Censorship & Literature in the Arab World

Abstract

The nature of literature necessitates the freedom of expression without any censorship whatsoever. If writers feel the pressure of the outside world which imposes on them certain restrictions they will be crippled and their literature may be marred whether partly, largely or wholly depending on the power of the censor.
The main reason of censorship in the Arab world is related to the structure and development of Arab character and recent history. The Arabs are now torn between allegiance to heritage and between confronting reality by adapting to the demands of contemporary life. On the one hand, the fundamentalists want to restore the old style of life by adopting a literal approach to religious texts and they feel threatened by the idea of change; on the other hand, the liberals accept Western culture as exemplary and they attempt to reconcile the past with the present. Similarly, Arabic literature is dominated by 'preaching', but increasingly tries to assert itself against all sorts of odds by confronting the challenges of modern life. In order to achieve an international status, Arabic literature has to confront human nature freely without any censorship.