Academic Freedom
Academic freedom in the Arab world has been increasingly undermined and strained. Individually and collectively, the freedom to access, create and share knowledge to serve communities through research, documentation, discussion and creativity faces the challenges of censorship and heavy state interference.
Academic freedom doesn’t sit alone in societies but is part of the broader freedoms of expression exercised by artists, journalists, writers, and the public at large. Al-Fanar Media believes in the importance of researchers’ and academics’ personal autonomy and independence, as well as the significance of free speech and critical debate. We report on infringements of academic freedom in the Middle East and North Africa, the interference in the management of higher education institutions, the arrests of researchers, university staff and students. We also cover the efforts that governments and institutions are doing to preserve the right to academic freedom.
We hope through our articles to keep the discussion around academic freedom in the MENA region alive, to contribute to the reduction of censorship in higher education institutions and research.
Below are a series of articles and stories around the subject of academic freedom in the Arab world.
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News & Reports
‘Free to Think 2023’: A Year of Bombings and Other Attacks on Higher Education
A new report from Scholars at Risk’s Academic Freedom Monitoring Project examines efforts to restrict free discourse in both authoritarian…
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News & Reports
Academic Freedom: An Ongoing Quest to Define and Maintain a Key Scholarly Concept
Al-Fanar Media reviews the history of the concept of academic freedom and ongoing attempts to define it and establish standards…
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News & Reports
New Tunisian Agency to Evaluate Higher Education Institutions Gets Mixed Reception
The plan seeks to improve the international competitiveness of Tunisian higher education and research. Some academics question whether a new…
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News & Reports
Algeria’s Ban on Research Ties with Morocco Violates Academic Freedom, Scholars Say
Algerian and Moroccan academics say the decision will have little effect on scholarly output in either country because research collaborations…
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News & Reports
Academic Groups Urge Global Support for Ukraine’s Displaced Scientists
International academic groups are urging the global science community to advocate for helping Ukraine’s displaced scientists and scholars.
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News & Reports
Israeli Restrictions That Hurt Palestinian Universities Draw International Rebukes
International academic groups call on Israel to drop restrictions that would limit foreign scholars’ ability to study and work at…
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News & Reports
University of Khartoum’s New Draft Law Limits Security Forces on Its Campus
The terms of the University of Khartoum’s new draft law, shared with Al-Fanar Media, stipulate how the university will be…
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News & Reports
Lebanese University Halts Classes After Guards Attack Professors’ Sit-In
The Lebanese University suspended classes after security forces assaulted teachers during a protest against unpaid salaries.
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News & Reports
University of Khartoum Proposes a New Law to Strengthen Its Independence
Days after Sudan’s de facto head of state’s dissolved the councils of public universities, the University of Khartoum is advancing…
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News & Reports
Palestine’s Research Capacity Is Limited by Multiple Challenges, Scholars Say
Speakers at a webinar sponsored by Scientists for Palestine discuss the problems that hinder academics’ ability to conduct research in…
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