Ayoon Wa Azan (We Are a Nation Where Erroneousness Is a Way of Life)

I ask the reader, especially the Egyptian reader, to be patient with me until the end [of the article].

Whoever visits Egypt today, will see that in Cairo alone, there are now well over fifty daily, weekly and monthly newspapers...As it is known, the newspapers have a more solid influence on the hearts of the readers, since newspapers are a lasting companion and an intimate partner. A man may read them in his club, or may find solace in them in his solitude. He may resort to them in his spare time, and the words published therein might resonate in his mind, until their letters become imprinted in his imagination, and their questions become engraved on his tongue...It is thus obvious that if a newspaper has implied something good, then this good will establish its mark upon the nature of its readers, and upon their manners, hearts, morals and actions...Otherwise, [the newspaper] would embody pure evil and a flagrant scourge...Then add to that the things we see in some of the newspapers we have, such as personal slanders, insults against people’s honour and reputation, and resorting to obscenities and profanity, which ruins the moral fabric of society, and corrupts the norms of decency...Yet, we do not want to generalize what we have mentioned in this article, since there are among the writers in our newspapers many men of virtue, knowledge and dedication, and with whom the poise of newspapers is elevated, and of whose written feats we can benefit...

I pause here to say that I did not write the above; rather, it was written by Ibrahim al-Yazigi, one of the prominent figures of the Arab Renaissance, in 1899, one century and one decade ago. Yet, it still reflects the conditions of the Egyptian and Arab press as if it were written yesterday. The article is specifically about the Egyptian press, and was written when al-Yazigi returned to Egypt to find that there are now 50 newspapers, compared to only one newspaper there 20 years ago, which had been the official gazette. Nonetheless, his description may also apply on the Algerian press, and perhaps all the Arab press elsewhere. This article was published in the first volume of Al-Diyaa [The Light] magazine, which was published by Ibrahim al-Yazigi in Egypt, benefiting from the atmosphere of freedom there. Today, wherever I see in our countries some freedom (which is relative of course), there are some accompanying practices of irresponsible journalism, and wherever there is a lack of freedom, there is the quackery of the ruling dictator.

In fact, the entire press can be summarized into two words: news, and ideas. While each opinion is a sacred right for the individual who expresses it, news and information must be accurate. However, I found that following the well known football battle, opinions expressed stooped to the level of mutual insults, while news and information went beyond being wrong erroneous to being deliberate lies; as such, almost every newspaper in Algeria claimed that the hospitals were full of Algerians killed following the game in Cairo, without agreeing on a consistent number, whether it was two (in one newspaper), or three or four in another, and more than in other papers. Equally, the newspapers in Cairo claimed that there was a “massacre” following the match in Omdurman, when we now know that not a single person was killed in Sudan; rather, there was some unjustified violence, especially that its perpetrators were the supporters of the winning team, and who were thus supposed to be celebrating, and not to be drawing their knives.

To quote a paragraph from a related news story published in our newspaper Al-Hayat, a newspaper primarily known for its credibility, “Cairo has witnessed violent demonstrations in the vicinity of the Algerian embassy, followed by clashes with the police which left 35 people injured, including 11 police officers, not to mention the material losses this has caused. Meanwhile, 19 people were killed in Algeria, and hundreds others were injured in several incidents during the celebrations of the victory over Egypt and of succeeding to qualify to the World Cup finals.

Thus, the Egyptian supporters avenged their loss by attacking the police in their own country, while the Algerian fans celebrated their victory by causing the death of 19 people amongst them. I do not know what would have happened in Omdurman had Algeria lost the game, and what the number of those killed in the ensuing angry demonstrations would have been.

Having condemned the press in both Egypt and Algeria, and the entire Arab press which, as usual, was divided along the lines of the Qais and Yemen over a football match, and having condemned the supporters of both teams, I want to now continue by condemning the leadership in both countries.

Political wisdom, statesmanship and courage in following the path of righteousness does not lie in one official seeing the citizens of his country running in one direction, and then deciding to run along with them to win some cheap temporary popularity; rather, it lies in thinking before running: if the people is running in the right direction, then the official runs along with it, but if the people is running in the wrong direction, then he should candidly oppose this, and work on correcting its path.

We are a nation where erroneousness is a way of life.

khazen@alhayat.com [1]