In a statement published in "Der Spiegel Online" Jürgen Habermas turns down the Sheikh Zayed Book Award: "The Cultural Personality of the Year" for 2021 (225.000 Euro).
"I declared my willingness to accept this year's Sheikh Zayed Book Award. That was a wrong decision, which I correct hereby. I didn't sufficiently make clear to myself the very close connection of the institution, which awards these prizes in Abu Dhabi, with the existing political system there."
See Dietmar Pieper's comments to Habermas' decsion: "Der 91-Jährige, der beweglich blieb und Nein sagte".