IU visiting professor wins prize for work in human rights

Visiting professor of law and political sociology Saad Eddin Ibrahim received the Danish Pundik Freedom Prize in Copenhagen, Denmark, for his international work in human rights.

One of Egypt’s leading human rights and democracy activists, Ibrahim, 69, came into the international eye as a result of his strong criticism of Egypt’s current president Hosni Mubarak and his administration.

Ibrahim is the founder of the Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies in Cairo, an institution that works to further the civil society and democratization of the Arab world.

This includes holding the government accountable and focusing on gaining more rights for minorities and women.

Ibrahim said two of the biggest challenges facing Egypt today are development and democracy.

“The deficit of both of these has left most Egyptians upset and angry,” Ibrahim said.

As a result of his criticisms and attempts to secure a more democracy-oriented society through fairer election practices and several organizations, Ibrahim and 27 of his researchers and associates at the center were imprisoned from 2000 through 2003 on charges of defamation of Egypt’s image abroad.

Though later acquitted of all charges, Ibrahim was then sentenced on similar charges in August 2008 to two more years in prison with hard labor. Now living in Bloomington, he is considered a fugitive in his native country.

Ibrahim reasons that although Egypt’s internal attempts at a fair democracy in the past have not gone well, it is not the only country at fault for where it is now. He argues countries including the U.S. have been supporting President Mubarak’s regime by extending aid to it, yet not requiring any specific democratic conditions Mubarak’s government must adhere to.

Because the United States cannot seem to do this, Ibrahim said he feels strongly that the best thing would be for the U.S. to back away and let Egypt fight its own battle.

“The greatest challenge is how to make a peaceful transition without bloodshed,” Ibrahim said.

Ibrahim is the second person to receive the Danish Pundik Freedom Prize, which is given out annually by the Danish newspaper Politiken. According to Humanity in Action, an organization co-founded by Herbert Pundik, the award is given to a person “who courageously takes responsibility in the fight for fundamental liberties and human rights.”

Jeffrey Isaac, the James H. Rudy professor and chair of the IU Department of Political Science and director of the Indiana Democracy Consortium, described the unique qualities Ibrahim possesses.

“He is brave, and he is brilliant. But most important is his human warmth and integrity,” Isaac said in an e-mail interview. “He has not yet really ‘succeeded’ in his vocation. Yet he endures and, just as important, he persists with real humanity. I would guess it would be easy for someone in his situation to become either pessimistic or embittered. But he is neither. He is a special person.”

When asked how long Egypt and the Arab world will take to right itself, Ibrahim is very optimistic.

“If you are an activist – someone who both believes in change and believes he is an agent of change – then it can happen any time,” Ibrahim said.