America and Pornography

The recent international financial crisis proved that the ideas, principles and policies adopted by the United States that America tried to spread worldwide are not, necessarily, the best model that should be followed all over the world, or at least not in our Arab region.

For many decades, the United States propagated an extreme capitalist model, stating that the market mechanism alone is enough to control the economy. It considered the interference of the state, in any form, an obstacle to the growth of a free world’s economies.

All of a sudden, it woke up in a financial crisis that makes state interference to the tune of hundreds of billions [of dollars] the only way to save the world economy from breaking down.

This big crisis could have been avoided if the American administration interfered previously, followed and organized the credit operations that the American banks used carelessly and without sufficient guarantees.

But the policies propagated worldwide by the U.S., which should be reviewed again, don’t concern only the economic system but extend to include political and media issues. And the world is, now, looking at [America’s] as the best model to be followed.

The most dangerous issue, from our point of view, is the issue of pornographic satellite channels and websites that the U.S. and the Arab world consider an important part of media freedom.

The proliferation of these channels and websites in the western communities can be accepted in a social, cultural system that doesn’t criticize special (private) relationships outside of the frame of marriage.

The effect [that these pornographic materials have] on our conservative Arab communities, however, is dangerous and destructive as it puts young Arabs in an awful conflict between their inherited culture and religion, which refuse such unlawful (prohibited) actions, and satisfying a natural human need by committing immoral acts.

It can be said that the growth of the sexual abuse phenomenon in the Egyptian streets, which has begun to appear clearly, is a direct result of the so-called “freedom of the press,” which created the problem and didn’t provide logical solutions compatible with our religious principles.

We’re asking for a review of that part of the “freedom of the press” system propagated by the U.S., before the day comes when our communities collapse as happened with the world financial crisis, because hundreds of billions [of dollars] won’t solve this problem.