This study explores possible reasons for cancel culture in higher education in the Arab world. Specifically, through Q methodology, it investigates the perceptions of twenty-one academics of different nationalities and from different backgrounds working in various universities in the Arab world as to the causes and their professional experiences of cancel culture. The aim is to contribute to a necessary discussion of cancel culture and its impacts on Arab higher education, with the hope of strengthening the region's academic freedom. The data reveal that several political and social issues engender cancel culture in Arab universities. In effect, results indicate that academics working in higher education in the Arab world embrace a 'culture of safetyism' to keep themselves, their students and the societies in which they live 'emotionally safe'.