Egyptian Philosopher Mourad Wahba: Our Children Grow Up Fearing Wisdom Because We Shame Them for Thinking about Taboo Subjects

Egyptian philosopher Mourad Wahba said in a July 21, 2019 interview on Extra News TV (Egypt) that children in the East are shamed for questioning what they learn and for asking questions, while children in the West are taught that they can question anything. He said that the Western mind is therefore free from a young age while the Eastern mind is shackled by culturally taboo subjects. Wahba said that Eastern children are afraid of wisdom and of using their brain, and that they instead choose to avoid questioning things that they have been told are wrong. He added that the education system in the East is continuing this process by making more subjects taboo.

Interviewer: "You said that cultural taboos send the Arab mentality to prisons of the past. What do you mean by cultural taboos?"

Mourad Wahba: "Let me tell you... The way children are raised in the West is different than in the East. In the West, a child can ask whatever he wants. In the East, a child never asks questions, because if he asks, he is told: 'Shame on you, don't ask. The answer is right here.' Therefore, the Western mind is free from childhood, whereas in the East, it is in shackles. It is shackled by what I call 'cultural taboos.' What are these?"

Interviewer: "Things that we are ashamed to talk about, or things that it is wrong to talk about?"

Mourad Wahba: "There are certain subjects and certain issues that a child is not supposed to ask about. In this case, you instill in the child fear of wisdom and of using his brain. He thinks to himself: 'The thing I am thinking about, they say it is wrong. Oh my! I'd better not think about it again.' This way, his mind is starting to get shut. And the education system is continuing this process by adding more cultural taboos."