Farouk Hosny

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Farouk Hosny (Arabic:فاروق حسنى) (or Hosni), (born 1938 in Alexandria, Egypt) is an Egyptian abstract painter who was appointed in 1987 to the position of Minister of Culture, which he currently still holds. It is said that he refuses to receive a salary for his job as Minister of Culture.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Controversy

In November 2006, Farouk Hosni sparked controversy among many religious Muslims, particularly the clergy, after stating publicly that the traditional Muslim veil for women, the hijab, "is a step backward for Egyptian women". In an interview published in November 2006, Hosny said that "women with their beautiful hair are like flowers and should not be covered up" and that "religion today is linked only to appearances, while every woman's veil should be inside her, not outside."

Hosni remains in his job and said that he didn't call for stripping women of their veil, but that the veil style coming from the Arabian Peninsula (the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf) is not appropriate for Egyptian women.