Censorship & Persecution

For as long as art has existed, there has been resistance against it.

Photograph of protesters with tape over their mouths holding signs written in Arabic

Source: Hannon via AP Images

Over time, however, there has long been a monumental power struggle in deciding what art should be ‘allowed’, and who should have the power to censor or destroy whatever is 'too controversial’. From the addition of loincloths to the naked souls of Michelangelo’s 1565 Sistine Chapel fresco (Frank), to billion-dollar toy corporation Mattel’s fight against critical portrayals of their character Barbie (NCAC), to the divisive argument of whether to remove racist murals at George Washington High School in San Francisco or to preserve them as a reminder of the US’ troubling history of racialised violence (NCAC). There has long been a worldwide history of protest against divisive, controversial, or otherwise disliked art of all forms, leading to the censorship of non-dominant ideologies and the persecution of those willing to abandon the status quo for the sake of producing whatever they want to see.

Through the banning of artistic media, however, comes the so-called “Streisand Effect” – wherein the censorship or banning of media brings in a larger crowd than it perhaps could have garnered if left alone. Here we begin to see works such as Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses becoming infamous after Iranian Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa ordering the death of the author - or in an alternative situation, the censorship of US adult animated sitcom South Park for its depictions of the prophet Mohammed.

In addressing censorship, while it is important to see it as a worldwide issue that transcends language and culture, the Middle East is often considered a far more conservative climate in its approaches to the censorship of politically/graphically/religiously controversial media. While this reputation is often exaggerated from a Western viewpoint, this is not to say that there is not a real propensity for censoring and persecuting the controversial in Arab nations.

This page will be focusing on the prevalence of censorship and persecution with regard to Arab comics throughout time – from the emergence of the Arab world’s first serialised comic Al-Awlad - “The Boys” - in 1923 to digitalised “Alt-Comix” works such as those listed on this website, including Samandal, the creators of which were sued by the Catholic Church in 2009 for “caricaturing Jesus on the cross” (Guyer). In the age of the internet and this new availability of digital media, it has been brought into question how the reach and ease of censorship has evolved parallel to the comic genre.

Comic books seem to exist in all languages and cultures, from East to West. In subject matter they go the whole range from inspired and fantastic to sentimental and silly; all of them, however, are easy to read, to pass around, store, and throw away.
- Edward Said (via Damluji)

The Birth of the Arab Comic

Source: Oum Cartoon blog

Comics first emerged in Arab culture as a media specifically targeted towards children – with characters well-known in the West such as Mickey Mouse (ميكي) and Tintin (تن‌تن) adapted to fit Middle Eastern cultural values, as well as characters created by and for the Middle East, such as Samir (سمير). It has been argued that, without this focus on a younger audience – comic strips first being published in already existing “juvenile magazines” – comics would not have found a steady platform in Arab society to birth the medium as it exists now (J.A.D.).

In discussing the child-focused origin of Arab comics, it has been noted that these comics were often used to promoted authoritarian ideologies, rulers, and political movements to children, bringing “state propaganda” to a young audience by a morally questionable and seemingly indoctrinating tactic (Ghaibeh on YouTube). As Ghaibeh adds, the figure of the soldier was often "promoted [...] as a national hero" in early state-run comics, and children were shown depictions of political resistance as well as ideas of Arab Nationalism in the promotion of standard or "literary" Arabic as opposed to allowing children to learn localised dialects. Arab comics scholar Nadim Damluji notes that "[t]he original creations were trying to tell stories for a younger audience that had an Arab point of origin" but also that authors such as Hussein Bicar, founder of the Sinbad comics, were "very conscious of the power of the medium and how it could be used to further pan-Arab ideas" (Morayef).

With the foundation of Arab comics stemming from the indoctrination of children with state-approved education, opinion, and expression, it cannot be considered surprising that comics today still face heavy censorship when opinions expressed by independent authors do not align with the status quo. Where authors were once limited to child-friendly material, however, there was even less room for authors to express their opinions - controversial or not.

