Censorship in Iraq

The other day I read an article in the New York Times talking about how the Iraqi government is trying to pass a set of censorship laws. This is disturbing to me for several reasons, not least of which is the fact that many of the bans were already around under the rule of Saddam Hussein. Most of the bans are based on what people see on the internet, but book publishers and distributers are also coming under fire. It's been six years since we invaded Iraq, under the pretense that we wanted to give them a free society. Whether or not that was actually the case, the Iraqi people have had six years of unimpeded contact with the outside world. Their government has decided they want nothing to do with it.

At first glance it sounds reasonable. There are a lot of people out there trying to inflame sectarian violence, or to recruit "martyrs." Of course it's important to try and stop this from happening. But the way that they're going about it is a step backwards. According to the article, the Iraqi constitution guarantees freedom of expression, as long as it "does not violate public order or morality." But what right does their government have to determine what is moral? What is moral and what isn't is a personal matter. My morality isn't necessarily the same as your morality. By determining what is and isn't right, and punishing people for transgressing, they're encroaching on the private lives of their citizens. This will engender hatred towards the government, and will actually push people to do the things that are banned, simply because the act of rebellion will feel good. It's just like when teenagers act out against their parents, only these teenagers might blow themselves up(along with many other people).

If these laws were only aimed at countering terrorism, I might not have a problem. But there is a whole list of subjects that apparently "violate public morality": drugs, terrorism, gambling, negative remarks about Islam, and pornography. NEGATIVE REMARKS ABOUT ISLAM! Now, I can't imagine that they would have much bad to say about Islam, seeing as how almost everyone over there is muslim. But the fact that they can't even read about criticisms of their religion without it violating public order speaks volumes about their level of fundamentalism. But it also means that their society will never mature. By crushing rational thought, their leaders are ensuring that the Iraqi people will never be free. Our country spent billions of dollars and sacrificed thousands of lives trying to free them from theocratic tyranny. Before we've even left, they're already going back to their old ways.

"Why should I care?" you may be asking. Let me put it to you like this. Iran, Iraq's neighbor, is a theocratic society. They say they're a democracy, and they even have elections, but all the power really sits with the Ayatollah, their supreme spiritual leader. Being muslim, his religion states that any muslim not only has the right, but the duty, to kill any non-believer(this is suggested pretty strongly by the christian religious books, too). Right now, the Iranian government is trying to develop nuclear weapons. Who's going to stop him if he decides to push that launch button? This situation is the product of a society that has failed to mature. They have crushed all rational thought, and put their superstitions on a pedestal. The last thing this world needs is another society propped up by falsehoods.