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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 May - 2 June 1999 Issue No. 431 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 May - 2 June 1999 Issue No. 431
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Living Features Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Hosni steps up counter attack
By Gamal Essam El-Din
Culture Minister Farouk Hosni managed, to a large extent, on Sunday, to win the support of Shura Council members for some of his decisions, especially the relocation of the Museum of Islamic Arts to the Citadel area and the organisation of an international celebration to mark the advent of the next millennium. Some members argued, however, that Hosni has proved to be the most controversial of all cabinet ministers. Others said that Hosni ran the culture portfolio more as an artist than a politician.
Farouk Hosni
"This is why you are forced every now and then into fighting press battles," strategy analyst Osama El-Ghazali Harb, an appointed member of the Shura Council, told Hosni. "Yes, this is democratic because it contributes to crystallising a kind of consensus on what type of policies should be formulated in the culture sector. You, however, have to be patient because you are over-reactive."
Hosni, delivering a review of his policies, argued that he was unlucky to take office at a time when "culture was condemned as haram [sinful]." "At that time, religious extremists managed, to a large extent, to penetrate society and convince wide sectors of people that such cultural activities as music, theatre and cinema are haram. Society was overwhelmed by backwardness and we could have bowed to the pressure of this trend and turned folkloric arts into religious chants and dancing into dervish whirling. But we chose to go on the offensive and engage these trends in a direct confrontation. We mobilised our capabilities and managed to impress the people with superior cultural achievements. Nobody can now dare to describe what we do as haram," said Hosni.
The minister also asserted that when he took office, Egypt faced the threat of losing its leading cultural status in the Arab world to Damascus and Baghdad. "These two Arab capitals were fighting together to draw the rugs of culture from under Egypt's feet. Within 10 years, Egypt's impressive cultural performance not only managed to sweep the Arab world, but also reach new heights in Europe, especially in France," Hosni said.
He argued that since the Culture Ministry has to deal with all social classes, one of its primary responsibilities is the "defence of the state's honour. The ministry also aims to serve the economic and investment interests of the government.
Hosni, however, faced sharp criticism from Sekina Fouad, an appointed council member, who had been named by Hosni as one of four writers responsible for a relentless press campaign against him. Fouad, and several other members, asked Hosni to provide "detailed and honest facts" about "the cost of the international celebration marking the advent of the millennium, the reconstruction of Fatimid Cairo and the relocation of the Museum of Islamic Arts to the citadel area."
Fouad strongly objected to Hosni's claim that the Culture Ministry is entrusted with defending the state's honour. "The state's honour is larger than this [ministry] and the ministry's objectives should be far from achieving any investment goals," Fouad said.
Hosni responded that the millennium celebration is part of the state's efforts to promote Egypt's cultural and touristic image. "It is a celebration which we do not aim to present to only 10,000 or 15,000 people; it is to address the entire world and attract droves of tourists to Egypt. It is also intended to generate financial returns for the country as a whole," said Hosni.
The celebration will include installing a small "golden pyramid," borne by helicopters, on top of Khufu's pyramid at Giza at the stroke of midnight on 31 December. "A sum of $9.5 million was allocated for the celebration. This is a trivial amount of money to organise such an impressive event. The equipment to be brought from France for this event is valued at $100 million. The French director, who will be responsible for organising the celebration, is charging five per cent of the allocated amount," Hosni said.
He indicated that Kamal El-Shazli, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, was not aware that Prime Minister Kamal El-Ganzouri had given his approval for making the allocation. El-Shazli, addressing the People's Assembly two weeks earlier, said that no funds had been earmarked for the event.
With regard to the Museum of Islamic Arts, Hosni insisted that newspaper reports are "entirely unfounded." "The stores of the museum are now crammed with as many as 96,000 artifacts. And there is a pressing need to display this large number of artifacts. When we do this, we come under attack. I think we should be attacked for not building a new museum, not the opposite," Hosni said.
He added that the designs of the new Islamic Museum building had been completed and the necessary geological studies thoroughly made.
Hosni affirmed that the new building will not lead to scattering Islamic antiquities in a wide number of places. "The old museum at Bab Al-Khalq will be turned into a museum for Islamic architecture, while the new museum in the Citadel area will display Islamic artifacts," Hosni said. He added that within one month President Hosni Mubarak will lay the foundation-stone of a new Egyptian museum, near the Pyramids, which will replace the Tahrir Square museum. "It is part of bold policies for renovating the existing museums and relocating some of them to new places when necessary," said Hosni.
On the Fatimid Cairo project, Hosni said a UNESCO delegation had visited Egypt and coordinated with the Culture Ministry for one and a half years on the studies required before implementation. "Please rest assured that this project will be the ultimate panacea for Islamic monuments in Cairo," Hosni told council members. He insisted that he is running the Culture Ministry more as an "artist" and less as a "politician." "Do not forget that I'm originally an artist; it was not on my mind, and I did not want, to become a cabinet minister," said Hosni.
