Amman, January 15, 2015 – In the wake of the recent Paris murders, a public debate in Amman will examine whether the Arab world is now sliding willingly into militancy and oppression.
The audience, a mix of political and human rights activists, local university students and expatriates, will debate the motion: “The Arab world is embracing extremism not fighting it”.
The sessions, in both English and Arabic, will be recorded at the Royal Cultural Centre in Amman marking the start of the fourth season of the New Arab Debates (NAD), a high profile, free-speech forum.
British television journalist Tim Sebastian, who founded the NAD in early 2011, will moderate the English debate on Sunday, Jan. 18 at 7pm. Speaking for the motion is Dr. Adnan Hayajneh, Professor of Political Science at Qatar University. Against the motion: Dr. Musa Shteiwi, Director of the Centre for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan and a leading newspaper columnist.
A day later, former BBC and MBC television journalist Lina Musharbash will present the Arabic version, with different panellists and audience.
Speaking for the motion: Hasan Abu Haniyeh, a seasoned researcher and expert on Islamic movements, author of several books on Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, Sufism and Salafi Jihadists and commentator on several Arab TV stations.
Arguing against the motion is Dr. Khalid Al-Kalaldeh, Minister of Political Development and Parliamentary Affairs and former Secretary-General of the Jordanian Social Left Movement.
Tim Sebastian says the murders earlier this month in Paris have given renewed urgency to this debate.
“These sessions are not just about violence. We’ll also be asking: are governments in the region breeding the very extremism they claim to be fighting, and are Arabs increasingly being forced to choose between one extreme or another?”
The Norwegian Foreign Ministry is supporting the series, designed to foster free speech and democratic accountability.
NAD also offers an extensive outreach campaign in schools and universities with the aim of encouraging young people to participate, through public debating, in the political development of their country.
Both debates will be transmitted for the fourth year on Deutsche Welle TV in English and Arabic along with its global and regional network of partners including Egypt’s ONTV, Ro’ya TV in Jordan and Watan TV in Ramallah.