Publishers worried about KRG plan to censor book publishing
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Publishers and booksellers are worried about a new Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) decision to centralize the process of approving book publishing and impose censorship on the industry, targeting books that incite religious extremism and threaten national security.
The Ministry of Youth and Culture announced its decision on Thursday. Under the new rules, a committee from the General Directorate of Public Libraries will approve all books for publication, according to the deputy head of public libraries. Books deemed to be promoting radical Islamism or threatening national security will not be published.
"Islamic books that incite extremist ideology and want to target the youth will be disallowed from publication," Sarbaz Taha told Rudaw English. "Other types of books that threaten our national security will also be blocked. Books cannot become a platform to defame and insult anyone. We cannot accept that."
"In terms of national security, we disallow books that contain intelligence information that other countries may capitalize on," he explained.
The ministry also wants to improve the quality of books published in the Kurdistan Region.
"In the past there was no censorship or filter on any book that ended up in the libraries and the market, with some of them being low quality in design and content," Taha said. "From now, books of the best quality must be approved. In the past there were books that had been translated from other languages to Kurdish, or vice versa, in the worst way. This will no longer be accepted.”
Nian Ahmed, deputy head of the General Directorate of Media and Publications of the culture ministry, said "a team of experts will review the quality of books and allow the best ones to end up in the libraries."
There are 92 public libraries across the Kurdistan Region, according to data from the Public Libraries department.
"There have not been any negative reactions to the decision," Ahmed claimed.
A bookstore owner in Sulaimani said he will wait and see how the new rules are implemented. "If it is to prevent low quality content from being published in the market, it is a good decision,” Dilshad Ahmed of Dlshad Medical Bookstore, told Rudaw English. "If it is to limit the freedom of expression under the guise of removing threats to national security, it is bad, because I do not think, for example, a novel will pose any threat to our national security."
Publisher Bwer Hassan condemned the decision. "This is a very, very bad decision," he told Rudaw English. Hassan owns Nawandi Awer, a bookstore and publishing house in Erbil. "You cannot censor ideas. This decision should be reviewed, because this is the issue of the pen and ideas."
He is also worried about the financial impact. "This decision will harm our business financially, because fewer books will be printed and less serious books will be available for the reader to buy," he said.
Erbil hosts annual book fairs, attracting hundreds of publishing houses selling mainly fiction, poetry, and Islamic history in multiple languages. This year’s event was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The KRG has been frequently criticized for violations of press freedom over the past year, including cases of harassing and detaining journalists.
The Ministry of Youth and Culture announced its decision on Thursday. Under the new rules, a committee from the General Directorate of Public Libraries will approve all books for publication, according to the deputy head of public libraries. Books deemed to be promoting radical Islamism or threatening national security will not be published.
"Islamic books that incite extremist ideology and want to target the youth will be disallowed from publication," Sarbaz Taha told Rudaw English. "Other types of books that threaten our national security will also be blocked. Books cannot become a platform to defame and insult anyone. We cannot accept that."
"In terms of national security, we disallow books that contain intelligence information that other countries may capitalize on," he explained.
The ministry also wants to improve the quality of books published in the Kurdistan Region.
"In the past there was no censorship or filter on any book that ended up in the libraries and the market, with some of them being low quality in design and content," Taha said. "From now, books of the best quality must be approved. In the past there were books that had been translated from other languages to Kurdish, or vice versa, in the worst way. This will no longer be accepted.”
Nian Ahmed, deputy head of the General Directorate of Media and Publications of the culture ministry, said "a team of experts will review the quality of books and allow the best ones to end up in the libraries."
There are 92 public libraries across the Kurdistan Region, according to data from the Public Libraries department.
"There have not been any negative reactions to the decision," Ahmed claimed.
A bookstore owner in Sulaimani said he will wait and see how the new rules are implemented. "If it is to prevent low quality content from being published in the market, it is a good decision,” Dilshad Ahmed of Dlshad Medical Bookstore, told Rudaw English. "If it is to limit the freedom of expression under the guise of removing threats to national security, it is bad, because I do not think, for example, a novel will pose any threat to our national security."
Publisher Bwer Hassan condemned the decision. "This is a very, very bad decision," he told Rudaw English. Hassan owns Nawandi Awer, a bookstore and publishing house in Erbil. "You cannot censor ideas. This decision should be reviewed, because this is the issue of the pen and ideas."
He is also worried about the financial impact. "This decision will harm our business financially, because fewer books will be printed and less serious books will be available for the reader to buy," he said.
Erbil hosts annual book fairs, attracting hundreds of publishing houses selling mainly fiction, poetry, and Islamic history in multiple languages. This year’s event was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The KRG has been frequently criticized for violations of press freedom over the past year, including cases of harassing and detaining journalists.