‘Some books, thoughts destructive’

KUWAIT CITY, Dec 11: The participants in the symposium ‘Freedoms and the banning of books under the law’, which was held yesterday at the AlThunayan Diwaniya, agreed that some books and thoughts are destructive to society, so publication of some books must stop and praised the role of the Ministry of Information, reports AlQabas daily.

The Ministry of Information, according to its representative at the symposium Abdul Aziz Al-Janahi, said censoring of the books are in accordance with the law, and the right of the writers’ grievances that their works are being stopped and filed complaints, these complaints are being looked into.

Dr Mohammed Al-Tabtabaei said the Ministry of Information is the fortress of Kuwait and needs support in its approach to prevent books that affect our religion, ethics and values, and we know that there are intellectual and behavioral challenges that must be addressed.

Former MP Ahmed Baqer said there are some books that are controversial and have two opinions and can be approved after consultations. But there are other books whose legal, religious and moral violations are clear and can never be published.

Baqer stressed that absolute freedom does not exist in any country in the world, and the simplest example is France, the so-called mother of freedoms, according to some opinion cannot write a book to reduce the size of the Holocaust.

For his part, Al-Janahi confirmed that some of the banned books are being leaked. He added that all books are subject to strict censorship, noting that television series during Ramadan are subject to review, and this is a step in the right direction.