Introduction
It is a great honor and privilege to address this important conference of very distinguished people.
Actually I was given a free choice of the topic of my intervention, related to the general subject of the conference, i.e., freedom of expression. Mr. Peter Idenburg proposed that I would make some critical remarks on the preconceptions in the West. He thought that this might contribute to the balance. In other words, I will try to look at the full half of the glass, rather than the empty one.
There is no doubt that freedom of expression is one of the most fundamental rights that individuals enjoy. It is fundamental to the existence of democracy and the respect of the human dignity.
It is also one of the most dangerous rights, because freedom of expression means the freedom to express one's discontent with the status quo and the desire to change it. As such, it is one of the most threatened rights, with governments all over the world constantly trying to curtail it.
There are three main objectives underlying the guarantee of free expression :
First : free expression is instrumental in promoting the free flow of ideas essential to democracy and the functioning of democratic institutions.
Second: free expression is an essential precondition of the search for truth.
Third: free expression is worth protecting for its intrinsic value to the self realization of both speaker and listener.
Meanwhile while freedom of expression is a fundamental freedom, it is not absolute, but is subject to such reasonable limits as are demonstrably justifiable in a free and democratic society.
Press freedom is essential to the democratic system. There is no doubt that effective participatory government is possible only when it can count on a well informed society where individuals freely exchange ideas, where public discussion and debate arise from knowledge and understanding of national affairs.
In the period of democratic recovery, the press and media have to exert tremendous efforts to measure up as a collective vehicle of information, as an instrument for clarifying and explaining complex issues and the difficult dilemmas of development. Governments have a critical role in removing obstacles to achieving freedom of expression. Allowing open and public dissent is the sign of strength of a government to its own people, to outside observers and to investors.
Media independence, pluralism, and freedom of expression require strong national legislation to guard against media monopolies and intrusion. Journalists should be responsible. Professionalism means self-regulation and the maintenance of professional independence. Print and electronic media are urged to handle their stories in accordance with professional criteria.
Freedom of the press means safeguarding the reader and the viewer against fake, slanderous or manipulative news. Liberty is valueless and meaningless if it is not governed by principles of moral responsibility.
The freedom that the journalists enjoy is not truly theirs; this freedom comes from the people's right to know in a democracy. In a broader sense, it is the responsibility of the civil society to see that the media freedom is not abused by media practitioners.
The free press must not only educate the people about their rights and obligations, it must also publish their views and opinions. It is through the press and media that the participatory democracy becomes truly meaningful. That purpose of the free press is best served by educating the people in public affairs so that they can participate meaningfully in the democratic activities of the country.
A participatory society should include a process to recognize differences of interests. People become divided and exclusive when they feared their interests would not be adequately protected. The reduction of fear is needed for the creation of a participatory and just society.
In addition to such a reconciliation process, a new information system is needed for fostering democratization and social justice in the coming age.
Access to information affected people's ability to participate politically and economically, both on the national and the international levels. Also education and training are needed to foster broad civic and political participation.
The development of media systems can play a significant role in the formation of civil society. In order for the media to develop, they should grow in a democratic and private environment that can guard and maintain their growth in the future.
In the Arab world, little was accomplished in support of such a move till the beginning of the eighties. However, afterwards there have been growing signs that the Arab media, in general, and the Egyptian media, in particular have started the path towards privatization. There is even mounting evidence that some Arab governments are progressing steadily towards liberalization, modernization, privatization,and democratization. Egypt with its new media seems to be moving, although haltingly, towards this endeavour.
The new millineum is characterized by the globalization, information age, democracy, and freedom. However, media organizations and institutions in the Arab world have just begun to realize the great possibilities and challenges that lie in the future ahead.

