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Jamal Khashoggi: What the Arab world needs most is free expression

Jayhawker

Active Member
Sep 5, 2018
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By Jamal Khashoggi

October 17

A note from Karen Attiah, Global Opinions editor

I received this column from Jamal Khashoggi’s translator and assistant the day after Jamal was reported missing in Istanbul. The Post held off publishing it because we hoped Jamal would come back to us so that he and I could edit it together. Now I have to accept: That is not going to happen. This is the last piece of his I will edit for The Post. This column perfectly captures his commitment and passion for freedom in the Arab world. A freedom he apparently gave his life for. I will be forever grateful he chose The Post as his final journalistic home one year ago and gave us the chance to work together.

I was recently online looking at the 2018 “Freedom in the World” report published by Freedom House and came to a grave realization. There is only one country in the Arab world that has been classified as “free.” That nation is Tunisia. Jordan, Morocco and Kuwait come second, with a classification of “partly free.” The rest of the countries in the Arab world are classified as “not free.”

As a result, Arabs living in these countries are either uninformed or misinformed. They are unable to adequately address, much less publicly discuss, matters that affect the region and their day-to-day lives. A state-run narrative dominates the public psyche, and while many do not believe it, a large majority of the population falls victim to this false narrative. Sadly, this situation is unlikely to change.

The Arab world was ripe with hope during the spring of 2011. Journalists, academics and the general population were brimming with expectations of a bright and free Arab society within their respective countries. They expected to be emancipated from the hegemony of their governments and the consistent interventions and censorship of information. These expectations were quickly shattered; these societies either fell back to the old status quo or faced even harsher conditions than before.

My dear friend, the prominent Saudi writer Saleh al-Shehi, wrote one of the most famous columns ever published in the Saudi press. He unfortunately is now serving an unwarranted five-year prison sentence for supposed comments contrary to the Saudi establishment. The Egyptian government’s seizure of the entire print run of a newspaper, al-Masry al Youm, did not enrage or provoke a reaction from colleagues. These actions no longer carry the consequence of a backlash from the international community. Instead, these actions may trigger condemnation quickly followed by silence.

As a result, Arab governments have been given free rein to continue silencing the media at an increasing rate. There was a time when journalists believed the Internet would liberate information from the censorship and control associated with print media. But these governments, whose very existence relies on the control of information, have aggressively blocked the Internet. They have also arrested local reporters and pressured advertisers to harm the revenue of specific publications.

There are a few oases that continue to embody the spirit of the Arab Spring. Qatar’s government continues to support international news coverage, in contrast to its neighbors’ efforts to uphold the control of information to support the “old Arab order.” Even in Tunisia and Kuwait, where the press is considered at least “partly free,” the media focuses on domestic issues but not issues faced by the greater Arab world. They are hesitant to provide a platform for journalists from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Yemen. Even Lebanon, the Arab world’s crown jewel when it comes to press freedom, has fallen victim to the polarization and influence of pro-Iran Hezbollah.

The Arab world is facing its own version of an Iron Curtain, imposed not by external actors but through domestic forces vying for power. During the Cold War, Radio Free Europe, which grew over the years into a critical institution, played an important role in fostering and sustaining the hope of freedom. Arabs need something similar. In 1967, the New York Times and The Post took joint ownership of the International Herald Tribune newspaper, which went on to become a platform for voices from around the world.

My publication, The Post, has taken the initiative to translate many of my pieces and publish them in Arabic. For that, I am grateful. Arabs need to read in their own language so they can understand and discuss the various aspects and complications of democracy in the United States and the West. If an Egyptian reads an article exposing the actual cost of a construction project in Washington, then he or she would be able to better understand the implications of similar projects in his or her community.

The Arab world needs a modern version of the old transnational media so citizens can be informed about global events. More important, we need to provide a platform for Arab voices. We suffer from poverty, mismanagement and poor education. Through the creation of an independent international forum, isolated from the influence of nationalist governments spreading hate through propaganda, ordinary people in the Arab world would be able to address the structural problems their societies face.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/jamal-khashoggi-what-the-arab-world-needs-most-is-free-expression/2018/10/17/adfc8c44-d21d-11e8-8c22-fa2ef74bd6d6_story.html?utm_term=.c9e7383f1577
 
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Jayhawker

Active Member
Sep 5, 2018
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Despite how the left would tell it, he was an Islamist who wanted to replace the Saudi Royal family with the Muslim Brotherhood. Was opposed to the Egyptian gov't and Israel.

Jamal Khashoggi Was a Victim of Saudi Terror. He Was Also a Keen Supporter of Palestinian Terrorism
There's no justification for his murder. But don't whitewash what he believed - his commitment to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, his hope that Israel would 'die by force', and the anti-Semitic Islamists with whom he spent his final days

https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/.premium-khashoggi-was-a-victim-of-saudi-terror-and-a-supporter-of-palestinian-terrorism-1.6571267

Why are Arab leaders silent over Khashoggi's disappearance?
Arab leaders remain deafeningly silent on the case of Khashoggi's disappearance.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/10/arab-leaders-silent-khashoggi-disappearance-181019102251305.html
 

Sheila

Member
Sep 6, 2018
39
44
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Fake news is pushing Trump to act against Saudis, where was MSM When JAMES FOLEY was beheaded and Obama played golf immediately after internet beheading? Where was MSM on BENGHAZI! This guy is big shot in Muslim Brotherhood, why is left MSM so upset about him?
 

Jayhawker

Active Member
Sep 5, 2018
138
176
43
Fake news is pushing Trump to act against Saudis, where was MSM When JAMES FOLEY was beheaded and Obama played golf immediately after internet beheading? Where was MSM on BENGHAZI! This guy is big shot in Muslim Brotherhood, why is left MSM so upset about him?
Why? I think we all know the answer to that. There's an abundance of hypocrisy from the left. It's horrendous what was done to this man despite his affiliations. There's no excuse for what was done by what looks to be the Saudis because they don't like being criticized and often justly. They finally admit he was killed, but the story they made up about what happened is ludicrous. The Prince, while making some changes to modernize his country, which upsets radical Islamists (Saudi Arabia is the home of Wahhabism), continues to not treat people well. Did the Prince authorize his murder or was this done by others without his knowledge. hmmmm

I also wonder about Turkey's role, because the president (aka dictator) supports the Muslim Brotherhood. That a--hole is where he is because Obama did not help Turkey's military overthrow him.

That Jamal Khashoggi would write as he did and yet support who he did sure seems a huge contradiction. The media wants to try to point to President Trump's disdain of them as the reason Saudi Arabia took it to heart and felt Trump would not act against them over one journalist. Well, I've got news for the media. Saudi Royalty has never been tolerant of criticism and long before Trump ever became president.

This is walking a tight rope for Trump what with the Saudis being our ally for many years and now they have partnered up with Israel against Iran, but there are legitimate concerns about arms being sold to the Saudis.


 
Reactions: TPcat78

Sheila

Member
Sep 6, 2018
39
44
18
Wow, this site is dead, I am very disappointed. I hope everyone is out WORKING for GOP Candidates and are too busy getting on here.


Khashoogi is nothing more than a fake news provocation for Trump to CUT off Saudis. Where was MSM when James Foley, Reporter, US Born from Stoneham, MA USA BEHEADED ON VIDEO BY ISIS? Obama played golf immediately after.

Where was MSM When 4 Americans BRUTALLY Murdered in Benghazi? They were SILENT! I am sick of FAKE NEWS constantly trying to SABOTAGE TRUMP.