Shireen Abu Akleh’s calculated murder at the hands of an Israeli military sniper is an all too painful reminder of the dangers facing journalists in areas of conflict, occupation, and open warfare. Sadly, Shireen’s murder was not the first nor will it be the last. Journalists around the world either inadvertently or purposefully have been targeted to silence them from shedding light on the complex and often messy realities that prevail in disparate war zones, whether in terms of refugees streaming across borders; the deliberate targeting of civilians as a tactic of war; or the decisions taken in far-off capitals to intervene in various conflicts in pursuit of narrow national interests.

The 2003 illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq by the United States seemed to open a Pandora’s box of such hazards for journalistic coverage, ushering in a new era of violence, intimidation, and death against journalists from all backgrounds (where their murders were perpetrated by different sides to the conflict). Often, it would not need to be a military confrontation, but a political one. In countries like Lebanon, the Philippines, and in South America, journalists put themselves at risk in order to uncover the intrigues and corruption perpetrated by publicly elected officials as well as by authoritarian regimes.

But given the great strides in surveillance technology and the monitoring of online communications, it is not only in the battlefield or in the political debates that journalists find themselves under threat. In this day and age, reporters can be silenced online, whether through intimidation by armies spewing hate speech, through monitoring of their communications, or by hacking of their secret files.

It is in honor of the courageous journalists around the world who choose to be brave in spite of such dangers that we dedicate this issue of the Cairo Review. In pursuit of their mission, they offer inspiration to others who will join the ranks of their profession to inform audiences around the world about what is happening in often forgotten conflict arenas.

The targeting of journalists is not to be regarded as collateral damage. The damage is to the time-honored profession of reporting and journalism, and is indeed a threat to every democratic principle and the free exchange of ideas and information. The killing of journalists is the most brutal form of censorship there is, and a collective effort must be brought against those who perpetrate crimes against reporters, journalists, editors, photographers, cameramen, and designers, wherever they may be.

Journalists must also bear the responsibility of abiding by the strictest code of professional conduct, and nowhere is this more important than when journalists are forced to operate in the thick fog of disinformation, propaganda, and media suppression that shrouds today’s wars.

In an in-depth interview with Zahra Hankir, we learn of an emerging united front of journalists who have bonded through their time-honored profession. In this issue’s timeline, we look at the history of whistleblowers, those bold individuals who act in the best tradition of the public interest despite knowing full well the retribution that they will face. We also look at the barriers journalists must break through to defy the muzzling of their profession; how the Shiite-Sunni conflict was used to explain all the troubles of the Middle East in Western media, and wrongly so; and the growing impetus for a new form of journalism in climate reporting.

Firas Al-Atraqchi & Karim Haggag

Cairo Review Managing Editors