Category: Ibn Rushd-Prize

The Ibn Rushd Prize 2018 calls for: a caricaturist who criticizes or ridicules political, religious or social leaders and authorities. A caricature is an exaggerating drawing highlighting the negative characteristics of what it depicts in order to criticize it. This way of criticizing seems to be deeply rooted in the human mind – historians argue […]

Amjad Rasmi Born in 1974 Amman, Jordan. Lives between London and Amman. Majored in Fine Arts in Amman. Started in Al Shark Al Awsat newspaper as a journalist. Worked in Jordanian AL-Dustour newspaper. A cartoonist and a founder of the Jordanian Cartoonist Association. Won the Arab journalism award for the cartoon category in 2008 and […]

Amjad Rasmi Born in 1974 Amman, Jordan. Lives between London and Amman. Majored in Fine Arts in Amman. Started in Al Shark Al Awsat newspaper as a journalist. Worked in Jordanian AL-Dustour newspaper. A cartoonist and a founder of the Jordanian Cartoonist Association. Won the Arab journalism award for the cartoon category in 2008 and […]

Ibn Rush Price 2019 Born in Tunisia. Obtained certificates of “efficiency in research” with a university research on the aesthetics of Adreno in French in 1990. PhD in modern philosophy with a research on Kant and on the qualification of philosophy in the field of philosophy of art and aesthetics in 2000. Tunisian researcher specializing […]

Pictures from the 2017 Ibn Rushd Prize awarding ceremony to AMAN – Palestine

Dear friends of freedom of thought in the Arab World and elsewhere: We wish you a Happy New Year 2018. May the new year be less stormy, both concerning weather and politics, and may it bring health and happiness to you and your loved ones. This coming year, the Ibn Rushd Fund will become 20 […]

Laudatory Speech given by Kinda Hattar, Transparency International on occasion of AMAN-Coalition, Transparency of Palestine, winning the Ibn Rushd Prize for freedom of Thought on the 1st December 2017

Kinda Hattar has worked with Transparency International (TI) for 5 years as the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) regional Advisor, she has developed TI presence in Tunisia and Jordan in addition to building the capacity of other chapters in the region. In her capacity, Kinda drives the expertise of working with stakeholders in the […]

Welcoming Speech of the Ibn Rushd Fund at the occasion of awarding the Ibn Rushd Prize to AMAN, Coalition for Accountability and Integrity Palestine on December 01, 2017 Dear ladies and gentlemen, dear guests from near and far, dear friends and supporters of the Ibn Rushd Fund, dear members! Today, a vibrant mix of people […]

Speech given by Majdi Abu Zaid, Executive Director of the AMAN-Coalition, Transparency of Palestine, during presentation of the Ibn Rushd Prize on behalf of AMAN on the 1st December 2017 Good evening Ladies and gentlemen Allow me first to convey to you best regards from the chairman and from all members of the General Assembly […]

Atta El-Battahani Dr. Atta El-Battahani is a Professor in Political Science, he holds a Ph.D. from the University of Sussex, (Britain), and M.Sc, B.Sc in Political Science; and B.A in Philosophy from the University of Khartoum (Sudan). During 2003-2006 he was Head Department of Political Science, Faculty of Economics, University of Khartoum; and a founding […]

The Ibn Rushd Prize 2017 calls for a person, organisation or institution that has made an outstanding contribution to combatting corruption In many parts of the world social inequality is striking. Equal opportunities are an illusion for an overwhelming number of people. No society is free from corruption, but corruption in the public and in […]

The Coalition for Accountability and Integrity (AMAN) AMAN was established in 2000 upon an initiative by a number of Palestinian civil society organizations working in the fields of democracy, human rights, and good governance. Their goal was to initiate a national program to combat corruption, and enhance the values of transparency and accountability in Palestine […]

Members of the Jury of Ibn Rushd Prize 2015 Mohammed Achaari Moroccan poet and writer, born in 1951. Contributed to the political and trade union struggle for years and this experience led him to assume leadership responsibilities and then to parliamentary work through his participation in the first political experience of parliamentary government, led by […]

