By Egyptian cartoonist Amr Okasha.

A recent seminar about freedom of expression in the Arab world sparked a heated dabate and was an eyeopener for those who thought they had all the opinions on freedom of expression in the Middle East pegged

The seminar ”Freedom of Expression under Fire” which also looked at freedom of expression in a religious context, was organised by the American organisation Freedom House in cooperation with Danish PEN, the organisation FriDebat, International Media Support and the Danish Institute for Human Rights.

”Such a meeting would not be possible back home”

Participants from the Arab region were pleased to have the opportunity to meet and exchange opinions on the subject of freedom of expression in Copenhagen.

- A conference of this nature about freedom of expression and press freedom would not be permitted in most Arab countries, according to the Tunisian journalist Salah Al-Din Jourchi.

Himself a citizen of one of the most oppressive regimes in the Arab region, Mr. Jourchi explained that most Arab governments view any attempt to work in favour of democracy and reform as an act of treason and terror.

Figures from Freedom House illustrate that this is unfortunately a global phenomenon. Around 40 percent of the world’s population live in countries without press freedom,  a deterioration of the situation from the nineties.

 - More dialogue, please! said Rana Sabbagh-Gargour, a journalist and Director of the NGO "Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism" in Jordan, co-founded by International Media Support.

- The discussion and opinions voiced on blashemy laws has been interesting because it is clear that our opinions are shaped by where we come from. In the Arab world, the topic of blasphemy is interpreted as inherently anti-Islamic. That is why it is important to exchange views and break down barriers through dialogue, she said.

Anders Jerichow, editor of the newspaper Politiken’s letters pages and a member of Danish PEN has covered the Arab region and followed reforms closely over a number of years.

- To me this meeting with Arab journalists and human rights activists confirmed to me that  Arab leaders and the countries' citizens should not be spoken of or considered as one group. It is also a mistake to view local regimes as synonomous with Islam. On the contrary, the participants from the Arab world in this meeting have illustrated that civil society in the Arab world is often caught in the middle between those in power and the fundamentalists who each legitimise their existence through their respective interpretations of Islam.

- It often comes down to power and influence. And in principle, most Arabs want more freedom, not less – and would rather have freedom of expression, not censorship.

Revisiting the cartoons

In the course of the week the visiting meeting participants met Flemming Rose, who was the editor of the cultural section in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten which published the now infamous Danish cartoons of the prophet Muhammed in 2005. This sparked a heated debate.

Executive Director of Arabic Networks for Human Rights Information Gamal Eid from Egypt was of the opinion that there is a difference between freedom of expression and the freedom to taunt other religions.

Directing his comments at Flemming Rose, he said:

- I respect your right to express yourself and to publish these cartoons. But by publishing a drawing of a holy Islamic symbol (the Prophet Mohammed) with a bomb wrapped in his turban, this is the same as accusing all Muslims of being terrorists. This is racism.

The Moroccan journalist Ali Anzougla explained that the regime in Morocco had declared the cartoons an insult to all Muslims in the world and that these drawings were the result of a lack of restrictions on the media – and this was something which they would strive to avoid in Muslim Morocco.

- Your battle for press freedom by publishing those drawings has in fact narrowed our chances of working as free and democratic journalists in the Arab world, said Ali Anzougla in his comments directed at Flemming Rose.  

Two years ago, Ali Anzougla was sentenced to prison and his newspaper closed after the state accused him of publishing a story which insulted the royal family of Morocco.

How will things improve?

- If the Western world wishes to help reform in the Arab world, the way would be to stop all support of the totalitarian regimes in our countries,  Gamal Eid said.
 
According to Gamal Eid, the consequences of this support has been two-fold; the governments pursue the Islamists who then flee the country and go to the Western world where they create problems; the other is that the totalitarian regimes increase their battle against reformists and those working for democracy.

Rana Sabbagh-Gargour pointed to the need to continue dialogue and ensure that all opinions are given a voice.

- We should not only listen to liberal views, but also to the conservative voices in the Arab world as well as in the Western world. Rights now freedom of expression is under fire and we are all losers in this battle.

As a concrete action point, the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information agreed to develop a plan for a project where Arab civil society (NGOs) will monitor the activities of Western NGOs and donors to ensure that their activities support reformists in the region. IMS has offered to take the lead on the project.

An update on this project will follow in due course.