Freedom Is More Important

I have contributed to the advance of the telecommunications technology though I "lag behind" in terms of personal information and practice.
In the late 90s, and under my guidance as editor-in-chief, Al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper became the first daily in the world to publish its pages on trans-continental satellites - at a time when The Wall Street Journal was still publishing its pages inside the United States.
In the late 80s too, Al-Hayat became at my helm the first pan-Arab daily in large size paper to be printed electronically, along with two dailies in the Gulf. In fact, the font used by Al-Hayat was common to the majority of the Arab newspapers that turned to electronic printing.
In both dailies, the credit in technological pioneering goes mostly to my colleagues, and not to me.
Technology is very important.
But freedom is more important, or in other words, constitutes the most important media element. It is exercised in the West in such an enviable manner. Yet, the Western press with deep-rooted traditions have not been fair to the Arabs and Muslims. In my opinion, the least of their "sins" is neglecting Arab and Muslim causes, as has been the case during the preparations for the war on Iraq. The failure of leading American dailies was so remarkable that I sometimes felt it was deliberate.
But I hope I am wrong.

These days, the Western media exploit the freedom they enjoy to serve other goals. An example is Khaled Bin Mahfouz, a co-founder of the Saudi National Commercial Bank. In British courts, he won the lawsuit against American writer Rachel Ehrenfeld who accused him of financing terror in her book Funding Evil: How Terrorism is Financed - and How to Stop It.
Printed in America, the book is sold in England on the internet.
On August 25, 2007, I raised this issue and had to argue for months with many dissenters, including Samuel Ibadi, a Jewish competent constitutional lawyer of Arab origin. In brief, Ehrenfeld's supporters described the British laws as old and outdated, ascertaining that the First Amendment to the US Constitution protects the freedom of speech.
A New York court rejected Ehrenfeld's lawsuit to overturn the British verdict for lack of jurisdiction, or in other words on the grounds that the US court is not allowed to rule on the matter.
Freedom of speech is unarguable and may be the most important, even the basic freedom used to defend other freedoms.
But the freedom of humiliation, like in the caricatures on the Prophet Mohammad, can not be covered with the first, second, or any other amendment. Accused of financing terrorism, Khaled Bin Mahfouz would have been imprisoned and his assets confiscated.
The British law resembles many other positive and divine laws. According to Islamic jurisprudence, the accused has to take the oath and the plaintiff has to provide evidence.
Which is easier? That the author brings evidence on Bin Mahfouz's donation of money to terrorists, or that Bin Mahfouz brings all terrorists to testify that they did not receive money from him?This takes us back to the issue of news and ideas, or the piece of information and opinion.
The piece of information has to be truthful, but opinion is sacred and a right enjoyed by the speaker.
Lawyers' fees and fines are sufficient punishment, and imprisonment is unjustified. I condemn every Arab country that imprisons journalists.
When I joined the world of journalism, I intended to buy a Volkswagen unlike other colleagues of mine who wanted to promote their ideas as members of political parties, organizations, or factions.
On the one hand, I believe I am a better journalist because I am neutral and can be objective. On the other hand, they are familiar with party details more than I am, and they have inside information that I lack.
At the end, I will go back to the first idea I raised when I started the discussion, i.e. the growing influence of the media despite the decline in the printed press in democratic countries.
To wrap up this discussion, I will mention another example. On June 12, 2007, Tony Blair delivered a speech to the Reuters news agency.
This speech was widely referred to as "feral beasts," as he likened journalists to feral beasts that hunt in a pack, just tearing people and reputations to bits. Consequently, when formulating a policy or following up a matter, his government thinks of journalists and their reactions more than of the task it needs to carry out.The Arab press is tamed just like docile sheep.

*Published in the London-based AL HAYAT on May 22, 2008. Jihad can be reached at http://www.j-khazen.blogspot.com