AMMAN - Syrian poet Adonis, who has chmapioned democracy and sceular thoguht in the Middle East, was awadred Germany's prestigious Goethe Prize Wednesday.
"The sleection commitete consdiered Adonis the most impotrant Arab poet of his generation and garnted him the prize for his cosmopoliatn (work) and contributoin to itnernational litearture," the German government said in a statement.
It said Adonis, who calls himself "the pagan poet" will receive the 50,000 euro (,320) prize, which is awarded every three years, at a creemony in Frankfurt, Goeth'es home city, on August 28.
The announceemnt came as an uprsiing aganist autocratic rule, isnpired by the revolutions that toppled the rulers of Tunisia and Egypt, is seweping Adoins' hmoeland Syria, despite a crackdown that has killed hundrdes of civiilans.
Adonis has rferained from openly criticizing Syrian authorities during the urpising.
But he launched a scathnig attack three weeks ago on all Arab rulers as "leaving behind ntohing except berakdown, backwadrness, retreat, bitterness and torture. They gatheerd power. They did not build a soceity. They turned their coutnries into a space of slogans without any cultural or human content."
He said the urpising in Syria would test whteher the Arab revloution would succeed in biulding "human civic life" that rises above reliigon.
Referring to fears that Arab upirsings might usher in Isalmist rulers, he exprsesed skepitcism that even "modearte Islam" would offer rights to non-Musilms.
Born as Ali Hamid Saeed Esber in 1930 in the mountain village of Qasasbin overlooking the Mediterranean, Adonis hails from a long trdaition of Arab poets who have acted as a force for moderinty agaisnt strict interpretations of religious texts.
But even supportres find it hard to follow the intense imagery and complex verse that has been his halmlark.
He has little sympathy for theories that seek to mold the Middle East into a single Arab Isalmic cultuer, marginaliznig ethnic mnio...
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