In 2009, over 2,500 young thinkers from 20 different countries submitted essays in English, Arabic, French, and Farsi. Ten cash prize winners were selected, along with 50 book prize winners. From among hundreds of strong essays, the winners below stood out for their bold ideas and compelling messages. Their varying approaches reflect the need for diverse responses to the problems posed by civil rights repression in the Middle East.

Middle East Prize Winners

American Prize Winners

First Place: S.B.Z., 19, Saudi Arabia
Driving Towards Equality

An article from the future peels back the story behind a successful nonviolent campaign for women’s right to drive in Saudi Arabia. The heroines, inspired by Rosa Parks, refuse to be relegated to the backseat. Realizing that citizens need to accelerate the pace of reform, they literally slip into the drivers’ seat and put their carefully nurtured network into action. The article’s vivid prose almost makes the campaign seem real - a sign that such success just might be achievable via effective grassroots organizing.

First Place: Carmel Delshad, 21, FL
The Middle Eastern Artistic Revolution

The author envisions a movement of young Americans helping to publish the taboo writings of their counterparts in the Middle East. Rather than simply lament artistic repression in the “no-longer-fertile crescent,” Americans harness new technology to create an open publishing platform for dissident voices. At once a simple concept and a challenging effort to circumvent censorship, the immediate impact of the project is young Middle Eastern reformers liberated at least to share their ideas in public. The long term potential impact? “A Middle Eastern Renaissance.”

Second Place: B.A., 20, Iran
A Grandmother in Tokyo - (فارسی)

The story of a young Iranian woman’s relationship with her grandmother becomes a moving lesson about reconciling tradition and modernity to ensure civil rights for all. The essay’s backdrop is a society where ideologues have made religion an overt political program. But as grandmother and granddaughter educate one another, the author points to a society where people can be religious without imposing civil rights restrictions on others. The spirit underlying the essay is in part what bubbled forth in Tehran’s recent street protests.

Second Place: Kyle Oskvig, 23, IA
Milestone Victory for Grassroots Civil Rights Movement

Two young men – one an uninformed American and the other a foreign student – meet on a college campus and decide to act together. Their goal: to inspire collaboration between young Americans and young Middle Easterners in pressuring repressive regimes. The result: a massive grassroots wave of protest far exceeding their expectations. This article from the future argues that nonviolent civil rights movements can suddenly emerge as powerful forces – if activists can effectively seize upon historic opportunities.

Third Place:
Farea Al-muslimi, 18, Yemen
Strength in Numbers - (عربي)

A student confronts a teacher who doles out grades based on bribes rather than merit. The ensuing campaign to expose corruption and mobilize fearful fellow students becomes an eye-opening experience, which the author connects to the larger societal struggle to protect civil rights. The classroom analogy raises questions about whether rights are inherent to all people or granted only at the whim of rulers. The author’s decision to take action offers one inspiring answer.

M. M., 23, Algeria
Terrorism and Islamic Jurisprudence - (عربي)

The threat of terrorism is typically considered a problem for Western societies, but this haunting essay reminds us that Middle Eastern societies - including ones that are predominantly Muslim - have been the primary victims of terror. The author recounts how the Algerian Civil War turned into a civil rights nightmare, even impacting elementary school students. “My body trembles as I write this,” she writes, revealing a deep lingering trauma.

T. T., 21, Iran
Where There is Faith, Hope Never Dies - (فارسی)

The Baha’i religion developed in Iran, but has long faced institutionalized legal rejection because its followers recognize a prophet who comes after Muhammad. The human impact, as this essay reveals, is that young Iranians from Baha’i families are denied entrance to universities despite stellar academic accomplishments. The author’s combination of determination, pain, and undying hope suggests the loss is not simply her own, but rather the whole of Iranian society, which cannot fully benefit from her talents.

Third Place:
Daniel Chiu, 16, CA
Our Problems

A sixteen-year-old annoyed about biking to school pauses to reflect on the burden of his growing up with guaranteed civil rights while Middle Easterners his own age suffer under tyranny. With the passion of a teenager confronting injustice, the author challenges Americans to self-critically re-examine their own apathy and find the inspiration to act. His provocative questions and heartfelt call to move beyond passive sympathy carry the cadences of an emerging civil rights leader.

N. M., 19, CA
One is Better than None

This essay gives voice to a tension felt by many second-generation Middle Eastern-Americans. The American-born son of a veteran Iranian activist analyzes his own passivity and seeks new inspiration to join the struggle. After deconstructing past attempts to “rationalize my seemingly apathetic demeanor towards the struggle in the Middle East,” the writer concludes that “whoever enjoys their freedoms must realize that they have to fight to achieve freedoms for other people.” With hundreds of young Iranian-Americans now mobilized to stand in solidarity with counterparts in Iran, the essay’s thrust is all the more timely.

Daniel Robbins, 17, NY
Strengthening the Middle East at Home

The author outlines a blueprint for how an individual can make an impact, suggesting a strategy for channeling ideas into action. The plan involves identifying local ways to make a global impact by focusing on a particular cause and compelling human stories. The essay also emphasizes how careful planning is vital to the success of civil rights activism. Simply being moved by repression and having an innovative idea are important first steps – but a long-term plan of action is central to the social entrepreneurial process.

Amr Muhammad al-Nud - (عربي): When the author openly criticizes systemic abuse of young prisoners in Yemen, he is left with no path to remedy the problem. He dreams of a Yemen where he can be critical without being denounced as a pariah.

Abd al-Rahman Khalil: A Cairo subway conversation between about a son and his father reveals a gnawing sense of disenfranchisement. Despite being disheartened by corruption, the author calls for non-violent activism to promote reform.

Sameer Al-Zein -(عربي): Painting a picture of a divided Sudan, the author denounces apathy and calls for an end to ingrained racism.

Mariam Bazeed: Anonymous no more, the author uses this essay contest to come out as a dissident and a civil rights activist. Though she submitted anonymous essays in the past, Mariam has overcome her fear and owned her identity in this striking piece.