Ahmed Marzouki Ahmed Marzouki was born in 1947 in Bouajul, a village in northwest Morrocco. His father worked at the local court after having studied law at the University of Qarawiyyin. After primary school in the neighbouring town of Ghafsai, Marzouki attended secondary schools in Fes, Rabat and Meknes. Subsequent to this, he went to […]

Aisha Odeh Born in Deir Jerir near Ramallah/Al-Bireh in 1944.Primary school Deir Jerir, middle and secondary school in Ramallah.Diploma in Education at the Teacher’s Collge in Ramallah in 1966Work experience Aisha Odeh worked as school teacher for mathematics and science at Ein Yabrud Middle School for Girls from September 1966 to the day of her […]

Welcome speech of the Ibn Rushd Fund (held by Dr. Hamid Fadlalla) on occasion of awarding the Ibn Rushd Prize 2014 to Rachid al-Ghannouchi Simultanübersetzung: Dr. Günther Orth Verehrte Damen und Herren,ich freue mich, Sie sowie alle anwesenden Vertreter der Botschaften der arabischen Staaten, der Arabischen Liga, des Auswärtigen Amtes und alle anwesenden Vertreter deutscher […]

Members of the Jury of Ibn Rushd Prize 2014 The Ibn Rushd Fund’s voting procedure for the determination of the award winner: After a period of public nomination (any person may nominate one other individual) all valid nominations, including information about the candidates, are forwarded by the Fund to an independent panel for review. The […]

Rashid al-Ghannushi Rashid al-Ghannushi (born in 1941), is a Tunisian politician, co-founder of the Al-Nahda Movement and serving as its “intellectual leader”.Al-Ghannushi was born outside El Hamma, in the governorate of Gabès in southern Tunisia. He received his certificate of attainment degree, equivalent to the Baccalauréat, in 1962 from the University of Ez-Zitouna. He entered […]

Call for Nomination The Ibn Rushd Prize 2014 is calling fora person who stands for a modern Islam as a pillar of civil society and in so doing calls for a democratic civil state The Arab Spring has brought about greatly differing political, legal, and social changes. Some of these convey the feeling of progress […]

Laudatory speech to Rim Banna at her receiving of the Ibn Rushd Award 2013 by Erik Hillestad, music producer and lyricist, Norway My meeting with Rim I met Rim Banna 11 years ago. In 2002, I was travelling in Palestine. The world was apparently about to reach a new level in antagonism between the East […]

Members of the Jury of Ibn Rushd Prize 2013 Lotfi Bouchnak Lotfi Bouchnak, born 1952 in Tunis to a family of Turkish-Bosnian origin, is a Tunisian singer, oud player, composer and public figure. He is considered one of the best tenors in the Middle East, North Africa, and the Arab world and has been dubbed […]

Rim Banna Rim Banna, a Palestinian singer-song writer, composer, arranger and activist, was born in Nazareth, Galilee, on December 8, 1966. During her studies at at the Gnesins’ Academy of Music in Moscow she specialized in modern singing and conducting singing groups. She graduated in 1991. Rim Banna is known for her modern interpretations of […]

Call for Nomination The Ibn Rushd Prize 2013 is calling for a singer, songwriter, or band whose songs deal with the quest for freedom, civil rights, and democracy, and call for implementing these. Freedom and democracy, the right for a life of dignity and security – these are values an increasing number of states, also […]

Laudatio on the occasion of the awarding of the 14th Ibn Rushd Prize on November 30, 2012 to Razan Zaituneh, at the Museum of Islamic Art, Pergamon Museum, Berlin. Prof. Udo Steinbach We have to do without their physical presence among us today. It is not the first time that laureates are prevented from receiving […]

Members of the Jury of Ibn Rushd Prize 2012 Taoufik Ben BrikTaoufik Ben Brik was born in 1960 as the son of a trade unionist in Jérissa, a town in the mining region in north eastern Tunisia. He studied at the Faculty of Law in Tunis, but eventually abandoned his studies. In 1988, he joined […]

Razan Zaitouneh Razan Zaitouneh was born in 1977 in Syria. In 1999 she completed her studies at the faculty of law in Damascus and initiated her work as a lawyer in 2001. Her main focus is in human rights. Since 2001 she has been a member of a group of lawyers which take it upon […]

