Arab Knowledge Report 2009: Towards Productive

Arab creativeproduction,especially in theliterary and artisticfields, collides notonly with lawsrestricting freedomof opinion andexpression but alsowith administrativeimpedimentsThe production,publication, anddistribution of booksin Arabic sufferrestrictions thatlimit the diffusionof printed Arabknowledge contentWith the continuingrestrictions onfreedom of thoughtand expressionin many parts ofthe region, it isdifficult to foreseean upsurge inArab knowledgeexercised through a chain of officialoversight on more than one level andaccording to more than one law. Amongthese restrictions are the penal code, thepress law, laws governing the content offilms, censorship laws for books, theatre,and cinema production, and even, at times,emergency and counterterrorism laws.The concept of censorship of knowledgecontent has also been broadened toinclude other restrictions, such as thosethat impinge on political party activity andthe holding of elections, the granting oflicenses to civil society institutions, andconstraints on volunteers who work inthe field of human rights and companiesworking in so-called “free zones.”Some governments have announcedguidelines and instructions prohibitingthe arrest of journalists, but the latter arestill subject to imprisonment and criminalproceedings under the penal code ratherthan the press law. Publishing a newspaperrequires a government license, which isgranted primarily on a political basis. Inaddition, a huge sum of money must bepaid in advance as collateral or the like(Naomi Saqr, background paper for theReport). These conditions constituteadditional restrictions on the freedomof the press and on the right to publishnewspapers, freedoms and rights that areconsidered among the most importantpillars of freedom of opinion andexpression.Arab creative production, especiallyin the literary and artistic fields, collidesnot only with laws restricting freedomof opinion and expression but also withadministrative impediments, foremostof which is the need for licenses, whichmay be withdrawn at any time. Formsof discrimination on the basis ofspecialization, profession, and nationalityare also practiced. The greater the numberof administrative and security restrictions,the greater the possibility for being turneddown. For example, a certain director wasasked to ‘tone down’ some scenes in oneof his films that were deemed demeaningto the police. In another Arab country,security services prohibited productionof a documentary film despite its havingobtained permission from the countrywith which it dealt. Films, by a number ofdifferent directors, have been repeatedlybanned, and this may lead Arab filmmakers to produce their works outsidethe Arab world, adding one more formof brain drain to the haemorrhaging ofintellect from the region.The production, publication, anddistribution of books in Arabic sufferfrom similar restrictions, and theselimit the diffusion of printed Arabknowledge content. For example, theauthorities of a certain Arab countryprohibited the publication of seventythreebooks for reasons associated with‘moral principles, derision of religions,the public interest, and issues affectingspecific individuals.’ In another country,books are reviewed before publication byreligious authorities and security bodies,and ten to fifteen books are turned downevery year. Censorship and surveillanceare not confined to the pre-publishingphase; books may be impounded,sometimes a number of years after theirpublication. Among recent examples isthe impounding of a work by a femalewriter on the grounds that it offendsreligion. A book may be exhibited in thebook fairs of one country and prohibitedin those of another. The phenomenonof multiple standards for permissionto circulate books has sometimes ledto reviewing the books and editing theoriginal text so that they might be puton sale in those Arab countries whichimpose stricter standards. Such revisionsconstitute self-censorship, which isdestructive of innovation and boldendeavours (Naomi Saqr, backgroundpaper for the Report).In view of the above, and with thecontinuing restrictions on freedom ofthought and expression in many parts of theregion, it is difficult to foresee an upsurgein Arab knowledge. Accomplishmentsin this field will, therefore, remain quitelimited, especially so long as the Arab66 ARAB KNOWLEDGE REPORT 2009