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Nobel laureate warns of equating Islam, terrorism
Date Posted: Friday, May 28, 2004
BY JAMIE C. RUFF
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Thursday, May 27, 2004
CHATHAM - Iranian legal and human-rights activist and 2003 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi said the United States should export democracy, but by supporting democratic institutions and not through its military.
"Democracy is a common need of all civilizations," Ebadi told a gathering last night at Pittsylvania County's cultural center.
Ebadi won the Nobel Peace Prize for championing the rights of women and children in Iran and elsewhere in the world.
In awarding the prize to Ebadi, the Nobel Committee said that it hoped the prize would inspire "those who struggle for human rights and democracy in her country, in the Muslim world, and in all countries where the fight for human rights needs inspiration and support."
Earlier in the day, Ebadi met with students studying Western civilization and world cultures at the all-female Chatham Hall. Ebadi will have a question-and-answer session with students this morning before departing.
During a news conference before her speech, Ebadi said the United States should get out of Iraq as quickly as possible and let the country develop its democracy under U.S. guidance.
"The people of Iraq have demonstrated . . . they want to determine their own fate," she said through an interpreter.
Accompanying Ebadi at the news conference was Karim Lahidji, an Iranian human-rights leader living in exile in Paris. Ebadi introduced him as "the father of human rights in Iran."
She said that after Lahidji left Iran, "speaking of human rights in Iran was liking carrying a bomb in your hand and walking down the street."
In her speech to about 500 people last night, Ebadi noted that Middle Eastern countries are still struggling to resolve difference between secular and religious law. Some governments use religion to oppress citizens, she said.
"Islam should be taught to the people of every generation, and you have to educate people about the fact that Islam is not a religion that is not compatible to the modern world," she said. "It is the government that hides behind Islam."
Ebadi said terms such as "Islamic terrorism" should not be used. The shortcomings of Islam are not in the religion, but in its interpretation, she said.
Ebadi also told the audience not to believe in the theory of a clash of civilizations. "That is used to justify war," she said.
"We need to separate the errors of particular Muslims . . . from the creed they believe in," Ebadi said.
Ebadi's visit follows three other recent appearances at the school by noted women in politics and culture. In February, the school hosted Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and former United Nations high commissioner for human rights, and social activist Sherialyn Byrdsong. In March, poet Nikki Giovanni came to Chatham Hall.
This story can be found at: http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031775724121&path=!news&s=1045855934842
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