In an aired phone interview presented by Al-Mehwar TV-Channel, Egyptian painter Ahmad `Abla strongly criticized the minister of culture, `Abd al-Wāhed al-Nabawi, saying that the changes the minister wants to implement will kill the creative soul of Egyptian art, in particular on what concerns the role art played in the battle against terrorism. The painter added that 80% of Egyptian intellectuals think al-Nabawi has no cultural background that would enable him to be 'one of us', according to `Abla.