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.
-
Opinion
University of Mosul President Looks to a Post-Da’esh Future
Obay al-Dewachi has kept Mosul’s university running in exile and represents the resilience of the city’s people.
Read More » -
News & Reports
In the Arab World, an Academic Freedom Report Focuses on Egypt
The Academic Freedom Monitoring Report, a project of Scholars at Risk, has highlighted Egypt, especially the bans there that prevent…
Read More » -
News & Reports
Of Architecture Projects and Academic Freedom
In the latest blow to Egypt’s academic freedom, a private university destroyed some architecture students’ projects and fired a professor.
Read More » -
News & Reports
Turkish Academics Pay Harsh Penalties for the Failed Coup
Academics at Turkish universities, once among the most international in the region, face a travel ban and forced resignations.
Read More » -
Opinion
A Conversation With a Scholar Who Has Been Sentenced to Death
Emad Shahin, a political scientist in exile from the American University of Cairo, talks about the lack of academic freedom…
Read More » -
News & Reports
Courage to Think Defender Award Given to Egyptian Scholars and Students
The Scholars at Risk network has given its highest award to those professors and students in Egypt who have suffered…
Read More » -
Opinion
Foreign Researchers in Egypt Are Being Harassed
An Egyptian independent organization says the banning of foreign researchers from entering the country is largely based on their anti-government…
Read More » -
Opinion
The Price of Egypt’s Anti-Cosmopolitanism
The death of an Italian graduate student also speaks to Egypt’s attitude toward research, knowledge, and the international connections of…
Read More » -
News & Reports
Tunisian Academics Still Under Threat After the Jasmine Revolution
Religious conservatives are using accusations of atheism and other tactics to try to silence Tunisian academics.
Read More » -
News & Reports
Instagram and Broadband Use Are Reshaping Arab Social Media
Photo and video social-media channels are on the rise in the Arab region, but users are still worried about their…
Read More »