Sometimes our understanding of the meaning of the word "freedom" goes in the right direction, and sometimes we lose our way when trying to explain it. The necessity to understand its proper meaning increases when it concerns freedom. This related to our behavior within the family and society, so what does freedom really mean?

When we interviewed people in various public spaces to find out about their understanding of the word "freedom", a big discussion ensued. Everyone agreed that the word "freedom" means "no restriction on my behavior," but they disagreed about the limits of freedom and who determines those limits. A comparison was made between Islam and the Western vision of freedom in most of the discussions.

Another discovery we made while interviewing members of the public is that there is a growing consciousness of Islam among Egyptian youth. Some believe in the Western model, which was often mixed with an Islamic vision.

Rasha R., who is preparing for a master's degree in media at the American University in Cairo, described her understanding of freedom as "doing things you want without annoying others around you." Wearing Western style clothes, Rasha says she prefers the Islamic understanding of freedom: "Of course [I prefer] the Islamic style of freedom because I am a Muslim and our religion tells us how to deal with others, how to care for our families and our societies, and how to respect ourselves and others. My family hope the best for me, and I care for my family and respect others. But if they refuse something in particular regards my freedom and if what they refuse is my right, I insist on doing it after I have convinced my family and I have obtained their approval."

Fatma Al-R. believes that "freedom means keeping my mind. I think that society has no right or any part of society has the right to steal my mind and think for me instead of myself". I don't set a limit on my thinking, and I deal with all kinds of people. Even if I disagree with them. I think respecting the freedom of our society will benefit us and our families."

 Alyiaand Fatma wear hijab and describe themselves as moderate Muslims. They both have minds of their own and they completely reject anyone who decides to limit their freedom. Yet they accept only Islamic rulings and regard them the best way to accomplish freedom and equilibrium between the individual and society as a whole.

 Abdullah D., an American-Lebanese believes that "intellectual freedom means not only the right to express your thoughts and feelings, but also a person's own ability to think critically and independently. Not so much on the basis of one's 'knowledge,' but on the basis of one's understanding of how knowledge overlaps and is connected across cultures, religions, and artificial 'national' boundaries."

Abdullah is a graduate student at Columbia University majoring in Middle East studies and comparative literature. He criticizes the kind of freedom that isolates people from the world. "Our sense of freedom and connection is such that we rarely pause to think how absurd it is to limit ourselves to the United States of America. We think as nationals, not as world citizens, and this shows how handicapped our nation of freedom really is."

Amr Al-T. described categorical freedom as "degenerative: The father has to give his children freedom without making them feel that they are being observed, but he has to keep an eye on their behavior." As an example, `Amr mentioned, "You have the right to smoke, but also I have the right to breathe clean air."

Dr. Hanan Zine, a consultant of marriage and family relationships in Alexandria, Egypt, cautions against misunderstanding the meaning of freedom: "Families here are moving toward becoming dysfunctional, while in the West, attention is paid to mistakes. Westerners are trying to become more connected."

She advised, "We have to look at every aspect in order to solve the problems that arise from the misunderstanding of freedom. It has an impact on families. Civil society has to play a role in that direction. When I speak of civil society, I don't mean the civil society that parrots the West. We have to spread the proper concept of family and its rights."

Zine added, "We have to spread a concept of family that incorporates the idea that each of its members should give the others a wide range of freedoms and help them to understand that freedom comes with responsibilities."