It was the first time that people stopped bullying me and were actually interested in what I was doing instead. They started sitting next to me quietly as I drew. It was at that moment that I realised the power that comics have; that an art form can completely subdue a monster and make them receptive. That's when I decided to become a comic artist.
- Asia Afasi (via Morayef)

The Heroes We Needed

Source: Tintin Travels blog

In the 1940s, Western superheroes were introduced to the world of Arab comics, being translated and adapted to a new Middle Eastern audience through Arab distributers. Where Clark Kent became Nabil Fawzi and Tintin became Hammam, Damluji (quoted in Hamdy) argues that “translation was really a form of conversation,” where local artists were able to translate entire characters “to be more recognisable to their [Arab] readers”. Translating existing successful comics allowed an immediate profit for companies such as the Lebanese creators of the Arabic Superman, Illustrated Publications; however, it also brought about some issues in the transparent superimposing of Arabic language onto a comic perpetuating a particular set of Westernised values. As many in the Arab world would argue, the ‘Arabisation’ of Western hero Clark Kent was problematic: “the creation of a uniquely Arab superhero [is deferred] in favour of re-presenting a clearly American icon” (Damluji). In criticising the still clearly West-born and West-catering character of Superman as an example, Damluji even jokes that “the name ‘Nabil Fawzi’ does no better job at disguising this true identity than those glasses and tie do at hiding Clark Kent from his other job as Superman”. Where Western heroes faced a clear favouritism in the publishing industry for their pre-packaged success and potential, Arab comics faced a form of censorship in being put up against the monopolising success of these foreign imports.

Source: Qahera blog

At long last, in 2006, the first original Arabic superheroes “The 99” were born, bringing uniquely Middle Eastern values to superheroes for the first time; where the genre had previously been monopolised by Western companies and their world-famous characters, Teshkeel Comics had worked with writers and artists from companies like Marvel and DC to create a group “of home-grown heroes” in the form of teenagers promoting “the 99 attributes of God in Islam, such as strength, generosity, and faithfulness” (Anderson). Here began the movement to promote Arab values, instead of leaving them censored by proxy.

In 2013, 19 year-old Deena Mohamed published the first strip of her comic book hero Qahera, the “witty hijabi superheroine who fights crime and prejudice on the streets of Egypt” (Grigsby). In creating a strong yet feminine female hero, and a balance of modesty and justice, Mohamed delivered a character critical of Arab society and the unnecessary problems it creates for women under patriarchy and traditionalist values, including sexual harassment and gender discrimination. While Qahera is criticised, it is thankfully yet to be legally challenged or censored, and as of 2019 Mohamed has not faced persecution for her progressive comic.

The Digital Age

Source: 'Censorship in Saudi Arabia' on Wikipedia

Comic production before the current digital age was limited by the vetting of publishers and state regulations; as scholar Lina Ghaibeh argued, publication depended either on support from the state, or on the author being in a financial position to be able to self-publish. Ghaibeh goes on to discuss how the arrival of the internet has created a kind of loop hole – a possibility to self-publish for free and evade state or religious censorship. She adds: “[c]omic art and comic artists, previously limited to local enthusiasts and a very marginal readership, were now available to a wider audience.”

With modern times also comes modern sensibilities; sparked by the “Arab Spring” uprisings of January 2011, Arab culture as a whole has experienced and continues to fight for a push forward in freedom of speech and fighting censorship and persecution. As well as the increased freedom to publish artistic and literary works and newfound ease of access for the public, authors in the Middle East are also fronting a new critical movement that is seeing infinitely more opportunities to criticise their governments and the general religious/political/social status quo than ever before.

