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While the west blames dictators and extremists, Arabs often blame centuries of foreign interference. For many, both in the east and west, the root problem is a lack of freedom. Looking beyond the turmoil reported on our TV screens, Guardian journalist Brian Whitaker examines the 'freedom deficit' that affects Arabs in their daily lives: their struggles against corruption, discrimination and bureaucracy, and the stifling authoritarianism that pervades homes, schools and mosques as well as presidential palaces.