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Al-Ahram Weekly 25 February - 3 March 1999 Issue No. 418 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 25 February - 3 March 1999 Issue No. 418
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters 'A weakness, for which I do not apologise'
RENOWNED political analyst Mohamed Hassanein Heikal was awarded the Gamal Abdel-Nasser Award for Arab Political Thought Sunday. The $50,000 prize was launched last year by the Lebanon-based Arab Unity Studies Centre to commemorate the Egyptian revolution of 23 July.
Mohamed Hassanein Heikal
Despite his declared policy of refusing honours, Heikal said that he would accept this particular award which "for the first time carries a name [Nasser] dear to the vast majority of Arabs."
Heikal, however, declined the $50,000 cheque which is meant to accompany the award. In a cable to the committee, chaired by Prime Minister Selim Al-Hoss, Heikal said that his "position on receiving honours of any sort is well-known. It is my belief that under current conditions in the Arab world the value and worth of public figures in the Arab world should be left to future generations to decide. Moreover, it is also my belief that the greatest honour that can be bestowed on any writer is the respect and esteem of his readers."
Heikal admitted, however, that he had "a weakness, for which I do not apologise, in respect of the Gamal Abdel-Nasser Award. It touches me in a way which I cannot simply ignore. In order to reconcile these various impulses, I am pleased and honoured to accept the Gamal Abdel-Nasser Award for Arab Political Thought. But, at the same time, I ask you to excuse me from receiving the financial element of the prize, though I know the meaning behind it is clear and unambiguous."
This is the first time that Heikal, one of the most distinguished political commentators of his age, has accepted an award of any kind. He urged the committee to return the money to the Nasser Fund, "so that it may be used to further the fund's objectives."
Heikal will officially receive the award on 26 July, in a ceremony marking the 43rd anniversary of the nationalisation of the Suez Canal.