While some will argue today that Arab state monopolies over comics among all creative media are a thing of the past, it is important to see the current progress as finite and incomplete. Where many works have been able to be published today when they would not have seen the light of day even a few decades ago, many more artists are persecuted with real-world physical consequences (see the artists showcased in the next section). Many countries in the Middle East also limit internet access to the public with certain firewalls and restricted pages. Many examples exist of censorship in Arab countries in the digital age, for example:

Source: Hussam Alzahrani

In July 2006 the Saudi Arabian government blocked Wikipedia and Google Translate after the public was using them to bypass the state’s firewall.
In July 2010, a Lebanese man was arrested for allegedly insulting President Michel Sleiman on Facebook.
Since 2011 Bahrain has been slowing down internet speeds to help stop the spread of banned content not yet caught by surveillance.
In 2011 Egyptian activists were arrested for reporting abuses of power by the state online, including police beatings.
Egypt shut down all internet connections nationwide at the height of the 2011 Arab Spring.
In recent years the Saudi government has been reported to use “bots and human trolls in order to minimise the work of its critics on Twitter” (Benner et al).
Only 17.6% of the Iraqi population had access to the internet at the end of 2013
On 2nd October 2018, journalist and Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi was assassinated in Istanbul, believed to be ordered by the Saudi government, for his heavy criticisms of the government and royal family on social media and while writing for The Washington Post while living in exile in the US

In today’s world of Arab comics and self-expression, artists find themselves drawn between two responsibilities: “to entertain their audience and ensure their work is also accessible” and also to “raise awareness of social and political problems and increase their public’s sensibility towards these issues without being overly provocative of censorship, either political or societal” (Bank). Below is a showcase of contemporary authors/artists, many of them presenting their work through online media, who have faced the heavy hand of persecution for their critical or provocative works.

"Choose free expression or mainstream distribution, but not both."
- Betsy Gomez, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF)

Contemporary Artists Facing Persecution

Magdy el-Shafee | مجدي إل شافي
El-Shafee's graphic novel Metro is about software designer Shihab who decides to rob a bank after being forced into debt under corrupt officials. Upon publication the novel was immediately banned for "offending public morals", all copies were confiscated, further production was banned, and el-Shafee and his publisher were both arrested and fined (Words Without Borders).
As an author el-Shafee discusses ideas of corruption, and he ultimately is silenced by the Egyptian government under the Mubarak regime. Observing his treatment and reactions to it under different political leaderships in the Egyptian presidency gives an idea of how authors react to censorship and persecution in the twenty-first century: he posted on social media after being released on bail: "Thanks to you, today I am free. And thanks to you, Egypt will be free tomorrow" (Words Without Borders).

Ali Ferzat | علي فرزات
An award-winning political cartoonist, Ferzat was first published at age twelve on the front pages of newspaper al-Ayyam, shortly before it was banned by the Baath party. His 1989 exhibition of cartoons brought a threat on his life from Saddam Hussein and a ban from Iraq, Jordan, and Libya, for such controversial works as 'The General and the Decorations', in which a general is depicted handing medals to a starving citizen. In 2011, Ferzat was attacked by armed gunmen in Damascus, Syria, believed to be pro-government militia, who physically attacked him "focusing mainly on his hands". They apparently warned him "not to satirise Syria's leaders"; his briefcase containing several drawings was also confiscated (Joshi).
This blatant attack on Ferzat's profession evidences the state of freedom of speech as well as the encroachment of persecution in the Middle East - specifically Syria - today. While Ferzat admittedly created art in order to criticise governmental figures and procedures without holding back, this should not be an offence - and especially not any kind of excuse for such a brutal physical and psychological attack.

Doaa el-Adl | دعاء العدل
El-Adl, a cartoonist for Egyptian newspaper al-Masry al-Youm, is well-known for her works commenting on gender narratives and the place of women in politics and wider Egyptian society; she has also branched out in recent years to international topics such as "Brexit". She has won many awards, including a place on the BBC's 2016 list of one hundred inspirational and influential women (Essam). In 2012, el Adl became the first Egyptian cartoonist to be charged with blasphemy under the Morsi regime after the Secretary General Khaled el-Masry filed a lawsuit over a cartoon she drew that supposedly insults Adam as a Biblical figure and prophet of Islam (CRNI).
As a female artist, and an artist almost solely tackling gendered issues in the Arab world, el-Adl is an important figure in terms of access not only to the problems that Arab women face, but also how they feel about these inequalities. While there is a popular Western Orientalist idea that Arab women are submissive and do not question their societies' status quo, women such as el-Adl are vital in destroying this narrative and exposing the Western world to very real problems such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and gendered inequalities in the law.

