At a presidential meeting Wednesday with a consultative council of experts and scholars, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi agreed to a proposal to establish a committee to “improve values, conscience and promote work ethic and a sense of belonging.” The committee is set to work directly under Sisi’s auspices. The committee is the brainchild of renowned psychiatrist Ahmed Okasha who presented the proposal, suggesting methods and projects to develop values through grassroots initiatives that would change behaviours generally. Council member Mervat al-Deeb said that after revolutions value systems undergo dramatic change and many problems encountered by citizens are linked to people’s behavior. She added that values are not only linked to levels of education but also to laws and media. While different cultures have different thresholds of what is considered appropriate and what is not, El-Deeb said, there are certain values and morals shared by all peoples regardless of race or nationality. Commenting on the proposal, human rights lawyer Yasmin Hossam told Aswat Masriya in a telephone interview that “it’s an attempt by the government to drum up nationalist sentiment”, noting that developed countries don’t form committees to “guide” people’s values…
Egypt’s President Sisi Establishes Committee to ‘Improve Values, Morals, and Promote Work Ethic’
November 27, 2015
