: What Effect Will Shirin Ebadi’s Nobel Prize Have On Her Work?

Even the government which human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi fought on so many occasions was forced to offer tepid congratulations last week upon the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the 56-year old activist, who has worked for years under the guiding principle of the compatibility of Islam and human rights. “All I’ve tried to do in the last 20 years,” said Ebadi in Paris last week, “was to prove that with another interpretation of Islam it would be possible to introduce democracy to Muslim countries.” Ebadi is the third Muslim (and first Muslim woman) to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. The award puts additional pressure on the Iranian government, already besieged by US-led efforts to investigate Iran’s nuclear program. “The Nobel Committee has sent a powerful message to the Iranian government that serious human rights violations must end,” said Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth Roth. “We hope they hear that message.” That message, however, is lost in a part of the world where outside efforts to promote change are usually represented by military force. Supporting the work of activists like Ebadi may be a more effective method of reaching the same goal, and the Nobel may give her enough international attention to insure she does not get jailed again for her work, as she was in 1999. “The biggest benefit of this prize,” says Ebadi, “is to show that it still is possible to stay in Iran and work for the advancement of human rights there.”

Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.