Discussion is the basis of human existence. If that is taken away, we die. This is exactly what is happening in the Arab and Islamic world. It is a slow death when you can’t talk about anything, you can’t exchange thoughts with others, can’t discuss your conflicts. People rebel when they realise that they are dying.

[…] The young people see what is happening out there in the world on the Internet and on satellite TV. They witness how young Europeans and Americans live. They see their contemporaries talking, trying things out, living their own lives. And then they look around in their own countries and realise they can’t talk about anything. This is not only true for politics and discussions about the political regime or democracy, but also for everyday life. Even at home they can’t talk about anything. It’s all about respecting their parents, religion, traditions, they can’t talk to boys or girls, or even their teachers … The youth have been left completely on their own.

Boualem Sansal, interviewed