Call for Nomination The Ibn Rushd Fund is seeking nominations for the 2012 Ibn Rushd Award:a young activist of the Arab Spring who peacefully fights for a democratic state The revolutions and political upheaval in Syria and Tunisia, in Egypt and Yemen, demonstrations and protests in further Arab countries – without the unconditional dedication of young […]

Laudatory for Sihem Bensedrine by Prof. Dr. Kai HafezThis Laudatory is available only in German (original language) or translated to Arabic. CV Prof. Dr. Kai Hafez Prof. Dr. Kai Hafez Vitae Born 1964 in Bielefeld/Germany since 2003 Full Professor (Chair) for International and Comparative Communication Studies at the Department of Media and Communication, University of […]

Members of the Jury 2011 Toujan al-Faisal Toujan al-Faisal is a human rights activist, born in Jordan in 1948.  She was a TV journalist and Jordan’s first female Member of Parliament, serving from 1993 to 1997 in the first parliament after martial law was lifted. Al-Faisal has a Baccalaureate and MA in English Literature from […]

Sihem Bensedrine Personal Born on 28th October 1950 in La Marsa (Tunis), married to Omar Mestiri, three children Education MA of Philosophy from the University Toulouse Le Mirail Professional Life 1980-1992: reporter, editor and editor in chief of several journals1985-1986: One of the founders of the monthly feminist magazine Nissa1989-1995: Founder and director of the […]

Call for Nomination The Ibn Rushd Fund is seeking nominationsfor the 2011 Ibn Rushd Award: A woman journalistwho actively and courageously fosters freedom of thought in the Arab world The Arab world has set out in search of freedom, and the Arab people are proving adamant in demanding autonomy and self-determination from those who have […]

Members of the jury Ahmed Ashour Ahmed Ashour (born in Jordan 1981) holds a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts with a major in graphic design from the University in Amman, Jordan.Ashour came to Al Jazeera Media Company in February 2004, and worked as a graphic designer for four years. Currently (2010), he is a “New […]

Rezgar Akrawi Main coordinator of internet-forum al-Hewar al-MutamaddinCoordinator of Centre for Marxist and Left-Wing Studies and Research Born 1966 in Aqra in Iraq (Kurdistan-Iraq) Political Activity 1984-1990: Member of Iraqi Communist Party1990-1992: Member of the Organization „Communist Current“1993-2000: Member of the Communist Labour Party Human Rights Contributes to founding first Union for Unemployed, Irbil, Iraq 1992.Spokesman […]

Call for Nomination The Ibn Rushd Award 2010 calls for a Webblogger who fundamentally enriches and advances public discourse. The internet’s contribution to the transformation of mass-communication is difficult to fully grasp. In the Arab world, media such as newspapers, radio and TV are generally state-run and insufficiently offer space for open and public discussion […]

Members of the jury Henry Azzam Dr. Henry Azzam joined Deutsche Bank in May 2007 as Chief Executive Officer for Middle East and North Africa Region (MENA). Before that Dr. Azzam was Chief Executive Officer of Amwal Invest, an investment bank he founded in 2005. In addition he held the position of chairman of Dubai […]

Samir Amin Born 04.09.1931 in Cairo/Egypt University Studies Diploma of Institut d’Etudes Politiques, Paris (1952) Diploma of Statistics and Mathematics, Paris (1956) Ph D Economics, Paris (1957) Professor of Economics 1966 Professional Career Head of Research Department, Organisation of Economic Development, Cairo (1957-1960) Advisor, Ministry of Planning, Bamako/Mali (1960-1963) Professor at IDEP, Universities of Poitiers, […]

Call for Nomination The Ibn Rushd Fund for Freedom of Thought will award its Prize 2009 to an Arab expert of economy who has – either in theory or in practice – tackled in his/her work the problems of economical development in the Arab World. How does a successful economic system function? Can economy develop […]

Members of the jury   Hala Rachid Ammoun Professor of Philosophy at the Lebanese University in Beirut and at the University of Balamand located at al-Koura North of Lebanon. Hala Rachid Ammoun has many publications on philosophical issues, the reasons behind the hindrance of Arab enlightenment, the problems of Salafi thought and its focus on Islamic […]

