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
Egyptian Translation Center’s New Guidelines Could Stifle Freedom of Thought
The National Center for Translation was created to make knowledge from across the world accessible to Egyptians. Many see its…
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News & Reports
Middle East Suffers Largest Share of Attacks on Higher Education
Two-thirds of all attacks on campuses and university buildings worldwide over the past five years took place in the Middle…
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News & Reports
Iraqi Researcher’s Assassination Stirs Fears of Renewed Violence Against Academics
Husham Al-Hashimi, an expert on ISIS and a critic of foreign-backed militias in Iraq, was gunned down by unknown assassins…
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News & Reports
Kuwait Shuts Down an Art Exhibit. Is the ‘Most Open’ Gulf Society Closing?
Artists believe the shuttering of Shurooq Amin’s show by Kuwaiti authorities is the latest indicator of the country’s decline in…
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News & Reports
Egyptian Human Rights Scholar Detained, Fanning Broader Fears
The recent imprisonment of Patrick George Zaki, a human-rights scholar and activist, renews fears about freedom of expression and freedom…
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News & Reports
Most Arab-World Researchers Want to Leave, a New Survey Finds
A survey by Al-Fanar Media found that many researchers in Arab countries are unhappy with their working conditions and would…
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News & Reports
Not Just Money: Arab-Region Researchers Face a Complex Web of Barriers
Researchers working in Arab countries detail the challenges they face, and ways of overcoming them.
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News & Reports
A New Academic Freedom Report Describes Worldwide Attacks on Higher Education
The report highlights Sudan and says the space to think freely is shrinking in many countries.
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News & Reports
Qatar National Library Sparks Young People’s Curiosity About Science
In a regular forum, the library gives Qataris a chance to meet world-class researchers face-to-face and have informal discussions that…
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News & Reports
Arab Political Scientists Find New Support
Scholars in the Middle East face an array of challenges. The new Arab Political Science Network wants to help them…
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