From Fahlawa to Constructive Criticism

We Need to Learn How to Inspire

Malak Kira

Every now and then, we learn about Egyptian figures carving their names and success in our history books. These figures have lifted up their country’s pride and dignity. They proved themselves and gained respect from people all over the world. They are honored by people from different backgrounds and nationalities. As Albert Einstein once said, “Try not to be a man of success, but rather to be a man of value.” It is the Egyptian dream to stand up and work hard to prove our value to the world.

Consider Youssef Boutros Ghali, who received his PhD from MIT, and later became the Minister of Finance and was recently elected as the Chairman of the Finance Committee of the IMF. He is a man of prestige and perseverance. Naguib Mahfouz, an Egyptian novelist who won the Nobel Prize for Literature; Ahmad Zewail, an Egyptian scientist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on femtochemistry are other examples of successful Egyptians. These people are who we call role models. They achieved the Egyptian dream by their work and effort.

Now turning the tables around and focusing on the rest of the eighty million Egyptian citizens, we get the impression they are know-it-alls. A worker thinks he can write his own prescription. A doctor thinks he can run a business. A businessman thinks he can run the country. This is the phenomenon of a “fahlawi” character that pretends to know everything and anything. These Fahlawis are known for their self-confidence that comes out of nowhere. They are known for their criticism and judgment but have neither evidence nor proof to support it. As we learned in economics each person has his own specialization, and that is where they are most efficient. If people try to do other people’s professions, then they are going to hit diminishing returns which will cause inefficiency. These “fahlawi” characters are lacking serious constructive criticism. They just criticize for the sake of criticizing.

The achievement of various Egyptian role models is often times criticized by a lot of people. The people who criticize rather than support these role models are not trying to take a first step to move forward. In order for us to rise and gain our value, we need to learn how to inspire, protect, and honor each other. For us to achieve the Egyptian dream, we need to stop criticizing others and concentrate on achieving our full potential.