Culture, religion, politics and social problems are a potent mix, write Gamal Nkrumah and Mohamed El-Sayed It is hard to believe that there is so little enthusiasm for the Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni's bid for the top job at UNESCO. Is it a question of the minister's unpopularity or is it a case of bad publicity? Whatever the reason, what is certain is that commentators have found the minister's bid to be an all-absorbing controversy. The natural reaction is for a people to rally around their compatriot, not to oppose him. The fact that there is very little sympathy for the minister's cause is in itself cause for concern. And, this is what the pundits have focussed on. Writing in the official daily Al-Ahram, the distinguished columnist Salama Ahmed Salama attempted to analyse the dilemma in which Hosni, Egypt's nominee for UNESCO's director, finds himself in. "Hosni does not want to anger intellectuals and other categories of society that reject normalisation [of relations with Israel], but at the same time he cannot say or do something that might provoke the internationally influential pro-Israel lobby or render him appearing anti-Semitic while fighting a hard battle for an international position." In much the same vein other commentators posed the question as to whether Hosni is the only option available in Egypt. Perhaps there are other more suitable candidates, but few names were mentioned as viable alternatives to the minister of culture. Moreover, there were vague hints as to who would make the perfect candidate. The vast majority of pundits opted for intellectuals, writers and artists. Writing in the daily Al-Masry Al-Yom, Cairo University Faculty of Political Science professor Hassan Nafaa argued that "UNESCO is not an international organisation that renovates antiquities. It is first and foremost a political organisation. Therefore, I believe that it is in Egypt's interest to nominate an intellectual or a scholar, and not a politician, for the job of the secretary-general of UNESCO." Sectarian strife once again reared its ugly head. The vexing question for Christians of whether to permit the construction of more churches hit the headlines. Influential Coptic commentators voiced their concern at the lack of government interest in this vital issue. They demanded that permission be granted to Copts to construct new churches since the congregations at some churches are exceptionally overcrowded. If new mosques are constructed why not new churches? Writing in the daily independent Al-Dostour, Youssef Sidhom criticised the People's Assembly for failing to discuss the unified law to build houses of worship. "It's strange that officials and media people ignored or forgot the unified law for building houses of worship while assessing the outgoing parliamentary session... as if all parties have agree to forget this [vital] issue." The absence of this law, many observers believe, is one of the reasons behind the frequent clashes between Copts and Muslims. Sidhom, the editor-in-chief of the Coptic weekly Watani has long argued for the construction of more churches in his columns, but raising the question in an independent paper poses many questions and is regarded as something of a precedent. However, it is not only Copts who are complaining. Muslim commentators have also joined the growing chorus in support of the building of new churches. Writing in the same vein in Al-Masry Al-Yom, Khairi Ramadan believes that, "the government discriminates against Christians and oppresses them. But the same level of discrimination and oppression is practised by the government against Muslims, if not more... We, the people of Egypt, Muslims and Copts, suffer from oppression and discrimination. And the only way out is to fight for democracy and citizens' rights." Religious concerns were not restricted to sectarian affairs. Political Islam also featured prominently in the press, and in particular the prospects of a rapprochement with the regime. Al-Masry Al-Yom ran an analytical piece trying to forecast the nature of relations between the Muslim Brotherhood and Gamal Mubarak in light of speculation about the possibility of a deal conducted between the two sides by which the latter inherits the presidency. "I expect a truce between the Muslim Brotherhood and Gamal Mubarak until things settle down," the paper quoted Rafiq Habib as saying. "However, the clash between them will occur again," he added. However, the paper quoted key Muslim Brotherhood leader Essam El-Erian as saying: "the Brotherhood has never struck a deal with the regime and will never do so." Meanwhile, the paper quoted Gihad Ouda, of the ruling National Democratic Party, as saying: "The United States supports the existence of the Brotherhood in Egypt... and the choosing of the [next president] is a domestic affair which the American administration has nothing to do with." Indeed, issues pertaining to foreign policy, the US and the precise nature of its relationship with Egypt concerned the pundits. The weekly opposition Al-Arabi, the mouthpiece of the Nasserist Party, quoted veteran analyst Mohamed Hassanein Heikal as saying: "There is one Arab national security. And there is no Arab country, including Egypt, that can build its national security all alone. It's impossible." Heikal exclaimed: "How can we protect Sinai and our national security while we have only 750 soldiers on the Egyptian-Israeli border?" Education and other social and economic domestic concerns also featured prominently in the press. Writing in the weekly Sawt Al-Umma, Khaled Montasser painted a grim picture of the future of the thanawiya aama, the secondary school certificate. Students of the science section claimed that the exams this year were very difficult. "The science section in thanawiya aama will diminish, and students will migrate to the arts because [a growing number of them] hate science," argued Montasser. The deepening social and economic crises enveloping the country preoccupied writers. The growing gap between rich and poor, and urban and rural populations in contemporary Egypt was cause for concern for many commentators. Al-Masry Al-Yom reported, "there are two million people in Egypt living in graveyards." The report attributes the phenomenon to the increasing number of people who head for Cairo from other provinces. The statistic was released by the Public Mobilisation and Statistics Apparatus. The provincial supply of migrants is obviously not running short.
