You couldn't make this up even if you wished. This chap, Farouk Hosni, is supposed to be the Egyptian Minister of Culture. And he is on record on wanting to burn Israeli books. The idea that a book burner can be a Minister of Culture boggles the mind, but since its Egypt, one lets it pass. Not sure what passes for culture there but I am sure the ministry will apply proper guidance to it. I look forward to more Egyptian cultural exports. <Snorts>. By and large, they have been living off culture and history made by their ancestors hundreds or thousands of years back, current contribution is between nil and minute. Anyway, but that’s not what made me go WTF.
This chap is now nominated to be the head of the United Nations top Education body. What on earth is the matter with these people? Here’s what this hideous barbarian and savage has done:
He has apologised for comments he made to an Islamist MP last year, which were reported to include the words: "I will personally burn Israeli books if I find them in Egyptian libraries." Mr Hosni has also banned and censored books and films, including The Da Vinci Code and novels that offended Islamists. He ordered the withdrawal of three books published by a ministry agency in 2001 in response to criticism that they were "pornographic" and sacked officials responsible.
So we have a book burner, we have a person who does not obviously believe in the sanctity of education or freedom of speech and prefers to close things down. And this is the man who is supposed to lead UNESCO? The Arab League, which nominated him, are well known to inhabit the shallow end of the human gene pool, but what about the rest of the world? Do they really want a flip flopping, scared, obscurantist, obscure traditionalist, book burner, silly sod man to be in charge of driving a giant educational global organisation? Despite his utterances about veiling which I agree with, I most certainly dont think he is the right man at all.
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