More than 30 Islamist writers have demanded the opportunity to write in state-run newspapers.
In a statement released Friday, a group of self-described Islamist writers and intellectuals decried what they described as the “tyrannical opportunist cultural minority” that they claimed dominates the opinion pages of state-run newspapers. The statement said that the writers and intellectuals would continue pressing their case if they were not given a platform for their views.
The statement said that “the change after the revolution is to allow some of these [Islamist] writers to write when there is available space, provided that their writings are not offending to the dominant tyrannical opportunist cultural minority."
The statement said that the state-run newspapers are important means of expression in Egypt, the Arab world and occasionally on an international level.
The writers added that the newspapers were corrupt during Mubarak’s rule, accusing them of being mouthpieces for his regime.
“The revolution has changed many things. The newspapers were reached by a few changes in management and editors-in-chief, in addition to some tolerance with voices muted in the era of the ousted [president]. The dominant opportunist authoritarian currents, however, still practice their exclusionary behavior, and resist change and cleansing,” the statement said.