Naji al-Ali | ناجي العلي
Al-Ali was born in the Palestinian Ash Shajara village that was destroyed in the 1948 "Nakba", the devastation of Palestine for the creation of the Israeli state. Growing up as a refugee, al-Ali was known for his scathing commentaries on life as a refugee, as well as on the political relationships between the Arab world, Israel, and the United States. His comics often featured the image of a refugee boy named Handala - حنظلة - looking not at the viewer but at the events of the comic itself (Handala).
On 22nd July 1987, al-Ali was assassinated on the streets of London. The presence of a murder in this discussion of persecution of comic artists is disturbing to say the least - al-Ali is an unfortunate example of an artist deemed so controversial that he was forced to pay with his life for his political opinions driven by a life of tragic personal experiences.

Ahmed Naji | ناجي، أحمد
Naji's graphic novel Using Life is about protagonist filmmaker Bassam Bahgat, who after being asked to create a documentary about urban planning and architecture in Cairo, discovers a network of underground conspiracies run by his employers.
Two years after the novel's 2014 release, a reader reported an extract of the text to the government for "harm[ing] public morality"; Naji was sentenced to two years in prison. While widespread international public support found Naji an early release, he was put on trial again in 2017 for similar charges (Johnston).
Naji's imprisonment demonstrates how controversial media can be weaponised against its author when authorities disagree with controversial content. His support and early release, however, instead demonstrate the power of free speech, and how the public rally against threats of unfair persecution.

Ganzeer | جنزير
The political artist and activist known as Ganzeer - meaning "chain" in Arabic - is well known both for his graphic novel The Solar Grid, and for his street art likened to the proficiency of UK-based street artist Banksy; he has been said to reject the label of "street artist", though, as he feels that his work doesn't meet the standards of "real" street artists. Ganzeer has been credited as a part of the rise in previously scarce political street art after Egypt's 2011 revolution. He was detained in 2011 for distributing stickers of his "Mask of Freedom", featuring a head wearing a gimp mask with wings (Joshi).
As an artist working closely and interacting with the public, Ganzeer is breeding a new kind of comic-based activism in Egpyt; he is creating a close bond to his readership and to activist communities, while choosing to retain a certain level of anonymity. This method of presentation, while not totally able to protect him from government intervention and censorship, has allowed him a certain level of artistic freedom that other artists featured here have not been afforded. Ganzeer seems to run by the expression "modern problems require modern solutions" - no matter how old these issues of censorship may be.

The artist in this video - referred to only as Samira - is a woman working in Iran's capital city, Tehran. She is a painter, who rarely receives opportunities to sell or showcase her work due to the availability of opportunities to her not just as a relatively unknown artist, but as a woman in a traditionally patriarchal country.

In discussing censorship and persecution, it is important to address the unique problems faced by female artists regardless of if they are fighting gendered oppression in scathing commentaries, or simply creating aesthetic, non-political art. In traditionally patriarchal countries, women are faced with a lack of opportunities, meaning that their careers are limited and censored before they begin in most cases.

The Samandal Case

Source: Samandal Comics via 'Medium'

As mentioned in my introduction, Samandal was sued by the Catholic church in 2009 for $20,000 for "caricaturing Jesus on the cross" (Guyer); however, this was only the first of the comic collective's lawsuits for covering material critical of religion.

In 2011 three of the editors of the comic - Omar Khouri, Hatem Imam, and Fadi Baki - lost a legal case brought against them by the Lebanese government. The case "that interpreted two out of context panels to be inciting sectarian strife" can easily be pointed to as censorship of the expression of opinion in regards to religion. As a result of losing the trial, the editors faced fines in the tens of thousands of dollars, as well as criminal records that will follow them all for life; with an indiegogo fundraising project earning only 51% of their $60,000 goal, the editors were somehow still able to continue the comic, which is alive and well today.

