I’m saddened and disappointed today. #1, by how many comments I’ve read, mostly in other blogs, in support of censorship; and #2, by the fact that it seems that Maroc Telecom/Itissalat Maghreb, owned by Vivendi Universal, has blocked YouTube on its own, and that it is, perhaps, not a directive of the Moroccan government (thanks Youssef for the info)

I should first clarify that most of the people I’ve found to be, seemingly, pro-censorship, support it in this case because the likely cause of the ban on certain websites was related to the rise of fundamentalist materials. That sounds fair.

But, the problem with censorship is that once it starts, it seems to pick up speed. First, they censor fundamentalist sites, then what? Soon, nothing is off-limits.

In Europe, hate speech has been criminalized. It is illegal in most countries to deny the Holocaust. Now, I will state that personally, I believe that the Holocaust happened, that it was one of history’s biggest tragedies, that the persecution of Jews, homosexuals, and other minorities occurred on the largest scale ever during that time. But what if I didn’t? Shouldn’t I have the right to express my opinion?

The U.S. Constitution allows for free speech in any form, excepting libel, slander, and speech which poses a direct threat to one’s person. The founders of the United States, tired of religious intolerance in Europe, created the First Amendment to protect against censorship.

Of course, I am the first to acknowledge that the American ideals have, in many ways, fallen apart - recent examples being the firing of Don Imus and possibly Rosie O’Donnell, the Senate bill introduced in 2005 that could have barred certain topics from university classroom discussions. My country is by no means, nowhere even close to perfect.

But I raise it in discussion because I believe in First Amendment ideals.

Morocco is not blocking YouTube simply because some fundamentalists may have posted videos there. If that were the case, they would not have censored Aboubakr Jamai, Ali Lmrabet, Sanaa Al-Aji and Driss Ksikes, none of whom support fundamentalism.

Although citizen media has not yet hit it big, look to Global Voices Online, MidEast Youth and all of the other sites that we have begun to look to for news - and look at the recent case of Bangladeshi blogger Tasneem Khalil if you don’t believe it’s possible for us to have influence.  Get your story picked up by RSF or HRW and you never know…

So props to The View From Fez, Youssef (here and here), Agora, Hchica, El Hafa, Larbi, Sami ben Gharbia at GVO, A Moroccan in Washington D.C. and anyone else who is making an effort to open a dialogue on this subject.