The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has strongly condemned the Nobel Committee's "unconscionable" decision to award this year's Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, citing her "support" for Israel's Likud party and anti-Muslim fascism in Europe.
CAIR said in a statement that "Ms. Machado is a vocal supporter of Israel's racist Likud Party and earlier this year she delivered remarks at a conference of European fascists, including Geert Wilders and Marie Le Pen, which openly called for a new Reconquista, referencing the ethnic cleansing of Spanish Muslims and Jews in the 1500s."
The US Muslim rights group stressed that the award "should go to individuals who have shown moral consistency by bravely advocating justice for all people, not to politicians who demand democracy in their own nation while supporting racism, bigotry and fascism abroad."
"We call on Ms. Machado to renounce her support for the Likud Party and anti-Muslim fascism in Europe," CAIR said, urging the Nobel Committee to "reconsider its decision, which has undermined its own reputation."
The group added that "an anti-Muslim bigot and supporter of European fascism would have no place being mentioned alongside the likes of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and other worthy winners of the Nobel Peace Prize."
The group said "the Nobel Peace Prize committee should instead recognise an honoree who has shown moral consistency by bravely pursuing justice for all people," such as "students, journalists, activists, medical professionals who have risked their careers and even their lives to oppose the crime of our time: the genocide in Gaza."
World's most prestigious honour
The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced Machado as the winner on Friday.
Last year's Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Nihon Hidankyo group, a grassroots movement of Japanese atomic bombing survivors.
Between 1901 and 2024, the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded 105 times to 142 laureates, including 111 individuals and 31 organisations.
A total of 28 individual organisations have received the Nobel Peace Prize, with the International Committee of the Red Cross getting the nod three times and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) twice.
The Nobel Prizes, established in accordance with the will of Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel and first awarded in 1901, are seen as some of the world's most prestigious honours.
