29 December 2012

In the name of morals and Sharia, media freedoms may contract

.... In a mass protest at the beginning of December, newspapers protested media violations and four satellite channels went black the next day. Several of Egypt’s independent dailies published the same full-page image on their front pages in protest at restrictions on press freedoms in the draft constitution.

Ibrahim Nawar, head of the Egyptian Organization for Freedom of the Press, suggests that the media war is a reflection of the division between Islamists and secular currents that will continue as long as polarization in the Egyptian street continues.

The danger of this split, Nawar says, is illustrated by the inflammatory tone adopted by many religious satellite channels, which “incites audiences whose political awareness is weak.” [Egypt Independent] Read more