Read the press: Cairo turns conservative?

Talk about sensational media. A recent BBC feature article focuses on a local reminiscing about how cosmopolitan and liberal Cairo used to be in the 1940s. According to the article, the "Arab renaissance" that the city was once undergoing has shifted towards a more conservative and religious trend. Egyptian society, at least in Cairo, has become more "conservative" in the past decade in the sense that head scarves and abayas have become more popular among women, and Hosni Mubarak's government has been quick to thwart any type of popular opposition against him or those that promote human rights. A young NGO worker told me today how the government refused funding approval for an organization she previously worked for that was promoting human rights through photography and art, but it's not possible to repress all political movements. "The government doesn't realize that thinking is political," she said.

Cairo may not be as "cosmopolitan" as it was in the past, but it is not suffering from a "Talibanized" society. I have not been in Cairo for long, and granted my initial findings (especially confined in a posh community such as Zamelek) may be skewed, but there were several points on which I disagreed with BBC on after having spoken watching and listening to this city:

* "Bars and cabaret clubs have fallen into despair and disrepute, as the Egyptians grow more observant of conservative Islam."
- In fact, I have passed by few bars and restaurants serving alcohol in Zamelek. In addition, as an elder Cairo resident told me, the Muslims pray and pray and pray....and go drink, of course.
- And I was surprised to find that while women may be completely covered (note: also in tight clothes that cover their skin), anything, or rather, nothing, goes in clubs (which there are quite a few of in Cairo).

* "Max Rodenbeck, journalist and author of Cairo, the City Victorious, says belly-dancing has faded out in the last 10 years." She attributes this to a conservative trend.
True, foreign belly dancers were banned from performing. But it's quite easy for many, including locals, to attribute all ills to a conservative society. In fact, a couple Egyptian friends had not heard about the ban. Instead, I was told that trying to find Egyptian music and dancing would be difficult since American music has become more popular.

I agree, it is at times sad to hear how different Cairo is now than it was before. Alcohol has been outlawed and women cannot freely wear what they like. But while these may be "social concerns", attributing them to a growing trend of Islam in the country would be a falsity. Egypt has also seen its share of presidents whose domestic and economic policies have repressed human rights and exacerbated the economic equality gap. Poverty is one of the most pressing issues in the country, not conservatism. I just hope BBC will remember to place growing "conservatism" in any Muslim country in the political and economic context of the country. And besides, how to mourn the death of a "Arab Renaissance" that was heavily influenced by the French and British anyways? How is a social trend more "legitimate" or "better" than another?