Satellite Broadcasting

The last decade witnessed the introduction of transnational media which enjoy a kind of freedom that was never given to the national media. The content of the transnational media is delivered directly to the audiences of the Arab countries bypassing government intervention or supervision. Some private media enterprises that have started to change the media field in Egypt and the Arab world include the Media Production City (MPC) the Nile Sat projects, and the media free zones.
Transnational broadcasting has caused tremendous changes in Arab economies, culture, and politics. It played a significant role in opening up the flow of information from a historically one-way, North-South movement to include an exchange of information from South to North.
The spread of satellite technology in the Arab world has generated new television media that reach the entire Middle East.
Traditional definitions of journalistic culture have been challenged. Many journalists as well as people living in the Middle East already have access to international television networks without any kind of control, censorship, or government approval of content.
The culture of censorship has ceased to have any relevance in today's world of instant communication and global media sources. Thus Arab authoritarian regimes are coming under increasing pressure to allow media privatization and democratization, as well as respect for human rights and the guarantee of freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
By their nature, transnational broadcast media ensure more freedom of control and ownership than previous times. Eventually this should have an impact on transforming media systems to provide a wide variety of views and opinions that occasionally will differ from their governments.
Undoubtedly, transnational broadcasting has had an impact on expanding public access, strengthening international understanding, and encouraging a free flow and a wider and better balanced dissemination of information.
One of the major effects and changes that were brought about in the region by the new technologies is the declining role of the government and state information ministries and more prominence of the exchange of information outside of state apparatuses. Government control is becoming more indirect and informal.
A second major effect of the new technologies is the diversity of outlets that largely increased the amount of information that ordinary people receive. The new technologies are facilitators that can build and enrich and diversify public opinion, that can help stimulate the development of civil society, and the NGO sector, and also enrich policy debates on complicated issues by providing new streams of opinion and information.
The introduction of satellite broadcasting to the Arab world has been a motivation for the region to start organizing and planning for a media policy, but that as far this reaction has been slow. The Arab society is slow to change, and the media is a reflection of the political, cultural, and social background of the people in the region. The Arab world should start planning for future media changes rather than waiting to react.
Concerning the socio-cultural impact of satellite broadcasting, there is a great need for programming that takes into account the conservative but mainstream morals and values of the Muslim societies of the region. Free media should be combined with social responsibility.
As the Arabs, as the rest of the world, are witnessing an unprecedented political, cultural, and economic openness, this necessitates an increased need for responsibility on the part of the media. There is also a great need for more discussion between governments and regulators, broadcasters, audiences, and other actors if meaningful change is to take place.

Reform

Westerners continuously question the prospect of democratization in the Arab world. The Arab world is perceived as basically undemocratic, and unable to adapt to the global challenges of the democratic process.
For the Arabs and Egyptians, democracy, political reform and institutionalization have all been a priority for more than one and a half centuries. Egypt had political parties one hundred years ago. Its quest for independence from foreign occupation and domination in the 1920's went simultaneously with efforts to establish constitutional government. The Egyptian government has been implementing political, economic, social, and educational reforms over the past two decades.
While the Middle East region is being showered everyday with reform initiatives from all over the world, American and European decision makers seemed to have overlooked the fact that the inhabitants of this region have a political will of their own.
Those who devised the greater Middle East Initiative and the authors of reform plans have overlooked the fact that the Middle East has been involved for years in processes of comprehensive reforms, even though the pace may not be fast enough for westerners. Moreover, this area has its own circumstances, thus a standard model of reform drawn up by foreigners may be far from suitable for the Arab world.
There is no doubt that the Middle East region is in dire need of radical reforms that do not neglect the security and economic interests of the region, in addition to the ambitions of the Arab people. The struggle for freedom takes many forms, in different societies and at different times. There are no simple formulas that guide it at all times and places.




Islam and Democracy

True reform should be forced from within, since external powers may take democratization as no more than a pretext to achieve their colonial plans in the region. Reform is integral with national and regional integrity.
In order to succeed, reform from within must be in harmony with its cultural and civilization context. The erroneous idea that there is a contradiction between Islam and democracy must be refuted.
The rights of expression and information cannot be separated from rights to think and believe. Many national and international documents which declare human rights acknowledge the fact that freedom of expression and the freedom of thought are intertwined.
Freedom of thought and belief is repeatedly emphasized in the holy Quran. The Quran repeatedly reports the arguments of atheists and polytheists and reply to them objectively in order to teach Muslims how freedom of expression and information should be maintained to make such a dialogue fruitful.
According to Islam, freedom of expression and information is a basic human right. Islam condemns spreading lies and false information as well as passiveness and reluctance when the truths should be spoken.
Furthermore, the basic principles of the Islamic religion obligate the Islamic state to respect the rights of minorities, to grant them the full measure of citizenship, and to protect them from any aggression. Human rights and democratic values are ingrained in the Islamic way of life.
Actually some popular truths about Islam need to be revised. Undoubtedly, authoritarianism has reigned as the most common form of government from time immemorial, not only in the Muslim world, but in such areas as China, Russia, Latin America, and much of Europe. Squandering of resources and economic mismanagement are not peculiar to Islamic societies, either, they are all too typical throughout the Third World.
The issue of women's rights is a controversial subject. The status of women varies greatly from society to another, but as a general rule, the status of women and their access to education is improving. In Egypt, for example, women have struggled for their rights since the beginning of the twentieth century. Today Egyptian women from all walks of life play an active role in the Egyptian society. Moreover, women's status in most Muslim countries is better than in many non-Muslim societies.
Islam emphasizes justice, equality, and human dignity. Islam also emphasizes democratic values of consent, consultation, and consensus. The Quran asserts the concept of 'Shura', or consultation, signifying that the leader must consult his followers, and rule with their consent. This is a basic tenet of Islam and a major element of democracy.
Although there are democratic systems in some Islamic countries, such as Turkey, Malaysia, and Indonesia, the Islamic world is still perceived as overwhelmingly undemocratic and despotic. Islamic leaders and intellectuals must develop a coherent vision to transcend this unfortunate reality.

The Egyptian Case

Egypt is a major regional media player. Its press is one of the most influential and widely read in the region. Its TV and film industry supply much of the Arab speaking world with shows from its Media Production City (MPC).
Real efforts have been made to develop Egyptian media and break the stereotypical mould of TV. Even if the new air of liberty on Egyptian media is seen as a way to relieve some of public anger and agitation, it has nonetheless raised the ceiling of freedom of expression in Egypt.
Westerners believe that the papers locally referred to as the national press are nothing but government-owned institutions and that all journalists working are simply government employees. This assumption is totally wrong, because the national press has rivalled the opposition papers in criticizing government policies and in reflecting the feelings of the general public.
Even though the editors-in-chief of the main national newspapers in Egypt are appointed by the President, the government is not responsible for what is written in the press. The impression in the US and other western countries is that every word written in the national press reflects the official view, and that is not the case. In most cases, journalists in national newspapers are free to write what they want.
Media criticism of the government is commonplace, but press laws which allow prison sentences for libel and insults, and ongoing state of emergency have encouraged self-censorship on sensitive issues.
This year journalists praised President Mubarak's move to scrap the 1996 law allowing journalists to be imprisoned for libel, insults, or defamation. Journalists would no longer face prison for anything they publish. Journalists have been campaigning for such a move to protect freedom of expression.
Mubarak reaffirmed his constant commitment in favour of the freedom of the press, of its independence and the non interference of its affairs. However, he qualified his statement by saying that freedom should be practiced in the framework of full respect for the rules of law and preserving our values and our cultural and religious identity. The role of the government is to protect Egyptian society from excessive expressions of freedom that transgress the core values of society. Freedom of expression should be in line with rules and values compatible with conscience.

Conclusion

The issues of reform, democratization, and human rights have become center of debates and concerns in the Arab world. The Arab world needs to overcome many challenges before it can successfully democratize. The colonial legacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and socio-economic factors are all major obstacles to democratization. Nonetheless, despite the weight of these obstacles and challenges, the Arab world is rapidly moving on the path to democracy.
The satellite broadcasting and the internet have created a congenial environment for the expression of diversity of opinions beyond the direct contact of the Arab states. This has generated hope for the emergence of democratic communication systems in the Arab world.
The new media age requires new policies and democratic regulations to gratify the audience interests. There is increasing competition between the local, regional, and global media. The Arab press is proving to be more credible, effective, and governments are becoming less restrictive with respect to the media.
Democracy and freedom of thought and expression are the basis of national action. There is no doubt that only in societies that have a vibrant political space, can there also be space for freedom of expression. Only in such societies can the media be held accountable to the truth and to their audiences.
It is, of course, a fact that the domain of free speech and expression in Egypt has expanded over the last couple of decades. There is a growing margin of freedom that the press has enjoyed over the past 20 years.
It is also a fact that many people feel that a ceiling remains delineating what can be said and how it is to be said. This type of censorship is often self-imposed by the writers and presenters and by their editors and managers. However, as long as this remains the case, there is the need for more freedom of expression. This freedom should be practiced in the framework of full respect of the rules of law, and should preserve the values and the cultural and religious identity.