A: Western civilization has developed through a combination of what is a cumulative human crop and what is purely European. It is not difficult to differentiate between the two. The values of progress are a cumulative human product of the march of human civilizations. These values are the reason for the progress of Western societies. The most important values of progress are pluralism, altruism (acceptance of the other), coexistence, women's rights, human rights, relativism, secularism, and modern education centered on creativity not indoctrination. As for the cultures composing Western societies, which are the fruit of the history of these societies, it is neither possible nor logical that this can serve as a guide for Western civilization.
Q: How can cultural industries become a source of national income in Egypt?
A: We are facing a great tragedy when Egypt, with its geographical advantages and historical treasures, is not among the most attractive countries in the world for visitors and tourists. The nature, weather, and beaches of Egypt; ancient Egypt, Coptic Egypt, Mamluk and Ottoman Egypt and modern Egypt are an enormous wealth, which Egyptians can use to achieve economic abundance.
Q: What are the requirements for the development of cultural industries?
A: What is required, according to the terminology of modern management sciences, is called "vision". Proceeding from this vision, strategies are developed to serve as a reference for a package of policies to take the Egyptian collective mind from its present medieval state to the horizons of modernity.
Q: “We succeeded in ending the organization of the Brotherhood, but the battle is long to eliminate their ideology.” This was your saying. Does this represent an obstacle to Egypt's cultural project 2030?
A: Yes. The continuation of this situation finds a society that got rid of the rule of the Brotherhood but did not rise to the horizons of modernity, with the survival of many ideas of fundamentalism common among the sons and daughters of its people. This makes Egypt vulnerable to historical setbacks with a potential for ominous consequences.
Q: In your book "Critique of the Arab Mind," you assert that there are erroneous cultural concepts. What are these concepts?
A: The most dangerous of these concepts stems from teaching the essence of indoctrination and not scientific thinking and creativity, the rampant religious obsession, the incompleteness of the civil state and the transgression of some institutions to its borders as part of the Egyptian state.
Q: What is the role of youth centers and cultural palaces in raising the horizons of modernity?
A: What youth centers and cultural palaces do is almost "nothing". Ten years ago, I spoke during a televised interview on this very important subject. I said that the total number of these centers and palaces is the same as the number of Egyptian villages, i.e., four thousand. You can imagine what these centers and palaces can do of great cultural work that pulls millions of Egyptians out of the trap of the Brotherhood and the Salafists and their reactionary fundamentalist discourse. But a systematic plan must be put in place to make this happen. And as alienations can be made, so can attraction. They are centers and palaces that must attract audiences with interesting activities such as old and new films and plays, not with lectures that the audience will see as something ridiculous.
Q: How can Egypt’s Cultural Plan 2030 be implemented?
A: I doubt the existence of "vision", "strategies" and "written programs" in the conventional sense of Quality Management. Without that, we will remain in the world of good intentions that cannot achieve the desired end. Therefore, we have to start by setting and formulating these things: vision, strategies, and programs. This is the only way to create and implement any cultural plan.
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Dr. Suha Ali Ragab conducted with me today the aforementioned talk, which will be published by “Cairo” in its next issue. Cairo is a weekly magazine published by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture.
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