8 - 14 February 2001
Issue No.520
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 8 - 14 February 2001 Issue No.520 |
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Sense and sensibility
In an appearance before the People's Assembly Sunday night, Culture Minister Farouk Hosni fielded criticism from opposition MPs and NDP stalwarts over his decision last month to ban three novels and dismiss Ali Abu Shadi, head of the General Organisation of Cultural Palaces (GOCP). The novels, published in a series put out by the GOCP, were singled out for their explicit sexual references, but the move sparked angry public debate on the state of intellectual freedom and increasing intrusion of Islamist-oriented parliamentarians into the cultural scene.
Hosni defended his ministry's role in sponsoring cultural activities and events and stepped further into the political arena by using the forum to set out the Ministry of Culture's position on Egypt's relations with its neighbours, notably Israel. His popular position against normalising relations with Israel, even in the cultural field, won some cheers, but the minister was still forced to answer to sharp criticism.
In his address to the parliament's Culture and Information Committee on Sunday, Hosni tackled accusations that he had bowed to Islamist pressure by banning the novels and sacking Abu Shadi at the expense of a writer's right to freedom of expression. "These claims are not true. It was just an administrative decision," Hosni said. "I had agreed in advance with GOCP officials that any series of literary works funded by the Ministry of Culture should not contain material that is pornographic. They violated this agreement, and I used my power to dismiss them."
Pressing his argument further, Hosni drew a distinction between cases where sexual content in literature and cinema is justified and when it is simply gratuitous. Saying that the novels of great Egyptian writers like Naguib Mahfouz and Youssef Idris "touch on sexual relationships in a simple and sublime way," Hosni said that it is even permissible for movies to contain sexual scenes, provided they enhance the movie's message. "But what about the GOCP's three novels, which I decided to ban last month? These novels are sexually explicit, and can only be branded pornographic," he argued.
On the issue of tarnishing Egypt's name as a centre of cultural creativity in the Arab world and the Middle East, Hosni was dismissive, calling claims that his decision was an aggression against intellectual freedom "a shame." But Hosni still managed to surprise his critics by turning around and urging the government to introduce sexual education in public schools and on television -- a sensitive subject. "I think this will really help to soften the public's acute sensitivity to sexual imagery by making a distinction between great artistic works with some simple sexual scenes and explicit pornography," Hosni said.
But Hosni's call was met with objections from several MPs. Mohamed Abdel-Alim, a Wafdist MP, argued that "the Egyptian people do not need sexual education, which is better left to the people to learn themselves." Abdel-Alim noted that most movies already contain too much sex. "Sex has become a central subject of Egyptian movies in recent years, and to an excessive degree," he said.
Drawing a larger picture of the ministry's activities, Hosni went on to discuss the duties of the nation's cultural authority in the face of globalisation and international pressure for normalisation with Israel. Saying that "We should always remember that Egypt and Israel coexist in one region," Hosni explained that it was nonetheless the policy of the ministry to refuse normalisation with Israel and to boost Egypt's cultural status in the region instead. Noting that Israel has made a show of announcing it would not participate in the Cairo International Book Fair this year, Hosni remarked, "This is strange, because we have turned down all of Israel's previous requests to participate in the book fair."
Though the controversy over the GOCP novels was set off by a request for information submitted to parliament by a Muslim Brotherhood MP, none of parliament's 17 Brotherhood deputies were present at Hosni's meeting with the Culture Committee. Even so, Committee Chairwoman Fayda Kamel and Deputy Chairman Hamdi El-Konayessi -- both NDP members -- rallied around Hosni's decision to ban the three allegedly pornographic novels despite pressure from the Egyptian intellectuals angered by the move.
"The Writers Union announced in a statement that the culture minister's decision went against freedom of expression," said El-Konayessi. "Nevertheless, I believe that the minister's decision was met with public support, because these novels are truly pornographic." El-Konayessi and Kamel then urged Hosni to ban the circulation of offensive music albums that go against ethics and religion. "It is strange that you have refrained from banning these cassette tapes, even though the harm they cause is greater than that of pornographic novels. It is very easy for children to acquire and sing these indecent songs," Kamel said. The minister reminded the committee that he is not empowered by law to take action against the tapes and that this was the domain of the censorship board for audio and visual products.
Nasserist journalist and MP Hamdin Sabahi was particularly pleased with Hosni's adamant opposition to normalising cultural relations with Israel. "It is great that the Ministry of Culture remains one of the few ministries that fiercely resist normalising relations with the Zionist enemy," said Sabahi. But Sabahi was quick to note that the cabinet's policy statement, delivered by Prime Minister Atef Ebeid to parliament last week, included only a few lines about the state's cultural plans.
"Does this mean that [the culture minister] lacks government support for his policies in the cultural sector and could soon be replaced?" Sabahi said. Hosni responded that the policy statement included a full section on culture. "I have held on to the post of culture minister for 14 years, and the policy statement suggests that I'm likely to stay on even longer," he replied.
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