The tragicomedy of the UNESCO director-general elections has drawn to a close, with the narrow and dramatic defeat of the controversial candidate who dominated -- and probably precipitated -- much of the media coverage: Farouk Hosni, the Egyptian culture minister. The minister, who had been expected to win, lost to the Bulgarian ambassador to France, Irina Bokova, after five rounds of voting that included one perfect tie, intense backroom negotiations, and rumors of bribery. Hosni's candidacy was badly damaged by allegations of anti-Semitism and by the Egyptian regime's record of repression. Reactions to his loss have been decidedly mixed in his home country, ranging from disappointment to relief.
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Hosni has always been a divisive figure in Egypt, one of the longest-serving ministers in President Hosni Mubarak's authoritarian regime, a close friend of the first lady, and the proverbial holder of nine lives when it comes to weathering political scandals. In 2005, he survived a concerted revolt by much of the country's cultural elite when a badly maintained government theater caught fire, killing 46 people. In 2006, he told a journalist that the hijab, or headscarf, was "a step backward" and was pilloried in the press and berated by members of parliament for insulting a Muslim custom.
The latest controversy the minister faced centered on remarks he made criticizing Israel. In a now infamous exchange, he was challenged by a member of parliament over the presence of Israeli books in the Alexandria library and retorted: "Burn these books; if there are any there I will myself burn them in front of you." This and other statements were highlighted in an open letter to Le Monde by filmmaker Claude Lanzmann, intellectual Bernard-Henri Lévy, and Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, which stated: "Mr. Farouk Hosni is the opposite of a man of peace, dialogue, and culture; Mr. Farouk Hosni is a dangerous man, an inciter of hearts and mind."
Hosni responded with a letter of his own, arguing, "I was expressing angry feelings at what is happening to an entire population [the Palestinians] deprived of its land and rights." Hosni said he regretted his words and that "Nothing is more abhorrent to me than racism, rejection of the other, or a desire to discredit any human culture, including the Jewish culture." In full damage-control mode, his Culture Ministry also began highlighting initiatives meant to show how friendly it is to Jewish culture, such as plans to translate Israeli novels or renovations underway at some of Cairo's synagogues.
The minister's "book-burning" remark was widely deplored in Egypt, but the accusation of anti-Semitism was seen as politically motivated. Anger over Israel's actions in the occupied territories is widespread here. Almost all Egyptian writers and artists have adhered to a cultural boycott of Israel ever since their government signed its peace agreement with the Jewish state in 1979, refusing to visit Israel or attend any events alongside Israelis until an equitable peace agreement with the Palestinians is reached. The charge that there are Israeli books in an Egyptian library is as shocking here as the minister's response was abroad. The accusation of anti-Semitism in the West was considered payback for the cultural boycott, especially considering that many of Hosni's critics are partisans of Israel and seem incapable or unwilling to recognize a difference between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism.
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WAFA
2:43 PM ET
October 7, 2009
Excellent post!
A much needed presentation of reality to counter the usual MSM BS.