According to The Art Newspaper, Sawiris, who stands at number 310 on the Forbes Billionaire list (he’s #2 in Egypt, just behind his father, Onsi, and one ahead of his younger brother), aims not only to establish a secular democratic government in Egypt, but to crown his plans with a national museum that will house his own collection of modern and contemporary art. (Many in the global art world may also recognize him as the one who pledged a $175,000 reward for the return of Van Gogh’s Poppies” stolen from Cairo’s Mahmoud Khalil Museum in August, 2010 – a  museum that also reportedly housed works by other major 19^th century masters like Renoir, Gauguin, and Monet.)

Such philanthropy runs in the Sawaris family, which has shown itself to be deeply committed to cultural achievement and the kinds of experimental arts that define a forward-looking, democratic society: Onsi Sawiris’ Sawiris Foundation for Social Development, for instance,  offers annual prizes to young novelists, screenwriters, and playwrights with an eye towards stimulating Egypt’s literary scene – even its more controversial works.

And clearly – given the Minnie Mouse burqa episode -- Naguib Sawiris is himself a man unafraid of risk or controversy. A Coptic Christian, he is seeking leadership of his country at a time when Copts have experienced a horrific growth in threats and violence from Egyptian Islamist groups, including a suicide bombing in Alexandria on January 1, in which 21 Christians were killed and 100 injured.  In a subsequent attack this past March, according to Assyrian reports,

A mob of nearly four thousand Muslims has attacked Coptic homes this evening in the village of Soul, Atfif in Helwan Governorate, 30 kilometers from Cairo, and torched the Church of St. Mina and St. George. […]

A curfew has been imposed on the 12,000 Christians in the village.

This incident was triggered by a relationship between 40-year-old Copt Ashraf Iskander and a Muslim woman. Yesterday a "reconciliation" meeting was arranged between the relevant Coptic and Muslim families and together with the Muslim elders it was decided that Ashraf Iskander would have to leave the village because Muslims torched his house.

The father of the Muslim woman was killed by his cousin because he did not kill his daughter to preserve the family's honor, which led the woman's brother to avenge the death of his father by killing the cousin. The village Muslims blamed the Christians.

The Muslim mob attacked the church, exploding 5-6 gas cylinders inside the church, pulled down the cross and the domes and burnt everything inside.

That Egypt is not entirely ready for democracy is obvious, given such barbaric behavior.  So why would Sawiris even try?

Global Arab Network

Read More: Click Here http://www.forbes.com/sites/abigailesman/2011/08/29/could-this-christian-billionaire-art-collector-be-the-next-president-of-egypt/