I am sick of Egyptian/Arab/Muslim writers and journalists selling their souls to the devil, and giving up every tiny-winy inch of self-respect they might have had one day to please the 'crowd'. There is of course the premise of fame and perhaps making a living out of bashing your own country. Stirring up a storm sells! Who cares what the consequences are! You know the type? They write article after article listing all-the-things-wrong with Egypt, make Islam look bad, and then they look the other way and say :"but Islam has nothing to do with it. It is a great religion REALLY!!!" Well, why don't you write, at least once in your lifetime, about something positive in Islam.
I am not suggesting to follow the lead of Al Ahram newspaper's writers and sing the praises of the government but COME ON , honestly, you think nothing is wrong with the West? No human rights violations by our dear neighbours the Israelis??? Diversify, dear writers! It does not only suck on our end of the globe. It sucks everywhere.
Of course, If you feel like you have a calling, a cause you are fighting for, then by all means focus on that. But your focus should not be what ever pleases Mr.Editor (pictured in Blue-Gray above)
You think I can't back my case up with evidence, think again. I will not even begin to discuss the pieces written by Egyptians/Arabs in 'International' newspapers/magazines. For now, at least in this post, let it be local.
A couple of months ago, Al Masry Al Yom ran a feature on Nubians, Great people. What was not so great was that the paper had an article about the Nubians 'religious beliefs.' It stated that they believe in, and practice, an esoteric religious mixture of Islam-Christianity-and-Judaism. It also stated that they keep it a secret for fear of persecution. Well, guess who got the secret out!!! I was appalled by the piece. I could not think of one reason why anyone would want to write about that, except to fuel further discrimination against Nubians. I wondered whether this was ethical. Did they decide to reveal their 'secret' via this article, or where they duped into spilling their guts out?
I like journalism with goal, purpose, and --like I said-- a calling. I wish there were a few more peace-loving writers out there. You know, the type that don't care much for spreading hate and negativity, and perhaps highlight the positive once in a while.
5 comments:
I thought you were talking about me for a second. I am obviously not a real journalist, but I write for fun. I got this accusation once or twice before but it was misplaced, since I would not be selling my soul anyway because I don't get paid to write my articles or short stories.
The thing is: bashing your country by LYING is one thing and it is totally unacceptable, but stating a negative but TRUE fact is acceptable. Criticism of Muslims for example, is not the writer's fault, but the fault of the Muslims who abuse and misuse their religion and then get upset when someone writes something bad about them. The writer did not give them a bad name when he/she stated the facts. Rather, they themselves ruined their image and reputation by doing whatever-it-is-the-writer-wrote.
For example, if I write "Egyptian men urinate in the streets", sure it's not the nicest thing to say, but can you dispute its truth? Just go to Abdel Moneim Riad square in Tahrir! Some would say that the writer is "bashing Egypt", but in reality, it is the Egyptians that bashed their own country.
No one likes negative things, but when you think about it, most of the things taking place in Egypt are negative. If I state the facts on sexual harassment, corruption, sectarian conflict, religious fundamentalism, blah blah blah, you are not really bashing Egypt, as long as you are stating the facts without exaggeration. The only positive things you could write would be a travel piece (and not even that if you count all the horrible hassle) or a film/book review. Damn, I feel depressed already.
We all know there are huge problems with the West too, but it is up to the writers there to expose the shortcomings of their own countries.
Besides, there can be no progress or advancement without self criticism. You can never tackle problems like sexual harassment or sectarianism without stating the ugly facts, right?
I just wrote a piece on Muslim-Copt relations in Egypt and I think I will get some similar accusation of selling my soul, but I feel it is the truth.
What's funny is, whether you lie or tell what you believe to be the truth, you will be attacked anyway. So why don't people just tell the truth?
By the way, it turns out the article I just wrote on Muslim-Copt relations was well received by Muslims and Christians (at least the ones who commented). At least I'm on the right track.
Yay! :D
You don't seem to be getting my point Baher. What I am saying is , like the example I used to illustrate. If you think it serves a purpose--other than sell the paper--write it. But being controversial for the heck of it is , at least in my opinion, unethical.
Why do we leave the job of 'exposing the shortcomings' of a country to its own writers? We can write about anything that we see wrong in the world.
Israelis use media to lobby for their causes, but Muslims use it to bash their own religion! That's what pisses me off. I am not suggesting that we lie/or even ignore what is wrong with our country,
I am suggesting we rally for our causes, instead of cursing the darkness all the time.
Did you read the article about Nubians I refered to? Honestly, what purpose did that serve??
P.S. There is nothing wrong with book/film review. At least it won't leave people reaching for Prozac :P
Damn! After I wrote a lengthy comment I got that stupid error message :(
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