About Farouk Hosni , the veil and all that jazz

Every year Farouk Hosni must do something that creates a buzz in the country , every year ,

and every time it is announced that there is a change in Cabinet ,everyone expects or even wishes that the new cabinet won't include that artist , then next day they will be disappointed when they find him included in the new cabinet .

For the last 20 years he was there in every cabinet , 20 years from Mubarak 's rule which reached either 24 or 25 years!! I mean many ministers were changed , come and go , even in vital ministries like defense and foreign affairs , even when the great change from two years happened and famous names were omitted from the ministers list like Kamal El-Shazely and Sofwat El-Sherif , Hosni was safe in his position .

Despite all the corruption that in the culture ministry ,despite all the thefts that happened to Egyptian monuments , despite all the hate and disrespect of the majority of the Egyptian people to him because of his sexuality "which I am not going to discuss here ,it was and is still discussed through all the Egyptian Blogsphere now " ,despite all this he remained in his position.

I really hoped that this time he would go away and leave the cabinet ,really whether by resignation or by dismiss , unfortunately he doesn't want to resign and the president according to the daily "El-Masry El-Youm" doesn't want to dismiss him .

I remember that I talked about how this time is not like any other time because of the sensitivity of the veil to the Egyptian people and I predicted that the NDP and the cabinet would sacrifice him to win the people's acceptance and approval which they and especially Gamal Mubarak wish to have , no one can deny that the regime in Egypt whether the ruling party or the cabinet is facing its worst times ever .In fact last week I felt my prediction was correct especially after the storm that happened in the parliament last week Monday that made Hosni so angry and refused to confront the angry members from the NDP and MB except after they would apologize for him !!??

Already Hosni didn't appear for the first time since being a minister in the parliament new season opening session which was attended by President Mubarak , It was on Sunday after his big show in TV , I don't know if he was scared to show his face in the Parliament because of the MB , or it was by the advice or even by the order of the NDP for fear of confronts would happen and the President was there

On Monday there was a big storm a real storm a surprising one , people expected that storm to come from the MB side but instead it blow all when it came from the NDP side. The NDP members attacked Hosni and defended the veil  in a way no one ever expected . It was a surprise to say a very corrupted person like Kamal El-Shazely stands and defends the veil ,it was amazing ,the man suddenly turned in to a Shekih , I wonder if that man has the same courage and enthusiasm like the ones in the parliament to say to Susan Mubarak that she must cover her hair as the good girl is one who obeys her religion !!

anyway the newspapers in Egypt ,most of it started a campaign in a solidarity with Hosni , after many years of mutual hate suddenly they all stood behind him , they turned it in to a war between the religion or the religious people and those who call themselves intellectuals

Turning the debate in to some kind of a debate between religion and culture or religion and freedom of expression

Anyway after a week of protests all over Egypt from ladies and girls wearing veil across the country ,and a week of insisting he won't apologize and resign , the government and NDP seem want to calm things down and keep Hosni rotten in his place and for that the inquest of the MP to him that was going to be held yesterday was postponed I do not know till when, I feel that they are trying to reach to some sort of a compromise between Hosni and the MB , already I feel that the tune of the MB is getting lower that week from last week.

Look the problem is not because Farouk Hosni likes or doesn't like the veil or it is about freedom of expression , look no one would give a damn for him as a person , for God sake  all those secular intellectuals attack the veil and other Islamic practices day and night everyday and no one gives a damn for what they say but when a minister in the current cabinet comes and says what he said and in that particular time with the campaign against the veil whether in Europe or in the Arab world "the Tunisian ban in the public place" then it must cause a problem

We must agree on one thing ,in any cabinet ministers don't go in public and speak about their personal opinions that are against some certain public things without accordance with the party or the cabinet

The timing of the statements was killing to the cabinet , simply because the people in Egypt ,most of them believe that the regime in Egypt is against Islam and the veil , this is a perception many in Egypt believe in ,due to the long history of clashes between the regime , the MB and the Islamist groups from a side and from another side Egyptians are religious despite all the social diseases we suffer from we like to insist that we are religious and we are already ,but I believe the mix of Islam and Egypt has no match in any other country . Anyway as I was saying people always hate the government

