CAIRO - Weeks ago, ultra-conservatives or Salafists, picked for an assembly to draft a new constitution for Egypt, refused to stand up while the national anthem was being played. The local media also reported that some Salafist lawmakers refused to heed the national anthems of Egypt and Uganda during a visit to Kampala earlier this year. They do not recognise what they call a ‘latter-day anomaly', as the early Muslims did not know the national anthem. The fact that Salafists are political rookies may explain their failure to cope with rules of modern-day nationalism, including the duty to show respect for such symbols as the national anthem and flag. Yet, it seems baffling that, while they spurn these ‘latter-day anomalies', Salafists scramble for seats in Parliament, which is a key embodiment of modern-day politics. Earlier this year, a Salafist lawmaker took the floor in the newly elected Parliament to criticise the teaching of the English language in Egyptian schools, describing this as a Western conspiracy. Giving them the benefit of the doubt, one expects that Salafists will politically come of age with the passage of time. Like all other Islamist groups, Salafists were banned and oppressed during Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule. Until they reach this maturity, Salafists had better shelve their political ambitions. Treading slowly on the political path may be a wise option for them and Egypt at this delicate phase, when the country is inching through a laborious transition to democracy. Some Salafist leaders have recently objected to having women and Copts as deputy presidents, challenging the West to name a Muslim vice-president first. Their argument is indefensible and disappointing, given that anyone to be named as an Egyptian deputy president is an Egyptian citizen regardless of their gender or religion. Yet what I fear most is for the Salafists to be given the portfolio of education in the National Coalition Government being stitched together by President Mohammed Morsi. My fears are not fuelled by the hysterical Islamophobia gripping Egypt over the rise of political Islamism. Rather, my fears are based on the Salafists' behaviour since they went public following Mubarak's ousting. Their contempt for the national anthem is a point in case. It sends a wrong message to youngsters. Educational standards in Egypt have seriously declined in the Mubarak era, no small thanks to the constant and contradictory changes. In recent years, national education has been reduced to learning by rote, a system that has churned out millions of graduates lacking in knowledge about the world around them. No wonder Egypt's educational institutions have lost much of their reputation in the Arab region and beyond. Accordingly, revolutionising (that's the right word) Egyptian education should be a top national priority assigned to a group of qualified experts, who have no political agenda and firmly believe in the urgent necessity of doing this, if this country is to have a better future. I for one don't think the Salafists have the credentials at present to undertake this vital, future-shaping assignment.
