst for change.