CAIRO - Policemen are much in the news these days. Anti-Government protesters accuse them of complicity in Egypt's worst football tragedy that occurred in the coastal city of Port Said on February 1. Parliament, meanwhile, is pushing for the Interior Ministry, to which they belong, to be ‘restructured and purged of corrupt officials'. The public feel unease about a lack of security reflected in surging crime rates: murders, carjackings, armed robberies and traffic problems are becoming far more common. But what do the police themselves want? A group of policemen have hit the news this past week, demanding to be allowed to grow beards. They went public with this unprecedented request via a Facebook page entitled ‘I'm a Policeman with a Beard'. The page has reportedly generated a huge following. They argue that sporting a beard should be their right and that there is no written code in Egypt denying them this ‘basic, Islamic' right. Their demand has obviously been inspired by a wave of Islamism that has swept across Egypt in the wake of the anti-Mubarak revolt. Islamists make up the majority of the newly elected Parliament. They are pushing for being allowed to form a government too. Apparently stunned by the demand, the embattled Interior Ministry looks determined to preserve the tradition of policemen only being allowed to grow moustaches. The Ministry has just issued a circular ordering the police to ‘keep looking smart and disciplined'. Meanwhile, the policemen spearheading the pro-beard campaign have been posted to different stations as a punishment, according to media reports. However, they are holding their own ground. But is a beard what the public expect from policemen? Arguably not. The people want the police to do a good job, i.e. to make them feel secure inside their homes and out on the streets. Hard work and security are two principal values in Islam, which judges people by their deeds, not appearances.
