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Al-Ahram Weekly 16 - 22 March 2000 Issue No. 473 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 16 - 22 March 2000 Issue No. 473
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Special Focus Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles A capital issue
By Mona El-Nahhas
A new edition of the children's encyclopedia, including a revised entry about Israel's capital, will appear after Eid Al-Adha (Greater Bayram) said Samir Sarhan, the encyclopedia's editor and head of the General Egyptian Book Organisation. Sarhan told Al-Ahram Weekly that the amendment was being made by a special committee consisting of contributors to the encyclopedia. Sarhan added that the "first volume containing the reference to Jerusalem was withdrawn from libraries and bookshops, immediately after discovering the incorrect information."
The current edition came under fire for stating in its first volume that Jerusalem is the official capital of Israel and its largest city. According to Sarhan, the revised edition states that Tel Aviv is the capital of Israel, and that the Israeli attempt to declare Jerusalem as its capital has not been accepted by most world countries.
The encyclopedia, which came out last year, was a joint undertaking by the Ministry of Culture, the World Book International editorial staff and the Cairo Cultural Group. Under the auspices of Mrs Suzanne Mubarak, the encyclopedia was published as part of the Reading for All programme.
The 12-volume, 3,660-page encyclopedia, which targets children and teenagers aged from 10 to 18, features beautiful illustrations and attractively presents varied subjects, such as the environment, religion and politics. Following its launch, the encyclopedia was widely distributed to school libraries and bookshops.
Member of Parliament Amin Hammad was the first to raise the alarm about the controversial entry published in the encyclopedia. He submitted an enraged statement to People's Assembly (PA) Speaker Ahmed Fathi Sorour, demanding a discussion of the issue as soon as possible. Hammad also called for the withdrawal of the encyclopedia from school libraries and bookshops. He told the Weekly that Sorour was shocked and had promised to hold a debate on his statement after the feast.
Hammad, whose complaint has been referred to the PA's education committee, angrily inquired about the role of the committees in charge of checking the historical material included in the encyclopedia. "Those responsible for publishing such nonsense should be put on public trial," he said. Hammad viewed them as having committed a treasonable offence.
He described the erroneous facts included in the encyclopedia as "contradicting the official position of Egypt and the Arab World on the issue of Jerusalem." According to Hammad, by means of such an encyclopedia, "we offer Israel a very important and official document which serves its false allegations about Jerusalem."
Historian Yunan Labib Rizq, whose name appeared on the cover-page of the encyclopedia along with other members of the revision committee, denied knowledge of the Jerusalem entry. "My only contribution to the encyclopedia were two articles about the late Presidents Gamal Abdel-Nasser and Anwar El-Sadat. And I have not even been paid for them," he said.
Mohamed Anani, a professor of English literature at Cairo University and deputy chief editor of the encyclopedia, appeared, however, to be swimming against the tide. He took complete responsibility for what had been published. "We should draw a distinction between our political position and geographical facts. It's up to us not to recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. Yet, the geographical map says something which is totally different," he argued. According to Anani's point of view, Jerusalem is the official capital of Israel because it hosts the Israeli government and all official bodies.
"This is the truth; Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and it will remain so until the current situation changes and Israel no longer has any presence in Jerusalem," Anani said.
