Ghannouchi wins prestigious political Arab award

The former leader of Tunisia’s Ennahda party Rashid Ghannouchi will be awarded the Ibn Rushd Prize 2014 on December 5 in Berlin, event organisers announced.

In a press release on the organisation’s website they said: “He is recognised as a firm believer that Islam is compatible with the principles of pluralism, freedom, modernity and democracy.”

The Ibn Rushd Prize 2014 called for a person who stands for a modern Islam as a pillar of civil society and, thereby, has supported the establishment of a modern democratic Arab state. The award winner is chosen by the Ibn Rushd Fund which was setup to foster freedom of thought, democracy, reasoning and tolerance in the Arab World.

“Rashid Ghannouchi has made an exceptional contribution to the debate begun in the 19th Century about the relationship between civil society and Islam and about the role each should play in the creation of a modern democratic state,” the Ibn Rushd Prize 2014 said. “As a politician he strives to translate his views into practice, often causing controversial discussions within the Ennahda party of which he is a member.”