Already the people must have the feeling that government is fighting Islam after all

• All those MB members got caught for no real serious reason
• The war on veil on national television ,I mean it is silly and ironic to have a veiled TV presenter in the national Danish TV while you dismiss the TV presenters who wear veil in the Egyptian National official TV ,despite it is against the Work Law and human rights as it is a discrimination , in fact it became a golden rule Veiled ladies for the radio as no one sees them !!
• The Niqab issue "despite I am not from its supporters" but as I said because the religious recommendations came from the government and clerics that are appointed by the government, some may disbelieve them

and thus Farouk Basha came in and made it worst with his stupid statements

Already the government from day one said that it was his personal belief and it wasn't something the government believed in on the contrary and thus the storm of last Monday happened

In fact the government since that time is trying to prove that it is an Islamic loving government

For example Mubarak rejected by himself as they said in the newspapers a suggestion of law that ban Niqab in Egypt as he believes it was a personal freedom !!

Another example there was no TV show or discussion for the minister's statement except insisting that it was his own personal opinion through out the week in the news only but no one discussed the implications of his opinion even the grand Mofty ignored it in his weekly meeting on air last Tuesday, the discussions were on private satellite channels like El-Mahwar or Dream

By the way not only the NDP wants to win a foot hold in the MB popularity as a religion protectors , and not only they are afraid on their reputation in the street "if they have one already"

But also for some other ignored fact , well I don't see it as ignored fact but people tend to forget it

It is simple

look 70% of Muslim women in Egypt wear the veil , and majority of the Egyptian people don't live in Cairo or Alexandria or any other Metropolitan city , they live in the country side , and thus the majority of this 70% live in the country side , the country side whose members in the Parliament are the majority of the NDP members , those members' mothers,sisters,wives and daughters wear the veil , here we are talking about a scared thing in the country side that's religion ,so regardless of their corruption they would refuse any attempt of disrespect to their own believes including the veil you know it is like the Mafia in Italy and its religious believes, they kill ,they steal ,yet they go to the church on Sunday,not only that their families but also their electors , the voting power , if they didn't stand like they did last Monday they will lose more votes that will go automatically to the MB as they will be considered as the defenders of Islam

as an example ,if you remember the Baha'I issue , who raised it in the parliament along with the MB , Mahmoud Shobair , the NDP MB , the ex-goal keeper in the Egyptian national football team and El-Ahly team who is member from Tanta in the Nile Delta ,many attacked Shobair and asked why in hell an ex-goal keeper interfere in a such thing , I understood why Shobair took that stand that time and this time , Shobair got two daughters who wear the veil so you can understand how this man thinks partially

Look Farouk Hosni as I said before deserves to be sued for thousand thing other than that statement,the corruption ,the thefts , and many other charges ,but if you left the cabinet now or even in the nearest change I won't be sad

Another thing don't put the blame on the MB that they raised the issue ,blame that talkative person

And another issue some losers in the newspapers mostly from the governmental speakers and Hosni supporters say that if he left , Egypt would lose , lose what exactly ?? you know that is what I call ill talk , strange that those people are the same who always say Egypt is reproductive !!

Another stupid claim "Hosni saved the Islamic mosques in Cairo !!" I am sorry as if it were from his own money or the government's , well the Islamic mosques were saved thanks to the Ahgkhan foundation and the UNISECO while the public money that should be spent on the mosques were stolen and spent on Hosni's villas and palaces here and there !!

You know I hate that -achievements-talk because this is not an achievement , I am sorry if we are going to speak about the achievements then we must speak about Tharowat Okasha ,the first culture minister and what he had done in restoring or reviving the Egyptian folklore !! Farouk Hosni didn't do something great , he did the least he can do in his position , he did what he had to do !!

del.icio.us tags: Egypt, Citizen Journalism, Farouk Hosni, Culture, Ministers, Politics, Religion, Islam, Middle East, Media, Veil, Muslim brotherhood, NDP

Technorati tags: Egypt, Citizen Journalism, Farouk Hosni, Culture, Ministers, Politics, Religion, Islam, Middle East, Media, Veil, Muslim brotherhood, NDP