DUBAI — A prominent Saudi Islamic scholar who was previously accused of plagiarism and famous for his best-selling book “Don't Be Sad” (La Tahzan) has announced that he would reject the Nobel Peace Prize if it is offered to him. Sheikh Ayedh Al-Qarni made his statement on Twitter after Saudi writer Ibrahim Al-Majari wrote in a column on the daily Al-Sharq newspaper that the preacher deserves the prestigious award because he is “sympathetic to women's rights” and because he stands against terrorism. “If those in charge of the Nobel Prize are unbiased Sheikh Ayedh would be the first winner,” Majari wrote in his article. The sheikh, however, responded in a tweet saying: “I reject the Nobel Peace Prize and I kindly ask the committee in charge not to nominate me; I thank the Saudi columnist in the daily Al-Sharq Ibrahim Al-Majari.” Al-Qarni is famous for his book “Don't Be Sad” (La Tahzan) which sold more than 10 million copies. But the prominent scholar, who has more than 2.5 million followers on Twitter, recently faced a credibility crisis after a fellow Saudi female writer and author accused him of plagiarizing her work in another book he authored. Salwa Al-Aededan accused Al-Qarni of having offered her SR10,000 so that she could drop the plagiarism case against him. Aededan claimed Al-Qarni stole some parts of her book Hakada Hazamo Al-Ya'as (This is How They Defeated Desperation). She later won the legal case against him and was awarded SR300,000 ($80,000) in damages. The court fined Al-Qarni SR30,000 to be paid to the government. Al-Qarni's book was also withdrawn from book stores and banned from entering Saudi Arabia. Samir Faraj, an Egyptian poet, also claimed that Al-Qarni stole some of his poems. — Al Arabiya
