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
Tunisian Dean Acquitted: More Conflict Likely
A Tunisian court has acquitted a university dean of assaulting a veiled female student. But the wider conflict about veils…
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News & Reports
Egyptian Court Supports Universities’ Independence
A federal court has struck down the right of the Egyptian education ministry to enforce twice-a-year evaluations on University of…
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News & Reports
‘The University Space Must Be Safe’
Higher-education leaders have rallied around the University of Manouba, which has been the subject of Salafist attacks.
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News & Reports
Syrian Students: Stranded Outside, Trapped Inside
Syrian students outside their country are cut off from financial support and pulled into political conflicts. Inside Syria, even students…
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News & Reports
Dwindling Academic Freedom in the Emirates
The Emirates aspire to be a cultural and academic hub. But critics say that shrinking rights of expression contradict that…
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Opinion
Why I Didn’t Go to Dubai
Khaled Fahmy argues that the lack of understanding of the nature and value of a liberal education poses the gravest…
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