Mohammed Abed al-Jabri Born on 27th December 1935 in Fagig/Morocco. Academic degrees 1967 Diploma in Philosophy, University of Mohammed V., Faculty of Humanities, Rabat. 1970 PhD in Philosophy, University of Mohammed V., Faculty of Humanities, Rabat. Profession Inspector and educational director for philosophy teachers. Since 1967 university lecturer of Philosophy and Islamic Thought at the […]

Call for Nomination The Ibn Rushd Fund for Freedom of Thought will award its Prize 2008 to an Arab author of a study analyzing the failure of Arab enlightenment. The modern enlightenment movements that have begun in the 19th century on the initiative of a few reformers in Arab societies looked for dialogue with the West and refused […]

Members of the Jury 2007 Samir Farid Samir Farid was born in 1943 in Cairo, Egypt. He studied drama criticism at the Academy of Arts, High Institute of Dramatic Arts in Cairo and graduated 1965 with a study on “The Meaning of Silence in Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett”. Samir Farid is engaged as […]

Nouri Bouzid Nouri Bouzid was born in 1945 in Sfax, the secon largest city in Tunisia. He studied cinema at the Institut National Superieur des Arts du Spectacle (INSAS) in Brussels from 1968 to 1972 and carried out his film of end of studies „Duel“ (27 Min.). Then he followed a training course in Paris […]

Call for Nomination The Ibn Rushd Fund for Freedom of Thought will award its Prize 2007 to An Arab film maker (cinema or TV), who has dedicated himself/herself to freedom and democracy and has tackled the problems of social and political taboos through his/her works, critically investigating related phenomena and practices from a new perspective. […]

Members of the jury 2006 Ahmad Faez al-Fawwaz Ahmad Faez al-Fawwaz was born in Riqqa in 1934. After studying medicine in the Syrian University in Damascus (1952-1957) he did his PhD and his specialisation in internal medicine in Berlin at Humboldt University and at the Charitè Hospital in 1967. Since then he had been working […]

Fatima Ahmed Ibrahim Fatima Ahmed Ibrahim was born in 1933 in Khartoum/Sudan. As a daughter of a school teacher she has had an educated and religious upbringing. Even her mother enjoyed a good school education during the British Colonial administration which was quite exceptional at that time. Fatima Ibrahim enrolled in the Umm Durman Secondary […]

Call for Nomination The Ibn Rushd Fund for Freedom of Thought will award its Prize 2006 to a politically committed Arab woman who has rendered outstanding services to freedom of thought, equal rights and democracy in the Arab world. For as long as one can think men have held the monopoly on politics in Arab […]

Members of the jury: Bin Salem Himmich Bin Salem Himmich, a Morroccan novelist and essayist, born 1945, is the author of more than 26 books in Arabic and French, most of which deals with historical and political subjects. Among his works are Majnun al-hukm 1990 (an novel about the Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim li-Dinillah),  De la […]

Curriculum Vitae of Prof. Dr. Nasr H. Abû Zayd BIRTH: 10-7-1943, Tantâ, Egypt ACADEMIC QUALIFICATION: 1972: BA in Arabic Studies with Highest Honors from the Department of Arabic Language and Literature, Faculty of Arts, Cairo University.1977: MA in Arabic and Islamic Studies from the Department of Arabic Language and Literature, Faculty of Arts, Cairo University, […]

Announcement of the 2005 Ibn Rushd Prize Subject: Is Islamic Thought compatible with modernity? The Ibn Rushd-Prize 2005 calls for an independent reformer of Islamic Thought Is Islamic thought compatible with modernity? Do the principles of Islam allow an Arab Muslim to live in a modern Arab society shaped by a civil state? A society […]

IBN RUSHD Fund for Freedom of Thought presents theIBN RUSHD Prize 2004 tothe Egyptian author Sonallah Ibrahim On November 26th, 2004 Sonallah Ibrahim received the sixth IBN RUSHD Prize for Freedom of Thought at the Goethe Institute in Berlin. He is honoured for his enduring fight for freedom of speech and democracy in the Arab […]

