CAIRO - What do certain companies and vendors in Egypt do to sell their products, if they are not better than others' products? Many of these products don't work as advertised or malfunction after a couple of days' use. These companies and vendors promote them as Islamic products, using religion to appeal to their customers. Many people are genuinely lured by the religious angle. So the rule is, relate anything to tradition or religion, and it will sell like hot cakes in Egypt. Some vendors make a fortune out of religious symbols. There are many advertisements on TV that promote traditional products like an Islamic pill that treats male infertility or an Islamic company that promotes honey for curing many diseases, as well as other products like Islamic ringtones for mobile phones. Some shops even promote products like Islamic nail polish (in order to perform Islamic prayers Muslims women should remove their nail polish; this Islamic nail polish is easily removable using only water, without the need for acetone). Although most of these products are useless and very expensive, they still attract many buyers, who believe that these products are better than others, because of the religious connection. This is their only guarantee; in fact, some of these products may be harmful and cause disease. The most dangerous thing are the unauthorised herbal remedies advertised on TV by untrustworthy companies that employ Islamic slogans. A regular promotional TV show claims that it is offering viewers such herbal remedies as would save them from having to go to the physicians for treatment. The presenter of this show always hosts a man who, though beardless, uses religious slogans to promote his herbal remedies. Describing himself as a pharmacist, he has appeared on a number of satellite TV channels to promote his products. As well as herbal remedies, they include hagama (an ancient traditional Arab therapy like the Chinese cupping therapy). He claims that his herbal remedies cure diabetes, cartilage pain, high blood pressure, liver disease, infertility and other complaints. He is very famous and attracts many viewers, most of whom from the middle and poor classes, believe that herbal remedies are ‘Islamic', which is why these are better than other medications. People definitely do their best to buy them, despite the high prices. You can buy this unnamed man's herbal remedies from many pharmacies and he also exports his products to Arab countries. People order his wasafat (herbal prescriptions) from abroad. Some people think this man is deceitful, using Islamic slogans to promote herbal remedies, which they believe are useless. But, for other people, he is a good man, who uses the alternative medicine recommended in Islamic history. Whether he is really good or bad, he is one of those merchants who prey on many Egyptians, who believe that anything linked to tradition or religion is ‘perfect and worthy'. Outside one of his pharmacies, a group of women queue, waiting to consult the doctor. When they ask for the doctor (the pharmacist), his assistant secretary says that he is not around, but there are other pharmacists available, whom he has trained. "I pay 200LE [approximately $28] for hagama. It is safe and, if it doesn't do you any good, it won't harm you," says an old woman waiting her turn. "Why not trying the herbal remedies that are believed to have been used by the Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) and mentioned in his sayings?" asks Amani Abdel-Raouf, a mother-of-two, also standing in the queue. Amani, who doesn't mind giving such remedies a try instead of going to the doctor, says, however, that she might also treat her husband with these remedies, but not their children, because they are very young, so she would send them to the doctor's. Another woman tells the assistant that she want to meet the doctor because she suffers from diabetes and needs to be examined. But the assistant tells her that the doctor doesn't examine diabetics. He only recommends herbal remedies that, if she takes them for three months, will cure her. "Nobody can treat diabetes or other diseases without examining analyses and tests of the patient's blood and urine and giving him an X-ray," says Doctor Ashraf Ali, a stomach specialist. "Unfortunately, some people open herbal shops then call them pharmacies. These shops must be closed, as they are very harmful," he warns. Dr Ali believes that the problem is partially due to the high percentage of illiteracy in Egypt, as well as the way these opportunists promote their products under the guise of religion. "We need a campaign to help people understand how harmful it is to use suspicious medicinal products. People should be aware that they will only make their condition worse by using such things. "There are many genuine herbal medicines, but they have been exposed to thorough scientific research and examination. But the people who run these herbal shops ignore such research. They think only about money," Dr Ali explains.
