Cet article est repris du tome 2, pages 79-80 de l'ouvrage d'Abou Bakr Kadiri sur Saïd Hajji,où il a été publié sans date, Mais l'indication fournie au 3ème paragraphe, selon laquelle la presse au Maroc est de création récente, permet de penser qu'il fait partie des articles ayant suivi le 1er No du journal qui date du 16 avril 1937.
Within Moroccan circles, the most important aspect on which everyone should focus concerns the spread of the freedom of speech and the possibility of criticizing openly the outdated images and the inertia characteristic of our society . It will require the deployment of a sustained effort to put this new vision into action. In fact our current way of life is but an illusion lined by hollow specters, producing not much more than mere trifles.
However, the proper and precise purpose of criticism is to refute all misleading appearances and to drive away any motive empty of meaning which occupies our minds. Criticism should extend to the smallest details of our lives. It should teach us to glorify truth while barring passage to all prejudices, even if they try to exploit man's weakness by presenting themselves with a pretty face and by striking an enticing chord. For the latter's goal is to mount on the pulpit of vainglory, unaware that it totters for it is based only on inconsistent ostentatious appearances and on a fraud which is as vain as it is perfidious.
We live in a century where only the reality of phenomena is to be taken into much consideration. Despite its recent emergence, the national press must represent as faithfully as possible this new purpose and it must open its columns to criticism so as to condemn the apathic nature of our milieu and to fight against those superficial images which shape a major part of our existence. Each person endowed more or less with some culture must channel water to the mill of criticism with that which he ascertains as faults or bad habits of society and must express his opinion with all the desired frankness. But freedom of speech must constrain itself to the arena of ideas and to encompass the different aspects of life including its inertial tendencies. The Moroccan elite must therefore avoid personal attacks and must abide by a certain ethical standard in discussions taking place with writers and scholars.
Criticism of a person tends to deviate discussion from the realm of reflection and debate to that of futility and calumny. The discussion loses all its import and therefore has no purpose. This being the case, we have the duty to demand accountability from those persons who are injurious in our society. We should criticize not only their reprehensible actions but also their unmentionable allegations so as to put an end to their chimeras. This should be done without entering into any details at a personnel level, details which are of concern only to them and do not affect neither here nor there the social body in its entirely.
The "Al Maghrib" newspaper will continue to provide a warm reception to all criticisms dealing with concepts and ideas that it receives and will avoid engaging in discussions of a personal character. It expresses the hope that its kind correspondents, whose every article is welcome, will abide by this restriction in their writings.
