HUFFINGTON
07.22.12
GOLDEN MUMMIES
THE WHITE HOUSE
(Left to right) Hawass, President Barack Obama, Senior Advisor David Axelrod and Chief of Staff
Rahm Emanuel tour the Pyramids and Sphinx in 2009.
dollars into the public purse.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Hawass
was reinstated as Minister,” says
Nora Shalaby, an Egyptologist and
political activist.
If Hawass makes a comeback, it will
be a tribute to his charismatic tenacity and to the willingness of the new
government to compromise democratic
ideals in order to secure the country’s
economy. Hawass’s weakness may be
that he is a remnant of the old regime,
but, in some ways, this is also his
strength. He is an accomplished autocrat with little interest in public opinion and a demonstrated passion for
showmanship. While his return would
be politically unpopular, it might prove
to be economically expedient.
“I’ll never stop caring about
or working with Egypt’s history,”
Hawass says.
SUDDEN POPULISM
Three days into the Cairo riots, as fire
tore through the National Museum,
thieves broke into the newly opened
gift shop, stole tchotchkes and knocked
over displays. Outside, smoke was billowing out of Mubarak’s party headquarters and across the city onto CNN.
Rumors were spreading on Twitter:
Protesters were looting the museum.
Protesters were policing the museum.