The winner of the Ibn Rushd Prize for the Freedom of Thought in Berlin 2022 Dr. Saad Salloum warned of the dangers of the termination of diversity in the Arab region. As he mentioned in his award acceptance: ” the change in the Arab world is not merely we-writing constitutions, going through re-election or following a new leader, but it is a move toward a new way of thinking and new values but without the mechanisms. Mechanisms and leaders do not build confidence in the political system, however, the institutions are the true effect makers. To see the full image, it is just like Frankenstein trying to collect fresh body parts to build his new body that would seem like a complete regional deadlock which led to the destruction of several ancient and diversely-rich cities. Syria was burned to the ground after a long bloody civil war, happy Yemen was left desperate and full of sadness, and Beirut’s port explosion exposed the hideous side of the political system in Lebanon.” He added: ” the constant unbearable despair seems to dominate the whole Arab region.”
Mr. Salloum also pointed out that: “Yezidi young people went out to a protest against armed groups in Sinjar a few months ago hoping for some change, especially after realizing that after eight years of suffering a genocide, and getting their lands back from ISIS, that the genocide is still ongoing against the Yezidi community. Even the Mandaeans (the followers of John the Baptist) who represent an ancient cult, the reports show that ninety percent of them left their mother-land, and the same happened to Christians.” He added: ” though it has been more than 200 years since the Bahá’í religion was found, no Arab country has acknowledged it except for a symbolic acknowledgment in Iraq’s Kurdistan and what happened in ISIS’s occupation in Syria and Iraq and the genocides of Bosnia and Herzegovina 1995, Kosovo 1999, Rwanda 1994 and Darfur 2003 prove that the threats of genocide still a major case to the international politics.”
Furthermore, Mr Salloum called to save diversity in the Arab world. He stated that: “legislations must be enacted, begin with, to criminalize racism of all forms, especially ethnical racism and hate speech, in all contexts and platforms. Next up, school curriculums should be revisited to ensure that they are free of hate speech, even unintended statements. Furthermore, school curriculums should be provided with the right topics to empower cultural diversity, equality, and accepting each other and without that, a positive change will not be achieved in the path of supporting the state of citizenship. “the Arab countries must strive for the vast recognition of the unacknowledged religious minorities.” The winner also mentioned, addressing the value of diversity in the Arab region. Mr Salloum also pointed out: “we need a revolution against the restricted approach toward the freedom of religion. He explained: “As the vast understanding of the freedom of religion/belief remains an effective decision for the equity of the rich diversity in the region’s countries, which would give the mutual respect of dignity for all.” In addition to that, Mr Salloum also called to: “change the written context about diversity in the Arab world.” As he mentioned in his award acceptance speech: ” there is no chance to set a selective ideological history, especially with the risks of diversity being ended in the Middle East, so I invite the Arab specialists and researchers to get their irrational guard down and to highlight the significance of diversity and to show the right ways to manage it. As I tried to draw attention to diversity and how important it is representing a source of empowerment and solidarity with a total of 18 books, I wish to witness matching interests in all Arab countries.”
In the conclusion, the Ibn Rushd Prize for the Freedom of Thought 2022 was awarded to Dr. Saad Salloum The academic and expert in religious diversity and freedom affairs in Iraq. The award was given in a ceremony in the museum of Berlin with the attendance of many European, Arab, and Iraqi figures.
The prize has been awarded annually since 1999 by the Ibn Rushd Fund for Freedom of Thought in Berlin which recognizes independent, forward-thinking, individuals or organizations who have contributed to democracy and freedom of speech in the Arab world. To note, Dr. Saad Salloum is the first-ever Iraqi intellectual to grant this award after many Arab figures such as; Mohammed Arkoun, Mohammed Abed Al-Jabri, Nasr Hamid Abu-Zaid, Samir Amin, Mahmood Amin El-Alem, and others.
