Tadween Publishing: Islam and Academia in the Shadow of the Arab Uprisings
“Amidst the struggles for freedom of expression and the right to free speech following the onset of the Arab uprisings, freedom in the academic world has become another struggle. A couple very intriguing articles recently appeared in the Chronicle of Higher Education, in a special called…
The tension between those who demand free expression and those who seek to express freely is fascinating, both in content and in ubiquity. Academia is an especially interesting venue for this debate, especially given the (largely secular) assumption — made explicit at the end of the post — that religiosity can be “unlearned” through more learning. Though I personally subscribe to the school of thought the posits “the only way to overcome free speech you don’t like is more free speech,” I’ll be the first to acknowledge my biases and my upbringing. This will be an interesting debate, and I’m interested to see what its consequences are in the next couple of decades.
Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia.
The Assassination of Chokri Belaïd Causes a Wave of anti-Ennahdha Protests
Tunisia, you are in my thoughts today.
The Promise of the Arab Spring: In Political Development, No Gain Without Pain
I can’t say I agree with everything in here (and would love to take the time to talk about it more), but there are definitely some excellent points. For example:
Democracy does not necessarily cause or exacerbate communal and social strife and frustration, but it does allow the distrust and bitterness built up under authoritarian regimes to surface, often with lamentable results. But nostalgia for authoritarian stability is precisely the wrong response to such troubles, since it is the pathologies inherent in authoritarianism that help cause the underlying problems in the first place.
It’s more comfortable assuming an outcome than I am, but good reminder of the fallacy of linearity. And maybe a little hope.
Brace Yourself for More, but Panic is Not a Policy
A worthwhile read:
Washington must separate the sources of Arab and Muslim anger from the sources of violence. There are continuing battles in each Arab country for its future. Extremists often rely on violence over deeply held religious beliefs to settle these internal battles. […] The worst thing that Washington can do is panic, abandon common interests and allow arbitrary events — the likes of which are almost inevitable — to alter our strategic course. The current crisis has been sobering not only to Americans but also to Arab governments and many Arabs who don’t want to see Arab revolutions hijacked. This provides an opening for intense diplomacy, not its abandonment.
(Emphasis is mine.)
“If passed with these articles intact, the constitution will undermine freedom of expression in the name of protection of “sacred values,” provide a basis for chipping away at the country’s proud record on women’s rights, and weaken in other ways Tunisia’s commitment to respect international human rights treaties it has signed.”
Eric Goldstein, deputy Middle East and North Africa director, on Tunisia’s draft constitution.
Read more after the jump.
© 2011 Human Rights Watch
Concerning.
Tunisia’s Oussama Mellouli medals in both the pool and the open water events.
<3
Revolutionary or rebooted?
I don’t feel that I have the time, space, or academic background to place a fully developed academic critique here, but I recently read two interesting pieces, “Revolutionizing Revolutions: Virtual Collective Consciousness and the Arab Spring” and “New Media and Conflict After the Arab Spring,” that I thought warranted some response. Before I begin, I think both offer valuable insight and are absolutely worth reading. However, I find each to be limited and therefore somewhat flawed in their conclusions.
The Marzouki and Oullier piece essentially argues that online social networks have provided a new, faster way of establishing or modifying “collective consciousness” that was integral to the 2010-2011 uprisings. It is eloquently argued and — in my opinion — conceptually relevant to current and future political behavior (revolutionary or not). But its strength is just that: conceptual and theoretical.
