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Sting presents Queen Noor with Award |
By
Ayesha Ahmad, IOL Washington Correspondent
WASHINGTON,
April 11 (IslamOnline) - Queen Noor al-Hussein of Jordan received the
"Award for Individual Achievement". This was given for her
civic and humanitarian work at the annual Kahlil Gibran Spirit of
Humanity Awards held by the Arab-American Institute (AAI) in Washington
on Wednesday night.
The
Queen was one of four award recipients at the annual AAI awards,
established in 1999 to reward leadership and promotion of democratic and
humanitarian values. The award ceremony was part of a lavish evening at
a high-class Washington hotel, but nearly every speaker made a point of
referring to the deadly crisis in the Middle East.
AAI
president James Zogby, in opening remarks remembering September 11,
stressed to the audience that "America did not turn against us
[Arab-Americans]; in fact, America turned to us to provide us
protection."
"In
Palestine and in Israel, there is fear and there is suffering," he
said, but "we have to be strong and resolute, and continue to be on
the side of those who are suffering."
He
offered prayers and condolences to those in the audience with family
members and friends in the West Bank. Even as he spoke, the Israeli army
continued to hammer at Palestinian towns and refugee camps and the death
toll continued to rise.
Zogby
asked the audience to stand "for those who have died, but also as
an statement of hope," as 14-year-old Palestinian singer Taleen
performed a heartfelt rendition of "America the Beautiful" and
"God Bless America."
Others
who gave remarks before the award ceremony included U.S. Sen. Russ
Feingold and senate majority leader Tom Daschle, veteran actor and
Arab-American F. Murray Abraham and others.
Sen.
Daschle commented that the current Middle East crisis represented
"so much inhumanity that it's hard to celebrate the spirit of
humanity," but he stressed that hope must not be discarded.
"We
must not only fight terrorism with our military… we must protect the
character of this democracy," he said. "Now is the time to
strengthen that democracy, and to embrace the ethnic diversity that is
America today."
Sen.
Feingold expressed his support "not only as an elected official,
but as a Jewish-American," offering sympathy for the
"especially heavy burden" borne by Arab-Americans after the
terrorist attacks.
"Americans
must examine every step that is taken by the federal government in
response to the events of September 11," he said, promising to
continue working with the administration to "make sure it does not
trample" the civil rights of Arab and Muslim Americans.
Awards
were presented to ExxonMobil, for "corporate citizenship," to
Reebok International Ltd. for "international commitment," and
to Brokaw, Inc. and Starz Encore Group in "special recognition for
outstanding public service."
Her
Majesty Queen Noor, wearing a Palestinian flag pin, sat through dinner
and the awards ceremony at one of the front tables with world-renowned
recording artist Sting, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, and James Zogby, among
others.
At
last year's awards, Sting was given the individual achievement award
both for his human rights activism and for his international hit song
"Desert Rose," which featured Algerian artist Cheb Mami
singing in Arabic.
Sting,
who was presenting the award for individual achievement this year to
Queen Noor, sang a portion of his song, "Fragile," dedicating
it to the Queen, whom he referred to as a "desert rose."
Queen
Noor took the stage in a flurry of camera flashes, but her acceptance
speech was dedicated to the Israeli-Palestinian crisis.
"Over
the past few days, I have considered if it is right or appropriate to
accept any award at this time," she said, adding her belief that it
was important to continue to strive for peace.
"I
owe it to our families in their agony, and I owe it to a man who has
never admitted to existence of failure," she said, referring to her
late husband, King Hussein.
The
Queen expressed her appreciation for the people gathered that evening
who devote their lives to working for "justice, human rights,
freedom, equality and peace."
After
receiving her award, the organizers presented a special award to Sting,
in the form of a piece of desert quartz carved to look like a rose.
The
Kahlil Gibran awards are named for the Lebanese poet and author of
"The Prophet," who lived from 1883-1931 and whose works are
known for their commitment to "values of equality, responsibility,
understanding and generosity," according to the awards ceremony's
program.
