so i'm reviewing my arabic vocabulary lists and i notice that "tahrir" also means writing or editing. i had already learned the same word to mean "liberation." most arabic words seem to have multiple meanings, but often there is some conceptual relationship between the different senses of the word. while i can imagine that writing can be liberating, the editing doesn't seem to work. editing strikes me as more of the opposite of liberating.
this also means that hizb-ut-tahrir, the name of an islamist group in uzbekistan (and elsewhere) which is usually translated as "the party of liberation," can also be translated as "the party of editing." maybe they should consider that next time HT issues a press release.