The IBN RUSHD Fund for Freedom of Thought will award its PRIZE to a living   Arab author who has enriched modern engaged literature with outstanding writing by recognising the mood of the times he compels his Arab readers to have a critical look at the problems of their time, heightening their awareness and encouraging […]

Members of the Jury Sabry Hafez   The Egyptian professor Sabry Hafez first studied Sociology (1962) before dedicating himself more and more to the study of literature. After he graduated in literary criticism and drama at the Academy of Arts in Cairo in 1970 he travelled to London to continue his studies in literature. His […]

Sonalla Ibrahim PDFSonallah Ibrahim was born in Cairo in 1937.1952 he began to study law and worked as freelance journalist and translator.As a result of his political activities he was arrested several times and finally given a prison sentence of five years and six months during Nasser’s campaign against leftists in 1959.His first novel Tilka […]

Members of the Jury of Ibn Rushd Prize 2003 Prof. Ahmad El-Baqhdadi  The Kuwaiti scholar Dr. Ahmad Ali El-Baqhdadi, born in 1951, attained his PhD in “Islamic Thought” from The University of Edinburgh. He is a lecturer and head of the Department of Political Science in the University of Kuwait. Several translations and research studies […]

Autobiography of Mohammed Arkoun Mohammed Arkoun was born in Taourirt-Mimoun, a town in Grande Kabylie in Algeria. He spent his primary education in Taourirt-Mimoun and his secondary education in Oran. He majored in philosophy in Algeria and France at the University of Sorbonne. He lectured Arabic language in Paris in 1956, and he attained his PhD […]

Prizes for Freedom of Thought in the Arab WorldThe IBN RUSHD Fund for Freedom of Thought will award its PRIZE 2003 toan Arab thinker and professor (fem., masc.) who has rendered outstanding services inthe field of enlightenment, who has offered through his theoretical work a genuinelyArab guide to reason finding new perspectives for the present […]

Photos of the event

PDF The Ibn Rushd Fund for Freedom of Thought awards its prize this year to Dr. Azmi Bishara, an Arab member of the Israeli Knesset. The prize, awarded for special contributions to freedom of speech and democracy in the Arab World, will be presented on Saturday 14th December 2002 in the German capital Berlin. The […]

Press Release: Ibn Rushd Prize for Freedom of Thought will be awarded to the Egyptian thinker and philosopher Mahmoud Amin El Alem PDF Ibn Rushd Prize for Freedom of Thought will be awarded to the Egyptian thinker and philosopher Mahmoud Amin El Alem on December 8th, 2001 in the Literaturhaus Fasanenstraße in Berlin. He is […]

Aziz Al-AzmehGeb. 1947 in Damaskus, studierte u. a. in Tübingen und Oxford, Ph. D. in Orientalistik (University of Oxford), lehrte in Beirut und Kuweit, seit 1985 Sharjah Professor of Islamic Studies, University of Eceter. Zuletzt erschienen: Secularism in Modern Arab Life and Thought (1992), Islams and Modernities (1993). Im September erscheint auf Deutsch: Die Islamisierung […]

PDF His Vita: Mahmoud Amin El Alim was born on February 18th, 1922 in ad-Darb al-Ahmar in Cairo. He studied philosophy at King Fuad I. University in Cairo (1954). Due to his political convictions, he was suspended from his work as assistant teacher at the university in 1954. For the same reasons he was barred […]

Ali A. Attiga Dr. Ali Attiga has spent more than 37 years working in different areas of economic and social development. He is the vice-Chairman of the World Energy Council and vice-president of the Oxford Energy Club. He was Secretary General of the Organization of the Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries OAPEC from 1973 to 1987. Until […]

Awarding ceremony 1999 In the ceremony, the IBN RUSHD Fund for Freedom of Thought was represented by (from left to right) Dr. Khairi Qattawi, Mr. Sherif, Mr. Bushnaq and Dr. Hachicho. Mr. Bushnaq chairman of IBN RUSHD Fund says: Its not our aim to imitate Western civilization. Every society has to develop by itself. The […]