Source: Lena Merhej (via L'EMPLOYÉ DU MOI)

The editors had not originally thought that the offending panels would get them in any legal trouble. Baki has said about their concerns of censorship: "Honestly, we were more worried about nudity than religious material, our first issue was basically all tits and ass. But the censors didn't say anything." When contacted by the government, Khouri said they had "assumed that there was a problem with [the] publishing license, or some missing paperwork" - however, in a move that the editors and their fans found "confusing" and "really dumb", the editors were instead being berated for two comics published in the Samandal collective: "Lebanese Recipes for Revenge" by editor Lena Merhej, and "Ecce Homo" by French artist Valfret (Muhanna). Merhej's comic used the Arabic expression that translates to "May [God] burn your religion", which though it may sound controversial, is actually a colloquial term simply expressing exasperation; when paired with images of images of a burning priest and imam, however, this panel was poorly received by censorship authorities. The second controversial comic depicted a Roman centurion who, after having sex with a legionnaire, kills him and rallies his army against the locals, ending with him telling a crucified Christian "You're the queer." On this specific comic, Valfret said he was "totally shocked by the news of the Samandal case" as "in Europe you can say whatever you want" (Muhanna).

Source: Valfret (via The Guardian)

Though contributors to Samandal have found this unfortunate situation an important opportunity to be able to discuss censorship of literature and comics in particular in Lebanon, it is important that this case is upheld in the history of censorship in the Arab diaspora. While some from a Western viewpoint may expect that countries seemingly so steeped in tradition and religious values would obviously take issue with images critical of or not adhering to certain religions, Valfret's words speak volumes: "in Europe, you can say whatever you want". In this day and age, it is not impossible to publish controversial works and upset public opinion without facing severe legal, financial, societal repercussions for your words. Other countries see the cases of censorship and persecution that face many Arab nations even within the past decade and can't understand where legal and artistic powers meet - who should be given the power to persecute people based on an image, or a word published in a comic? When do simple words cross over from aestheticism to political expression to abhorrent illegality?

Arab Comics Today

The persecution of the authors and works detailed above is not an exhaustive list, but a mere few examples of the state of freedom of speech and freedom from censorship and persecution in the Middle East; these examples demonstrate the push-back against controversial works of literature and art in countries such as Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon since the turn of the century.
It is important to note the uses of physical threats and attacks in the persecution of such authors. To give a pseudo-psychological analysis, it would seem that the only reason authoritarian regimes are forced to resort to such extreme measures is due to a lack of legally justifiable reasoning for attacking their works. If the works truly broke laws - which in principle literature essentially cannot do if prescribing to conventional Western opinion - then the authors could be lawfully imprisoned, and the sentencing would not be fought against by the authors, their readerships, and the wider public. Where the authors only offer criticism and no material acting maliciously against the average reader, however, the governments who wish to lash out against these criticisms resort to physical and psychological threats, attacks, and embargoes, in order to shut down alternative schools of thought.

This is the state of Arab comics today. Where authors create critically-praised, thought-provoking works, whether with subtle or with outright criticisms of politics, dominant cultures, and societies, there is a trend of censorship and persecution facing authors whose works are interpreted as straying too far from pro-government or dominant cultural norms.

