{"65969":{"#nid":"65969","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi Speaks on Bin Laden\u2019s Death and Critical Issues","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIvan Allen College of Liberal Arts hosted exiled Iranian human rights advocate, Shirin Ebadi, on campus May 2 for a program that elicited the Nobel Peace Prize winner\u2019s views on issues including the killing of Osama bin Laden, the movements for regime changes in the Middle East, U.S. policy in the Middle East and Iran, Islam and secularity and feminism, cultural relativism, social media, and world human rights standards. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe recipient of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize for efforts to promote human rights in Iran, Dr. Ebadi told program organizers that she is living under threat from the Iranian government which has pledged to seek her out and kill her wherever she is in the world.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Despite this, Ebadi stated clear positions on issues as she responded to questions posed by the program conversants and audience.\u0026nbsp; \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn\u0026nbsp;the U.S. approach to the\u0026nbsp;war on terror and the killing of Osama bin Laden by the\u0026nbsp;U. S. military, Ebadi said, \u201cI have always been against things such as the Guantanamo Bay prison, but I believe they carried out justice when they raided the residence of Osama bin Laden and killed him.\u201d\u0026nbsp; Ebadi asked the audience to remember that the U.S. has, for many years, called for bin Laden to come to trial and during these 10 years, he has trained more terrorists so, she said,\u0026nbsp;there was no other option.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn the current movements for regime changes in the Middle East:\u0026nbsp; \u201cIn my opinion, the Islamic countries are almost obtaining democracy\u2026 Iran will get there.\u0026nbsp; It may be sooner or it may be later, but they will get there.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn whether or not the U.S. government should intervene to promote democracy in Middle East:\u0026nbsp; \u201cThe promotion of democracy in each country is mostly the responsibility, the duty of the people of each country and the United States does not have the right to meddle in the internal affairs of countries, even Iran.\u201d Ebadi said, \u201cFortunately, decisions have been made by the U.S. [that can advantage democracy], such as naming and distributing the names of people whom sanctions have been imposed upon\u2026 but we are wrong if we think that we can just bomb for democracy like the U.S. did in Iraq.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn Iran\u2019s nuclear development program and Western governments\u2019 policies toward Iran:\u0026nbsp; \u201cIran needs to stop its nuclear program\u2026 For international peace, the non-democratic regimes are more dangerous than nuclear bombs and that\u2019s why I say that the West needs to pay more attention to human rights in \u0026nbsp;Iran.\u201d \u0026nbsp;Ebadi said that people in Iran are dissatisfied with the Iranian regime because of the lack of human rights and the bad economic situation.\u0026nbsp; Though people who object are repressed harshly, she said, they do not forget and victory is at hand.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn how Islam should be interpreted:\u0026nbsp; \u201cIslam is a religion just like any other religion and has a place in our hearts.\u0026nbsp; Islam, just like any other religion, if they obtain political power, it can abuse that power and that is why I believe in secularism and at the same time, am Muslim.\u0026nbsp; And I believe in freedom of religion\u2026 What is important is that we should not allow someone to use religion against people. \u201c\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn Islam and the rights of women: \u201cIf we interpret Islam correctly, we can come to equality for men and women.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEbadi said that she believes that human rights are universal and that cultural relativism regarding human rights is wrong.\u0026nbsp; She said she believes that human rights can be implemented in Islamic countries, but that education is needed to pave the way. \u0026nbsp;\u201cEducation is really important to promote human rights, but the issue is that the non-democratic regimes do not allow such education and that\u2019s where we say that human rights go hand in hand with democracy\u2026 We were teaching human rights in Iran and whoever cooperated with us was sentenced [by the Iranian regime] to five years\u2019 incarceration so human rights and democracy are like twins brothers.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn why she identifies herself as Muslim instead of an Iranian:\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Ebadi said that she wants to show that she knows what she is talking about, that she speaks from inside the Islamic religion even though it has been used as a method of oppression: \u0022I introduce myself as a Muslim because I want people to know that Islam is not just Osama bin Laden.\u0026nbsp; I am Muslim.\u0026nbsp; I am not ashamed of it.