The Concept of Freedom

Description

Perhaps the word “freedom” is the most frequently used word in the political lexicon of contemporary Arabs. Even words that rival it in popularity, such as independence, democracy, and development, are often used synonymously, to the point that we rarely find them apart from it, or that they merely define it. This book revolves around this concept. The researcher analyzes and discusses it not only to achieve clarity of thought and precision of expression, but also because he believes that the success of Arab action is contingent upon such precision and clarity. For this reason, the researcher was keen to begin by describing the social reality: taking the concept of freedom first as a slogan that defines goals and changes the course of national activity. From this starting point, the researcher attempts to arrive at a reasonable and clear concept of freedom, on the one hand, and to touch, on the other hand, the reality of contemporary Arab society, rejecting the notion of beginning with a preconceived concept of freedom by which the validity of the slogan is judged, alongside the imaginary construct of a fantasy reality that serves as an ideal against which the slogan is measured. This is based on the belief that the easiest way to understand the spirit of any society is through the sum of that society’s slogans. This is the path the researcher took in addressing the issue of freedom in contemporary Arab society, following a logical progression: slogan, concept, and experience.