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The Layalina Review

VOL. V NO. 6, February 27-March 12, 2009

e-Censorship in the Arab World

Internet censorship continues to be a hotly debated issue throughout the Middle East. In the UAE, the government strictly regulates what websites are viewable to their citizens in order “to protect the moral, cultural and religious values” of the country, according to the Emarat Business Review. Nevertheless, programs such as Anchorfree have allowed more tech-savvy residents of the UAE to circumvent many of the internet restrictions, but such an option is not widely available.

In Morocco, Hassan Barhon has been sent to jail for accusing city government officials of corruption and collusion in one of his blog entries. Barhon circulated a petition calling Mohamed Masmouki, prosecutor-general for the king of Morocco, a “dangerous criminal,” reports the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Officially, Barhon was charged with “defaming a member of the judicial body,” an offense that is punishable by up to five years in prison. His detention is representative of the declining freedom of press in Morocco in the past decade and is very worrisome to proponents of free journalism worldwide.

A recent Daily Star report stated that “five of the 15 countries defined as ‘internet enemies’ are in the Middle East: Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Tunisia,” with five more Middle Eastern countries on the brink of entering the group. The news site notes that “internet legislation in all its forms is an indicator of the degree of freedom in a country.”

The more freedom of information, communication and media in a country, along with personal freedoms and democracy, the less internet legislation and government interference, continues the Daily Star.

Meanwhile, at the Emirates International Festival of Literature in Dubai the issue of censorship was brought to the forefront after a book featuring a homosexual sheik was not allowed to debut at the event.

While some at the festival declared “censorship a ‘myth’ because of the internet revolution,” Jordanian author Ibrahim Nasrallah stated that he is experiencing more difficulties with censorship now than ever, reports the Khaleej Times. Replacing the straightforward bans on certain material of the past are severe lawsuits and ostracism for the more progressive authors of the region, like Nasrallah.

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