Book review: Psychoanalysis poses the question: 'Why Are the Arabs Not Free?'

Renowned author Mustapha Safouan analyses oppression and tyranny in the Arab world

Limaza Al-Arab Laissou Aharara? ('Why Are the Arabs Not Free?') by Mustapha Safouan, tr. by Mustapha Hegazi, Dar Al-Saqi Publishing, Beirut, 2012. 128pp.
Despite leaving Egypt more than 60 years ago, the great psychoanalyst and thinker, Dr. Mustapha Safouan, never lost his deep connection to his homeland, continuing to engage its preoccupations and issues. Safouan's name is known among readers due to his early translation of Sigmund Freud's, 'The Interpretation of Dreams' in 1959. Freud's works on psychoanalysis, in French since 1972, have been indispensable references for those working in the field. Safouan made accessible "one of the grand authorities in the Lacanian (pertaining to Jacques Lacan) school of psychoanalysis," according to Mustapha Hegazi's introduction to Safouan's translation.
In his latest book, 'Why Are the Arabs Not Free?' Safouan tackles the issue of tyranny in the Arab world, which he claims is key to liberating the Arab citizen from political and social tyranny and the alienation of repression.
According to Mustafa Hegazi, the Lebanese psychologist who translated the book, the Arab Nationalist movement, which was launched through unprecedented popular mobilisation, led to a huge wave of enthusiasm and sacrifice. Thus, the book's chapters acquire dual significance, since they were written several years before the 2011 Revolution (between the years 1991 and 1998), with the exception of the last chapter, which is a salute to the Revolution from a man who foresaw it, defended its principles and sought to challenge tyranny on multiple levels.
Safouan suggests liberation from tyranny can be achieved by claiming the right to speak, thus freeing the individual from alienation. He highlights several aspects of tyranny, such as the relationship between language and authority. Safouan maintains the structures of tyranny have become ingrained in society over centuries through an alliance between criminalisation, proscription and transgression, with the aim of subordinating the masses and implanting the ethics of obedience into the hearts and minds of the people.
To highlight such historical continuity, Safouan re-edited and inserted the introduction of his translation of a book written in the Sixteenth century by Frenchman, Etienne de La Boétie, titled 'Discourse on Voluntary Servitude,' which was translated into Arabic in 1991. The French text seems as if it were written today, discussing the tyrannical relationship between rulers and ruled, a dynamic it suggests has been transformed over time into a kind of servitude that the oppressed also internalise and perpetuate.
The book addresses tyranny from a number of perspectives. One chapter engages the alliance between political tyranny and religious fundamentalism, which the author suggests imposes widespread obedience through networks of control, mediated through institutions including schools, mosques, workplaces and public activities. Safouan sees the tyrant gain and consolidate power through an alliance with religious authorities, and the utilisation of fatwa ('legal judgment based on Islamic jurisprudence'). The author maintains the tyrant withdraws from religious heritage and often acquires divine characteristics.
Safouan engages the use of language in several chapters, a subject that has punctuated many of his works; he even translated Shakespeare's 'Othello' into the colloquial Egyptian dialect. He asserts the colloquial register is the language of the people, learnt from infanthood, whilst formal, written Arabic represents censorship of genuine, spontaneous, oral, popular expression. He sees formal Arabic as an elitist language, confined to the few, who circulate ideas amongst themselves. Ultimately, he suggests it assists the authorities in preserving tyranny and domination within religious, legal and administrative structures.
Safouan maintains democracy was only possible in Europe after resolving the conflict between Latin and the language of common speech, citing instances such as when Martin Luther translated the Holy Bible into the popular German language, Galileo challenged the Latin language to write in a colloquial register, and Dante wrote 'Comedia Divina' in Italian.
The author sees tyranny tightening its grip over man through the written word. He suggests ancient Middle Eastern countries invented writing to serve the purposes of ruling elites and subjugate the illiterate masses. He maintains that over time, the relationship between authority and writing changed in form but not in essence. Tyrannical authorities have sought to censor and control the cultural and intellectual spheres of society, through nationalising the press and infiltrating organisations.
Finally, the author suggests developments in Information Technology have revolutionised access to information and the expert, intellectual sphere. He writes, "The class of male and female youth, whom the contemporary electronic revolution enabled, blew up the regime totally, in a way that the working classes weren't capable of doing, despite what history promised them of their inevitable victory."
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