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Ahmed Benchemsi, a Stanford University fellow, is the founder and editor in chief of FreeArabs.com, a platform aimed to perpetuate the spirit of the Arab Spring. Benchemsi, who was awarded Best Investigative Journalist in the Arab World twice by the European Union, founded and was the publisher and editor of TelQuel and Nishan, Morocco’s two best-selling news magazines.
Don’t be Fooled by Appearances, Liberal Values are Spreading in the Arab World
Is there such a thing as Arab liberalism? Judging by U.S. mainstream media coverage, the answer is no. Out of ten stories on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), chances are that nine cover terrorism and sectarian violence—and the tenth, government abuse. What is true for media is even truer for other circles of knowledge production.
