Updated: May 03, 2021 - 09:32 Jurgen Habermas decides not to accept Sheikh Zayed Book Award due to human rights concerns. [Photo: AFP]German philosopher Jurgen Habermas rejected a literary award by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sunday over human rights concerns in the Gulf country. Earlier, Habermas accepted the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, one of the Arab World’s most prestigious and well-funded prizes, but then reversed the decision after reactions from the German media. “I announced that I would accept this year’s Sheikh Zayed Book Award. It was a wrong decision, which I correct hereby,” he said in a statement shared with the Spiegel Online news website.