Egyptian journalist and columnist Mona Eltahawy, who’s writing was banned from the Saudi-owned Asharq al-Awsat publication, has written an op-ed for the International Herald Tribune explaining her experience with the Arab daily. You can read the whole article here. It’s worth your time. Here is an excerpt:
Writing for an Arab newspaper is like playing hopscotch in a minefield. From January 2004 until early this year I played my game of hopscotch in a weekly column on the opinion pages of Asharq al-Awsat, the London-based, Saudi-owned newspaper that is read across the Arab world. And then I stepped on a mine. Without warning or notice, fewer and fewer of my columns made it into print. Then my articles stopped appearing altogether. I had been banned.
Nobody tells you that you’re banned from an Arab paper — especially a paper that is supposedly the liberal home of writers banned from other papers, which is how Asharq al-Awsat portrays itself. Sadly, my experience is not unique. When I told a veteran Egyptian journalist that I had not been officially notified of my ban, he reminded me that he found out about his removal as editor of a newspaper in Egypt when he read about it in another newspaper.
“prejudices of an audience interested only in simplistic and machivellian stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims.”
Can they be blamed? Throughout Europe, “Arab” and “Muslim” rhyme with “thief”, “mugger”, “rapist”, and now: “terrorist”. Why is that? And why are Asians percieved as “hard-working”, and “peaceful”? Obviously, no one would make the inverse mistake.
We need to understand that we are all, as a whole, responsible for our community, and understand that those among us who rob or condone anti western hatred violence are our enemies, for they are those responsible for our terrible reputation. Of course, we reinforce that reputation by defending them or trying to justify their attitude, on the only grounds that we are of the same origins/religion. We need to fight against these wrongdoers with much more force and violence than the Westerners do; only then will we start deserving respect in the public eye.
Having lived and studied in France, the European country with the most Muslims (mostly Arabs) living within (Islam is the second most important religion in this country, after Catholicism, and way before Protestantism (of any denomination),and Judaism), I can quote some figures: North-africans (Moroccans,Algerians,Tunisians) account for around 10% of the population, and for around 60 to 70% of the general crime rate. Our reputation heeds directly from such figures. Jean-Marie LePen (far right political leader, in favor of reserving jobs in priority to Frenchmen, and organizing the return of immigrants to their original countries) almost made it as President of the Republic on the first ballot in ’02, only losing to Jacques Chirac thanks to a coalition of ALL the other parties, left-wing and right. LePen still managed 26% of votes on the second ballot. This has been widely explained by the exasperation felt throughout the country towards the “Muslim” community as a whole, and recent recurring muggings and rapes in trains by gangs of young Arabs, the booing of the french national anthem before soccer games, recent violent attacks on Rabbis and Jews on the street with punches, stabbings, shots, and racial insults and “Allah Akbar” being shouted, and a general sense of misconduct of the Arab youth.
As an Arab, can I say I blame people for these stereotypes? Yes, my OWN people. And I’m not proud
Actually Mona is a favorite of the neoconservatives like Paul Wolfowitz. I believe this was why she was hired to write for those various papers in the US. I found her writing to be poor and pandering to the perceptions and prejudices of an audience interested only in simplistic and machivellian stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims.
Trying to write a really pro palestinian article in the new york times would be like stepping on a landmine too.
Sorry Nataha. Did not mean to offend you.
“Mona was the only one of several dozen Arab commentators on the US news after September 11th that calmed me down and caused me to evaluate the situation logically.”
Can you please elaborate, I would like to hear how she calmed you down?
Really? Never heard of her at all. But may you like her because she is willing to feed your need to hear how nasty Arabs are.
Actually, Samir, you fulfill that “need” of mine just fine 😛
Mona was the only one of several dozen Arab commentators on the US news after September 11th that calmed me down and caused me to evaluate the situation logically. The rest infuriated me with their idiotic justifications for the attacks.