Calm down a little, my dear Arab. Patience is the best weapon. Don't be a nag. Don't rush things. The fact that revolution triumphed in your country does not mean change will happen overnight. Much time is needed. It is usual for transitional periods to be thorny, painful and long. Moreover, the legacy left behind is burdensome. The tyrant does not truly leave until his country is in ruins. The revolution has to start from scratch. The task ahead is not easy. The issue is complex to begin with. There were those who started the revolution, and those who joined later. Some even say it was hijacked. Calm down but hold on to your freedom and your right to resist the pressure to conform. I do not deny your right to ask for the most basic things. That is, to live under a constitution that enshrines the tenets of citizenship. That is, for the constitution to not contain any attempt for discrimination or marginalization based on ethnic or religious affiliation. A nation must be built on the basis of mutual recognition among its various segments, and the rule of law, rights and responsibilities, the rotation of power, fair and free elections whose results must be respected, and a judiciary independent from the whims of the ruler or any other form of influence. I know that Arabs have been patient for too long and have lost too much. But there is no solution other than to be patient. I understand their demands for electricity, for they have grown tired of power rationing and darkness. Furthermore, we cannot catch up with the times if we continue to live in darkened homes and darkened ideas. The same goes for safe drinking water. I thus see no impudence in people demanding safe drinking water. Also, it is the right of the Arabs to demand normal schools, and modern – i.e. normal – curricula. The Arabs have grown tired of outdated bad education which imprisons the mind and kills the imagination. We need a school that opens up horizons to job opportunities and enables people to join this world, which is ever witnessing scientific and technological revolutions. And in addition to all this, there is the right to freedom, to ask questions, and to dissent. There is the right to criticize, correct and reject pressures to conform. I was motivated to write this article by a message sent by a young Egyptian reader. He said that he was among the first who flocked to Tahrir Square, and that he remained there until the revolution succeeded. He said that he was pleased to see the Egyptians go to the ballot boxes in elections whose results were not decided in advance in the basements of the Interior Ministry. He said that he respects the results regardless of how much he sympathizes with the winners and their programs. After this introduction, the young man expressed a concern that has begun to creep in to his mind. He said that he read in newspapers and websites that censorship in Egyptian television will be tougher from now on, with retroactive effect. He said that the commission in question began to examine some old films, and that Egyptians may not be able to watch them again until after some racy scenes are deleted. He said that censorship may never tolerate a film like ‘My Father on the Tree', starring Abdel Halim Hafez, Nadia Lutfi and Mervat Amin. He added that the Egyptians may not be able to watch the film ‘Wife Number 13' either, starring Rushdi Abaza and Shadia, until after the censor cleans the film from intimate scenes. I understand the concerns of the young reader. It is not surprising that there are some attempting to impose one mold on all tastes, minds and imaginations. But I thought that the Egyptian people would no longer permit such practices. Surrendering to this kind of trials means that soon Taha Hussein and Naguib Mahfouz may too be summoned, especially if ‘A Thousand and One Nights' was subjected to a trial of this kind. I think it is unlikely that Egypt would accept restraints as such against creativity and artistic leadership on its land, or to allow any victors to contempt art and freedom, and act as such against its history and heritage. What if someone demanded tomorrow that Gamal Abdel Nasser be deleted from the history book? What Egypt needs is real institutions and development, and not ‘cleaning' artistic archives from the ‘crimes' of Abdel Halim Hafez and Rushdi Abaza.
