'Beyond appearances'

Farouk Hosni returns to work following last week's furore over his comments regarding the veil. Nevine El-Aref watched as he arrived

---

Everything is back to normal at the Ministry of Culture. The black fer forgé entrance gate of the ministry premises in Zamalek re-opened this week to welcome the Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni who returned to work on Monday after a week spent at his home in Giza.

Hosni returned to his office following a short meeting with Minister of Parliamentary and Legal Affairs Moufid Shehab in the aftermath of the smear campaign launched against him by Muslim Brotherhood MPs, who were joined by 50 members of the NDP. The furore concerned statements published by the independent daily Al-Masri Al-Yom, in which Hosni was quoted as saying that the growing number of women wearing the headscarf in Egypt was a sign of "regression". Religion today, he continued, focuses on appearance, before arguing that Egypt would not progress as long as its people continued to depend on "three-penny religious fatwas ".

MPs from the Muslim Brotherhood bloc demanded Hosni be dismissed. Their spokesman in parliament, Hamdi Hassan, tabled an urgent question to the prime minister asking for an immediate apology, claiming Hosni's statements were an insult to Muslim women and to Egypt's two most senior Islam clerics, Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Sayed Tantawi and the Mufti Ali Gomaa, both of whom have emphasised the need for women to wear headscarves.

Hosni responded that the quotes that appeared in Al-Masri Al-Yom were from a friendly, off the record conversation that had expressed his personal opinion and taste regarding dress and were not about Islam, though this did not prevent the 50 NDP MPs from joining the Muslim Brotherhood in calling for confidence to be withdrawn from the minister. They signed a petition demanding that Hosni appear before a joint meeting of the parliamentary committees responsible for religious affairs and culture to explain his position. Even some senior figures within the NDP accused Hosni of insulting Islam, and his words provoked the indignation of Muslim clerics across the Arab world. Al-Azhar University students in Cairo and veiled women in Upper and Lower Egypt took to the streets, shouting anti-Hosni slogans and carrying banners demanding his resignation.

Despite the fact that the last week cannot have been easy for Hosni, he was composed as he met journalists on his first day back at work.

"What interests me the most is not who emerges from the controversy as the winner or loser. My calculations are based on serving the nation, not accruing personal benefits," Hosni told reporters. He announced that within days a ministerial decree will be issued establishing a new committee, which will work under the aegis of the Supreme Council of Culture and comprise leading Islamic and Coptic clerics and experts in religious history. Hosni also pointed out that the brouhaha had revealed the impoverishment of the dialogue that is engaged in when people disagree.

On Monday Hosni met 70 NDP MPs, explaining the statements published in his name in Al-Masri Al-Yom. Following the meeting, he issued a press release reviewing what had been said. Hosni revealed he had explained to MPs that he was misled by Al-Masri Al-Yom and the quotes published were based on a short "off the record discussion". He stressed his great respect for all Egyptian women, whether veiled or not. "Islam is not about a dress," he said. "It is far beyond appearances, embodied in strong belief and deep faith."

"As Egypt's culture minister, it harmed me a lot that veiled women felt I had targeted them in my statements," he told Al-Ahram Weekly.

The culture minister expressed his confidence in parliament, whose members had always supported his ministry, and said he was waiting, with all due respect, for his meeting with a joint session of the parliamentary committees responsible for religious affairs and culture.

"The People's Assembly and its members have the constitutional right to inspect the workings of government so as to reveal the truth," he concluded.