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn what young Iranians in the U.S. can do to help human rights in Iran:\u0026nbsp; \u201cStudy hard, and then go back to Iran.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Ebadi thanked the many American universities who accept Iranian students and give them the opportunity to be educated here.\u0026nbsp; \u201cLong live the relationship and friendship between the American and Iranian nations,\u0022 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Ebadi spoke in Farsi with an interpreter relaying her words to an audience of nearly 170 people.\u0026nbsp; Her appearance at Georgia Tech was co-sponsored by Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, Georgia Tech\u2019s Office of the Provost, the Office of International Initiatives, The Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, and the School of Modern Languages.\u0026nbsp; \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EConversants for the event were Laura Bier, Assistant Professor, School of History, Technology, and Society and Molly Cochran, Associate Professor, Sam Nunn School of International Affairs.\u0026nbsp; Dean Jacqueline J. Royster, who moderated, announced the initiation of courses in Farsi in the College\u2019s School of Modern Languages.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShirin Ebadi is a lawyer and former judge in Iran.\u0026nbsp; She is the first Muslim woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. \u0026nbsp;She was in Atlanta to witness the graduation of her daughter and son-in-law from Georgia Tech\u0027s\u0026nbsp;Electrical Engineering graduate program.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.iac.gatech.edu\/news-and-events\/videos\u0022\u003EWatch the video of the program\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp; \u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIvan Allen College of Liberal Arts hosted exiled Iranian human rights advocate, Shirin Ebadi, on campus May 2 for a program that elicited the Nobel Peace Prize winner\u2019s views on issues including the killing of Osama bin Laden, the movements for regime change in the Middle East, U.S. policy in the Middle East and Iran, Islam and secularity and feminism, cultural relativism, social media, and world human rights standards.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Reknowned human rights activist spoke about crucial world issues while on campus May 2"}],"uid":"27167","created_gmt":"2011-05-05 18:01:41","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:08:41","author":"Rebecca Keane","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-05-05T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-05-05T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"65970":{"id":"65970","type":"image","title":"Shirin Ebadi","body":null,"created":"1449176884","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:08:04","changed":"1475894585","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:05","alt":"Shirin Ebadi","file":{"fid":"192441","name":"shirin_ebadi_1500x1118_with_phil_and_jackie_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/shirin_ebadi_1500x1118_with_phil_and_jackie_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/shirin_ebadi_1500x1118_with_phil_and_jackie_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":331953,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/shirin_ebadi_1500x1118_with_phil_and_jackie_0_0.jpg?itok=-ezKRY-D"}},"65645":{"id":"65645","type":"image","title":"Shirin Ebadi","body":null,"created":"1449176863","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:07:43","changed":"1475894582","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:02","alt":"Shirin Ebadi","file":{"fid":"192290","name":"shirin-ebadi2_200x300_v2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/shirin-ebadi2_200x300_v2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/shirin-ebadi2_200x300_v2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":30163,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/shirin-ebadi2_200x300_v2_0.jpg?itok=QznYtojW"}},"65981":{"id":"65981","type":"image","title":"Shirin Ebadi Event","body":null,"created":"1449176916","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:08:36","changed":"1475894585","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:05","alt":"Shirin Ebadi Event","file":{"fid":"192444","name":"11c1222-p1-033_1500_all_5_onstage.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/11c1222-p1-033_1500_all_5_onstage_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/11c1222-p1-033_1500_all_5_onstage_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":262417,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/11c1222-p1-033_1500_all_5_onstage_0.jpg?itok=PECtZ1-d"}}},"media_ids":["65970","65645","65981"],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"}],"categories":[{"id":"133","name":"Special Events and Guest Speakers"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4268","name":"Islam"},{"id":"4062","name":"Middle East"},{"id":"13055","name":"Osama bin Laden"},{"id":"167489","name":"Shirin Ebadi"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERebecca Keane\u0026nbsp; 404-894-1720\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["rebecca.keane@iac.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}