Lebanese Law To Abolish censorship And Set Up An Independent ‘Committee of Wise Men’

Our minister of culture appears to be planning an ambitious law against the “outdated practice” of censorship…

A lot on his mind…

…Or so he told Rana Moussaoui of the AFP, at the end of a lengthy-yet-interesting article about censorship in Lebanon. (Excerpt: “Lebanese society is too steeped in religion to accept attacks on the sacred,” said one bookshop manager, speaking under cover of anonymity.)

But great barriers remain for such a law to see the light. First, the law can only be passed if the dysfunctional parliament votes on it, and it appears that this won’t happen before a political grand-bargain, in which a new government — likely without Mr. Mitri — will be formed, takes place.

Another hurdle to such a law is to convince the Lebanese people to strip religious leaders of some of their disproportional power, something that is unlikely to happen during this generation.

But let’s suppose the law does go through, aren’t we supposed to wonder who will be in charge of choosing the “committee of wise men” whose job will be to out-wise the wisest-of-all religious leaders?