Muslim rights groups are protesting Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuela’s Maria Corina Machado due to…

Nobel Peace Prize 2025: Venezuelan pro-democracy activist and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was Friday announced as the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2025, however, the decisions has triggered backlash from Muslim rights groups in the United States, who condemned Nobel committee’s “unconscionable decision”, citing Machado’s support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud Party, and her anti-Muslim remarks at a far-right conference in European.

Why Muslim groups oppose peace prize to Maria Corina Machado?

In a statement, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)– US’ largest Muslim civil rights organization– asserted that Maria Corina 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.”

CAIR demanded that Machado must renounce her support for Netanyahu’s Likud Party and anti-Muslim fascism in Europe, failing which the Nobel committee should reconsider its decision and rescind the 2025 peace prize accorded to the Venezuelan leader.

“We call on Ms. Machado to renounce her support for the Likud Party and anti-Muslim fascism in Europe. If she refuses to do so, the Nobel Prize committee should reconsider its decision, which has undermined its own reputation,” adding that “an anti-Muslim bigot and supporter of European fascism” has no place being mentioned alongside the likes of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and other worthy winners of the Nobel Peace Prize.

What CAIR demands from Nobel committee?

The Muslim rights group stressed that the Nobel Peace Prize should be given to people who showcase “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.”

“The Nobel Peace Prize committee should instead recognize an honoree who has shown moral consistency by bravely pursuing justice for all people, such as one of the 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,” it stated.

Why Machado ‘dedicated’ her Nobel win to Trump?

On Friday, Maria Corina Machado dedicated her Nobel win to US President Doland Trump for his “decisive support” to the Venezuelan opposition.

“This recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans is a boost to conclude our task: to conquer Freedom. We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our principal allies to achieve Freedom and democracy,” she wrote on X.

“I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!”

How Trump reacted to Nobel snub?

Reacting to Machado’s Nobel win on Saturday, Trump, who had vehemently campaigned for winning the peace prize over the last few months, claimed the Venezuelan opposition leader accepted the prize “in honour” of him.

The US President said Machado called him as he had previously extended assistance to her on multiple occasions.

“The person who got the Nobel Prize called me today and said, ‘I am accepting this in honour of you because you really deserved it’… I didn’t say, ‘Give it to me’, though. I think she might have… I’ve been helping her along the way. They needed a lot of help in Venezuela during the disaster. I am happy because I saved millions of lives…” Trump told reporters at the White House.

Why Nobel picked Machado for peace prize?

According to the Nobel Committee, Maria Corina Machado was chosen for the Nobel Peace Prize 2025 “for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”

The Norwegian Nobel Committee called Machado a “brave and committed champion of peace,” and asserted the peace prize has been bestowed on a “woman who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness.”

“Democracy is a precondition for lasting peace. However, we live in a world where democracy is in retreat, where more and more authoritarian regimes are challenging norms and resorting to violence,” it said, noting that Machado has spent years working for the freedom of the Venezuelan people.

“The Venezuelan regime’s rigid hold on power and its repression of the population are not unique in the world. We see the same trends globally: rule of law abused by those in control, free media silenced, critics imprisoned, and societies pushed towards authoritarian rule and militarisation. In 2024, more elections were held than ever before, but fewer and fewer are free and fair,” the Nobel Committee said.

(With inputs from agencies)