[ad_1]
Freedom of opinion and expression in the Arab world in the face of a serious societal machine to silence the imagination that works effectively. Writer and novelist Khaled Al-Khamisi writes for Qantara on the mechanisms of societal repression and the reasons why the majority of Arabs fiercely defend the existence of mechanisms of political control over the creativity of artists and writers.
Does the journalist have the freedom to write the ideas he wants that do not contradict the provisions of the law?
Can the writer freely express the bundle of ideas he believes appropriate to the progress of his country?
Can he Benefiting from article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Which states that That everyone has the right to enjoy freedom of opinion and expression, and this right includes their freedom to hold opinions without harassment and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas to others, by any means and regardless of borders?
The minds of those who read these questions will turn to the mechanisms of political, legal and judicial repression, and sometimes certain constitutional articles, which may represent restrictions on all free thought. But I will talk here about societal oppression in our Arab region.
Let me start with a simple and definitive answer to these questions.
This freedom is not guaranteed to a serious writer.
Although Everyone is in favor of their defense of freedom, but it seems to me that the majority of Arabs fiercely defend the existence of mechanisms of political control over the creativity of artists and writers..
The question is: how did it happen to us that people who do not hold political positions are a tool of oppression in society? What are their tools of repression? Who trained them in repression? What ideas constitute the intellectual framework of their practice of repression?
Conservative Arab societies and mentality Promotion of virtue and prevention of vice
We can describe Arab societies in general as conservative societies. In other words, these are societies which strive to preserve the traditional institutions of society, which support stability and defend hierarchy rather than equality, and which view innovation with suspicion. Priority is given to the concept of order, which supports the current distribution of wealth and social status.
Therefore, we find in the Egyptian constitution, for example, an article which says: “The family is the basis of society, its foundation is religion, morals and patriotism, and the state values its cohesion and its stability and the consolidation of its values. ” It is a course that explains clearly and in clear terms the values of a conservative society aiming for the coherence and stability of traditional values.
These societies also support the interference of their members in the affairs of others and the moral judgment of their actions. Most of the time, the less educated and the most reactionary blatantly interfere in the lives of those around them.
Some attribute this blatant interference to their understanding of the doctrine of enjoining good and prohibiting evil, and to their perception of the meaning of the noble hadith: “Whoever among you sees a reprehensible subject, let him change it with his hand If he is incapable, then with his tongue What is being denounced?
Source link
