Montesquieu was once asked who the most dangerous people were. He answered, “People who are prevented from talking are the most dangerous because they will use their muscles to communicate.” And as Beethoven was steadily losing his hearing, people said to him, “What a tragedy for a great composer to lose his hearing.” His answer was quick: “It would be far worse if I lost my tongue because it is the expression of my freedom.”
Every time I think of the shocking annual World Press Freedom Index by the French organization, Reporters Without Borders, which ranks journalistic freedom in different countries, the two quotes spring to my mind. I usually come to the same conclusion — which is that the countries in our Arab world, from the Gulf to the Atlantic, are on the dark side of the moon, or at least of our planet.
Among Arab countries, Kuwait apparently has the greatest journalistic freedom, ranking 85 on a list of 167 countries. Which means that all other Arab countries are on the dark side of the World Press Freedom Index and, if we look only at the Arab countries, there are substantial differences between the first and last. Once the freest of Arab countries, Lebanon now ranks fifth among them. Egypt, long known for the influence of its media, ranks twelfth on the Arab list according to the World Press Freedom Index for Arab countries.
If the world views freedom of the press as one of the indicators of public liberties, then reports such as these ought to set all the alarm bells ringing. The governments of Arab states ought to review their own internal affairs related to their citizens’ freedom of speech. It is well known that writers and thinkers who can openly and freely express their opinions don’t use false names on Internet blogs and forums. Writers with sealed mouths and chained pens, on the other hand, don’t threaten governments. The freedom of journalism is ultimately the freedom of mankind.
Some people seem to believe that the standards used by Reporters Without Borders fail to consider cultural differences. They think that the standards are exclusively Western. Despite the fact that such an assumption exists — and may be partly true — we still can’t afford to blame the organization for our position as Arabs in the World Press Freedom Index. We have to do something about the enormous gap and change the current situation for the better. And no matter what the Reporters Without Borders index tells us, journalism in the Arab world really needs more doses of responsible freedom. It must move away from the traditional inherited supervisory methods that are hopelessly outdated and totally out of touch with the modern world. When, I ask you all, is any of this going to happen?
