Critics challenge validity of Egypt's anti-terror council
Culture now has a place on Egypt's National Council to Fight Terrorism, but does it have a real purpose there?
CAIRO — For years, intellectuals have debated the Egyptian regime's belief in the importance of art and culture in the fight against terrorism. Now, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has launched the National Council to Fight Terrorism and chosen prominent theater and television actor Mohamed Sobhi as one of its members.
The decision came July 26, and by Aug. 2, the Zahma news website cited intellectuals who questioned Sobhi’s membership and the government’s seriousness in activating the role of culture and art in fighting terrorism, claiming that Sobhi’s presence on the council or the council as a whole are only public relations moves.
“The council will not have an active role; it will only be for show. Fighting terrorism will remain a mission for the army and the Ministry of Interior," poet Rifaat Salam told Zahma.
Indeed, many of the council's tasks do not focus on how to fight terrorism intellectually. On July 31, after communicating with several members of the new council, newspapers published articles that clarified the main tasks the president assigned to the council. The duties include the following security and legal tasks:
