According to the news reports, prominent German philosopher Juergen Habermas has turned down the Sheikh Zayed Book Award- a high-priced literary award from the United Arab Emirates.
- The 91-year-old Juergen Habermas is considered Germany’s most eminent contemporary philosopher.
- He announced he would not accept the Sheikh Zayed Book Award over its ties “with the existing political system” in the UAE, a hereditarily ruled country long criticised for its suppression of dissent.
- Mr. Habermas was named the Cultural Personality of the Year, a distinction that carries a cash prize of 1 million dirhams.
- The Sheikh Zayed Book Award is named after Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the first president of the UAE when the federation of seven sheikhdoms became a country in 1971.
