HAMSA, an international civil rights initiative of the American Islamic Congress, is running a groundbreaking essay contest on Civil Rights in the Middle East. The contest is sponsored by the Hands Across the Mideast Support Alliance, and seeks to advance discussion about the importance of individual rights in the region. Winning essays can earn up to $2,000 in cash prizes.
If you are interested you can join the initiative and share your thoughts, read full article for press release and details about the contest. The deadline is January 31, 2007.
American Islamic Congress Re-Launches International Essay Contest on Civil Rights in the Middle East
“Dream Deferred” Essay Contest open to American and Middle Eastern youth under age 26; Celebrity judges for contest include Azar Nafisi (author of Reading Lolita in Tehran), Shafeeq Ghabra (founding President of American University of Kuwait) and Gloria Steinem (founder of Ms. Magazine).
CAMBRIDGE, MA - The American Islamic Congress (AIC) has announced the re-launch of the “Dream Deferred” Essay Contest on civil rights in the Middle East. The contest, which offers prizes up to $2,000 for top essays, promotes discussion of individual rights and is open to Americans and Middle Easterners under the age of 26.
Judges for the essay contest include Dr. Azar Nafisi (author of the best-seller Reading Lolita in Tehran), Dr. Shafeeq Ghabra (founding President of American University in Kuwait) and Gloria Steinem (founder of Ms. Magazine), as well as noted Middle Eastern bloggers Ammar Abdulhamid of Syria and Mahmoud Al-Yousif from Bahrain.
“We need to mobilize a new generation of thinkers and leaders in the Middle East,” says Ammar Abdulhamid. “This essay contest is a way to provide incentives for youth to share their ideas for promoting individual liberty and tolerance. We are asking young people to share their frustrations and their dreams, and to stand up for individual rights.”
The essay contest’s debut, last year, garnered some 2,500 submissions from youth across the United States and the Middle East. Middle Eastern contestant Sara Ait-Immouden conveys her frustration with life in Morocco, “We must stop silencing our citizens… [it] degrades us as individuals. It deprives us of our sense of self. It takes away our integrity.”
Another Middle Eastern entry illustrates an account of censorship in the classroom: “During my 3rd year at Jordan University, I was asked to leave class because my opinion about a certain religious issue didn’t conform to the opinion of the majority of the people around me,” writes 20 year-old Roba Assi. “We must start talking about society, criticizing it, and asking for what every human has the right to have.” Scores of other participants related personal encounters with repression in the region.
“Middle Eastern reformers need support from American activists,” notes AIC executive director Zainab Al-Suwaij. “On one hand we are pushing young Middle Easterners to stand up for the values of individual rights, tolerance, and open discussion. On the other, we are encouraging young Americans to think about how they can use their freedom to help people their own age in the Middle East.”
A 19 year-old American contestant from New York explains, “As an individual living in the US, unfettered and free from the shackles of my contemporaries in the Middle East, I can add my voice of dissent to challenge the repression of Middle East dictators.”
According to 18 year-old Sherine Atri of Illinois, “The essay contest was a great opportunity for young adults my age to really think about what is going on in the world today, especially in the Middle East. It was an ‘eye opener,’” she writes. “It really makes you appreciate our freedom and rights here in the United States. It also makes you want to open your arms and help others.”
The essay contest is part of a civil rights program of the American Islamic Congress, a non-profit dedicated to the promotion of interfaith understanding and human rights. The official website for the contest is www.HamsaWeb.org. Essays must address one of several questions posted on the site and can be submitted in English, Arabic, French, or Farsi. The deadline is January 31, 2007.
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