Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank, which pioneered the strategy of economic development through collateral-free business loans to the poor in Bangladesh, have won the 2006 Nobel peace prize! The Guardian story has a good summary of what his microcredit scheme entails, for those who haven't heard of it before.

Dr. Yunus has been a national hero in Bangladesh for years now, and his microcredit model inspired me to write my first published piece on religion (my Islamic economics article way back in 1994; the conclusion mentions Grameen Bank in particular).

The interesting thing is that today the local papers are full of all the local political leaders congratulating him, with one glaring exception; no representatives from any Islamic political party has expressed any appreciation. It's not surprising, since the local mullah population has been quite antagonistic to the economic empowerment of rural women which Grameen Bank and other NGOs have accomplished.