(AFP Photo)
Nader Soliman, founder and head of the Christian Youth Movement, is calling for President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to be awarded the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize, Soliman told Daily News Egypt Wednesday.
Soliman supported his request to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, who give out the award, with what Pulitzer prize-winning columnist George Will said on 12 January. Will stated that if the Nobel Peace Prize committee is looking for someone who plausibly the prize, they could start with the Egyptian President.
Al-Sisi called for a “religious revolution” against extremism and terrorism in a televised speech on the first day of 2015.
The president said the problem does not lie in a doctrine, but rather it lies in a school of thought that becomes sacred. It is not logical that a school of thought drives the “whole Ummah [Islamic nation] to become a source of concern, danger, murder and devastation across the world”.
He addressed the renewal of religious discourse, making a reference to “religious discourse that is in tune with the times”. This is a renewal that happens at the beginning of every year, he said, adding: “I am here talking about the people of religion and those responsible for it.”
Will asserted that Al-Sisi’s message needs to be amplified by the American government, as well as by all Western governments fighting “terrorism”. He added that Al-Sisi needs to be celebrated worldwide.
“As head of the Egyptian state, Al-Sisi occupies an office once occupied by Anwar El-Sadat, who was murdered by Islamic extremists for his opening to Israel. This was an act of tremendous bravery by Al-Sisi,” said Will on air during the Fox News Sunday programme.
American novelist and former CEO of PJ Media Roger Simon wrote early January that US president Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize virtually for no more than being elected president “and then made a hash of everything”.
“[Al-]Sisi came into power by something of a coup over the Islamo-fascist [ousted president Mohamed] Morsi – and then has worked hard to make peace, rein in and seal off Hamas, turn Qatar from the Islamist camp…far more Nobel-worthy than anything Obama ever even dreamed of,” Simon said.
However, Simon stated that the Nobel Committee would never award their prize to a military strongman.
Soliman also supported his request by a Communities Digital News article, which read that Al-Sisi “led the largest revolution in world history with millions of people in the streets asking Barack Obama and US ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson to stop supporting terrorism”.
The article also cited that Al-Sisi is the first Egyptian head of state who has participated in a Christmas ceremony.
Al-Sisi visited the Orthodox Cathedral in Abasseya during the Christmas mass, where he delivered a speech on 6 January, maintaining that all Egyptians are “one hand”.
“Does anyone in the West have any idea how significant it is for a Muslim to even recognise Christmas, much less participate in a Christian service?” the article said.
"Is all of this not enough for Al-Sisi's nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize?" Soliman asked.
According to Alfred Nobel’s will, the Peace Prize is to go to whoever “shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses”. The prize includes a medal, a personal diploma, and a large sum of prize money, currently more than $900,000.
The Nobel Peace Prize 2014 was awarded jointly to Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai, “for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education”.
