When the people take to the streets there is no stopping them. This is the guiding conviction of Sheikh Fahad al Salem al Ali al Sabah, a member of the Kuwaiti Royal Household, that underpins his favorable outlook on the ideas of democracy and freedom that are spreading in the Islamic world, the so-called Arabic Spring that has topped the age-old regimes of Zine el Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia and Hosni Mubarak in Egypt. Ideas that can spread via channels of participating journalism. "This is not a very popular message", the Sheikh told CNN during a stay in Washington. But that democratic reforms and the fight against corruption are not topics extensively welcomed in the Arabic Nation has been demonstrated by "forces" that have tried unsuccessfully to silence him.
As founder of the Center for Dialogue Among Civilizations and Defense of Liberty, he has promoted over the years democratic change within the region in the attempt to foreshadow violent struggle, as seen in the crackdown of the popular uprisings ranging from the Maghreb to the Arabian peninsula. "If change begins at home it is rather more credible" says the Sheikh, adding that "nobody will be in the position to ask me what am I saying? I encourage my country and my very own family. And I won't hesitate to do this abroad as well."
The convictions of Sheikh Fahad al Salem draw upon his personal experience: he spent 7 months in prison in 1990 when captured by Iraqi soldiers during the First Gulf War. "The time I spent in Iraqi jails with the secret police placed me in front of a stark choice: to go back home a broken man, or take back with me a greater dose of courage and a greater belief in my convictions. I took the second option."
In his commitment to reform the Sheikh, owner of an influential Kuwaiti media conglomerate, a just-opened "Media City," is conscious of the risks that change can bring about, if only the possibility of a new ruling class little different from the deposed autocrats. But he is at the same time convinced that "those who ask for more democracy will always get what they want."
The Center for Dialogue Among Civilizations and Defense of Liberty, founded by the Sheikh, held from May 21 to 23 an international conference on the impact of technologies in the spread of democratic ideas that saw the participation of former presidents and prime ministers from all over the world as well as Nobel Peace laureates. "I know firsthand what it feels like to have your have basic human rights and freedom taken from you. It is for this reason that I have created the Center, to help facilitate the international debate around the need to advance individual freedoms and basic human rights," says Sheikh Fahad. "We will focus on education to combat ignorance, which we believe is the major threat to peace. The Center will facilitate the distribution of data, academic studies and news reports designed to spur democratic discussions, influence governments and civil society and inform policies that affect us all." It is for this reason that the Sheikh is launching his first satellite TV that will focus on the "citizen journalism" to connect the young voices from the Arabic countries with other raising voices from all over the world in order to defend human rights.