Ismail Serageldin Quotes
How do you criticize corrupt public officials without attacking their honor or reputation?
Islamic modernists like Serageldin are many among the educated Muslims but their views are often drowned out by the violence and extremist statements of the fundamentalists. Even in England it is difficult to expose corruption because of the libel laws. In most countries, it is almost impossible which is one of the reasons corruption is so widespread. American law says that it is better to mistakenly hurt some public figures’ reputation than suppress the ability of citizens to criticize and expose corruption.
Ismail Serageldin, Egyptian Director of the Library of Alexandria & Historian, Member of the Egyptian Senate & World Bank Enviornmental VP & World Bank Enviornmental VP & World Bank Enviornmental VP, Speech, Oslo, Norway, June 4, 2009
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Islamic modernists like Serageldin are many among the educated Muslims but their views are often drowned out by the violence and extremist statements of the fundamentalists. This quotation is similar to statements by American Supreme Court Justices but surprises us when coming from a Muslim. But there are many who are as much committed to freedom of speech as most Americans. Even in America, some politicians have tried to make incitement a crime. John Adams’ Alien & Sedition Acts and laws of WWi are examples. However, in no Islamic nation have reformers had incitement removed as a crime as of 2011.
He was explaining to an Arab audience how criticism functions in the American democracy.
Islamic modernists like Serageldin are many among the educated Muslims but their views are often drowned out by the violence and extremist statements of the fundamentalists. Ironically, the necessary intellectual freedom existed in the Islamic world one thousand years ago and Islamic science and other learning was as advanced as any and superior to most including the Christians.
Islamic modernists like Serageldin are many among the educated Muslims but their views are often drowned out by the violence and extremist statements of the fundamentalists.
Ismail Serageldin (/ˈsɛrəɡɛldɪn/; born 1944 in Giza, Egypt), Founding Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA), the new Library of Alexandria, inaugurated in 2002, is currently, Emeritus Librarian, and member of the Board of Trustees of the Library of Alexandria. He serves as Chair or Member of a number of advisory committees for academic, research, scientific and international institutions and civil society efforts, including as co-Chair of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center (NGIC), and serves on the Advisory Committee of the World Social Science Report for 2013 and 2016, as well as the UNESCO-supported World Water Scenarios (2013) and the executive council of the Encyclopedia of Life (2010) and Chairs the Executive Council of the World Digital Library (2010). He also co-chaired the African Union's high level panel for Biotechnology (2006) and again for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) in 2012–2013, and was a member of the ICANN Panel for the review of the internet future (2013).