Works Cited

"About Naji Al-Ali." Handala, http://www.handala.org/about/
"An Egyptian Mickey Cover from 1963.” Oum Cartoon, 1 December 2015, https://oumcartoon.tumblr.com/page/7.
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“Art and Culture Censorship Timeline.” NCAC: National Coalition Against Censorship, https://ncac.org/resource/art-and-culture-censorship-timeline.
Bank, Charlotte. “Comic Artists in the Arab World: Swimming against the Tide.” Qantara, 7 July 2012. https://en.qantara.de/content/comics-artists-in-the-arab-world-swimming-against-the-tide.
Benner, Katie, et al. “Saudi’s Image Makers: A Troll Army and a Twitter Insider.” The New York Times, 20 October 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/20/us/politics/saudi-image-campaign-twitter.html.
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---. “Superman Issue 237 in English and Arabic.” Tintin Travels, 18 January 2011, https://tintintravels.com/post/2809429019/waiting-for-nabil-fawzi.
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Essam, Angy. "Doaa el-Adl: The Cartoonist breaking gender taboos." Egypt Today, 8 September 2016, https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/21676/Doaa-el-Adl-The-Cartoonist-breaking-gender-taboos.
"From 'Metro'." Words Without Borders, February 2008, https://www.wordswithoutborders.org/graphic-lit/from-metro/?_ga=2.122814283.1555958916.1575841236-1273206246.1569982047.
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---. “Lina Ghaibeh - Propaganda in Comics in the Arab World.” YouTube, uploaded by The Media and Digital Literacy Academy of Beirut, 22 August 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvgsEvfpjzY.
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Grigsby, Hope. “A New Feminist Movement? Middle Eastern Hijabis as Superheroes.” Mona Baker, 25 August 2015, https://monabaker.org/post/a-new-feminist-movement-middle-eastern-hijabis-as-superheroes/.
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Hannon, Mohammed. “Jordanian journalists protest in front the Jordanian House of Parliament, symbolically wearing tape over their mouths, as they protest over proposed changes to the anti-corruption law they believe will muzzle press freedoms, in Amman, Jordan, Thursday Sept. 29, 2011.” AP Images, 29 September 2011, http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Mideast-Jordan/1f6b3207cde84cce8c0def00704893a9/107/0.
Johnston, Rich. "'Using Life': The Comic That Saw The Author Imprisoned For Two Years, Now Published In English." Bleeding Cool, 10 July 2017, https://www.bleedingcool.com/2017/07/10/using-life-english-egypt-ahmed-naji/.
Joshi, Tripti. "Ali Farzat." Alchetron, 25 May 2018, https://alchetron.com/Ali-Farzat.
Joshi, Tripti. "Ganzeer." Alchetron, 13 February 2018, https://alchetron.com/Ganzeer.
Khoury, George. “A Brief History of Arabic Comics.” JAD Articles & Essays, 2 May 2007, http://jadarticles.blogspot.com/2007/05/brief-history-of-arabic-comics.html.
"Magdy El Shafee Arrested and Held at Tora Prison." Words Without Borders, 20 April 2013, https://www.wordswithoutborders.org/dispatches/article/magdy-el-shafee-arrested-and-held-at-tora-prison.
Mohamed, Deena. “Qahera Part 4: On Protests.” Qahera, 25 November 2013, https://qaherathesuperhero.com/post/68110255239.
Morayef, Soraya. "Arab comic artists discuss adversity and censorship," Middle East Eye, 19 August 2015, https://www.middleeasteye.net/features/arab-comic-artists-discuss-adversity-and-censorship.
---. “Arab Comics: Fit for Academic Exploration.” Al-Fanar Media, 18 November 2014, https://www.al-fanarmedia.org/2014/11/arab-comics-fit-academic-exploration/.
Muhanna, Elias. "The Fate of a Joke in Lebanon", The New Yorker, 26 September 2015, https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-fate-of-a-joke-in-lebanon?verso=true
Saba, Michael. “Will ‘American Dad’ Define the Saudis for Us?” Arab News, 15 December 2005. Accessed 22 November 2019 via Wayback Machine, Archive.org , https://web.archive.org/web/20051215225103/http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7&section=0&article=74718&d=15&m=12&y=2005.
“Streisand effect.” Wikipedia, 9 November 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect.
"This Woman is Fighting Censorship in Tehran - With Art | Tehran Unveiled | Refinery29." YouTube, uploaded by Refinery29, 6 August 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUpNsXei5wU.
Warner, Andy. "A cartoonist collective in Lebanon is in the middle of the fight for its life." Medium, 19 December 2015, https://medium.com/@andycomics/the-people-vs-samandal-comics-73815eda366a