OSLO, October 10 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - In what French President Jack Chirac termed "an exceptional choice", Iranian human rights activist and feminist lawyer Shirin Ebadi was awarded the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo Friday, October 10, becoming the first Muslim woman to win the honor in its 102-year history.

Ebadi, 56, was given the coveted prize "for her efforts for democracy and human rights," particularly for women and children in her country, according to the Nobel Committee, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

She is also the first Iranian to win any Nobel prize.

"This prize belongs not only to me, it belongs to everybody who work for democracy and peace in Iran," she told AFP by telephone from her Paris home, saying she was "shocked" by the award.

"Everybody in the world and in Iran believes that democracy is the best way for living in Iran. I'm very glad that the Nobel prize will help me to help my people," she said, adding that she may now put off her return to Tehran scheduled for later Friday.

The Nobel Committee said part of the reason it chose Ebadi was because of its tradition of provoking certain countries to "speed up" the process of human rights and democracy in areas of the world.

Iran's conservative-controlled state broadcasters remained silent about the award as the news flashed around the globe, but later the reformist government declared it was happy with Ebadi receiving the honor.

Ebadi became Iran's first woman judge in 1974, but lost that post in the Islamic Revolution five years later when Islamic rulers took over and decreed that women could not preside over courts.

"My problem is not with Islam, it's with the culture of patriarchy," Ebadi told Britain's Guardian newspaper in June.

Ebadi spent time in jail for attending a 2001 conference on Iranian reform in Berlin. She has maintained a high profile for her feminist struggle also by writing many books and articles.

She has said that pursuing a struggle for human rights in Iran entails constant fear, but, she said in a 1999 interview to the Christian Science Monitor: "I have learned to overcome my fear."

The Nobel Peace Prize, which carries a purse of 10 million Swedish kroner (1.1 million euros, 1.3 million dollars), is decided by an Oslo-based Nobel Committee which counts two men and three women.

Ebadi was selected from a field of 165 candidates for the prize, among them Pope John Paul II and former Czech president Vaclav Havel.

The committee said Ebadi, who is married with two daughters, "has stood up as a sound professional, a courageous person, and has never heeded the threats to her own safety ... In an era of violence, she has consistently supported non-violence."

"It is a pleasure for the Norwegian Nobel Committee to award the Peace Prize to a woman who is part of the Muslim world, and of whom that world can be proud -- along with all who fight for human rights wherever they live," it said.

"We hope the prize will be an inspiration for all those who struggle for human rights and democracy in her country, in the Muslim world, and in all countries where the fight for human rights needs inspiration and support."

"It is an exceptional choice and I offer my most sincere congratulations to Mrs. Ebadi," Chirac

Even though the award drew immediate criticism from supporters of the ailing pope, it was hailed by others, notably the French President.

The Nobel prize is "a reward for a life dedicated entirely to advocacy and democracy, defending human rights, and the fight against intolerance," the French president told reporters during his visit to this Moroccan city of Tangiers.

"It is an exceptional choice and I offer my most sincere congratulations to Mrs. Ebadi," Chirac said.

The French President himself had been suggested as a possible candidate for the award by supporters in Costa Rica for his attempts to prevent the war in Iraq and for his role in brokering ceasefire agreements in the Ivory Coast.

On the other hand, former Polish president and 1983 Peace Prize laureate, Lech Walesa, said in Warsaw that the Nobel Committee erred in snubbing the Polish-born pontiff.

"For me it is a big mistake, a bad mistake, an unfortunate mistake," Walesa told Polish television.

"I have nothing against this woman, but if there is someone alive in the world who deserves this distinction it is certainly the Holy Father.... The one who has done the most in the world, for all religions, did not get the prize," he said.

The pope, though, was said to be gracious about being overlooked. A Vatican source said he would be sending a message of congratulations to Ebadi.

"The fact that the Nobel prize is being given to a woman and a Muslim is a reason for great satisfaction," the source, who wished to remain anonymous, was quoted by AFP as saying.

In Paris, Ebadi called Friday for the release of political prisoners in Iran, just hours after being awarded the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize.

"Today many people who fight for liberty and democracy (in Iran) are in prison. I hope for their release as soon as possible," she told a news conference in Paris.

"I call on the Iranian government to respect human rights and I hope in the future things will move positively ... What is most urgent is respect for freedom of expression and the release of prisoners of conscience," she said.

She is the 11th woman to win the coveted Nobel peace prize and the first ever Muslim woman.

Ebadi also defended her religion - Islam - against charges that it is incompatible with the western concept of human rights, and came out against any foreign intervention in her country.

"Islam is not incompatible with human rights and all Muslims should be glad of this prize. If you read the Qur’an you will see there is nothing in it that is against human rights.

"For 20 years I have been putting out the message that it is possible to be Muslim and have laws that respect human rights," she said.

"The fight for human rights is conducted in Iran by the Iranian people and we are against any foreign intervention in Iran," she said.

"It is not easy to be a woman in Iran because of Iranian law. But the beauty of life in Iran is to fight in difficult circumstances as a woman and as a jurist. If I lived in another country I would not be as proud as I am today," she said.