Last Friday, a historic book market in the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria was destroyed by Egyptian security forces, leaving kiosks in shambles and the streets littered with rare and valuable manuscripts. Political figures and activists were swift to denounce this mindless destruction of Egypt’s cultural heritage, demanding that President Mohammed Morsi take action against the governor of Alexandria who ordered the raid. The governor, for his part, deflected the criticism, claiming that the vendors were operating without a permit.

The ransacking in Alexandria represents the latest in a series of attacks on Egypt’s intellectual and cultural life that is being perceived as a “war on culture,” which, as observers have pointed out, raises serious questions about the Muslim Brotherhood’s commitment to certain essential characteristics of a democratic political order, such as freedom of expression, thought and ideas. But, importantly, the consequences of these forays into Egypt’s creative life reach beyond its borders. Restricting freedom of expression in Egypt could potentially kill Cairo’s ambitions to regain its leadership role in the Middle East and its reputation as the cultural powerhouse of the Arab world.

Egyptian cinema, traditionally the most vibrant such industry in the region, has seen some of its brightest stars either sent to prison or subjected to public defamation in recent months. Adel Imam, Egypt’s most famous comedic actor, was convicted of “offending Islam” in some of his past character roles and was sentenced to three months in jail in April of this year. More recently, a conservative Salafist cleric accused a renowned actress on public television of having committed “on-air adultery,” adding that she was “cursed” and would “never enter heaven.” This prompted President Morsi to hold a meeting with a small circle of prominent artists and intellectuals at his presidential palace, during which he stressed the important function that creative artists serve in the new Egypt, adding that he opposes unfounded slander of any kind. For many, however, the damage had been done and a number of movie stars refused to attend the gathering.

Egyptian cinema flourished during Nasser’s rule in the 1950s and the first half of the 1960s in particular. Cairo’s movie boom was due largely to its ability to act as a vehicle for Nasser’s pan-Arab vision, in addition to being an important way to support the 1952 revolution that put Nasser in power by spreading anti-aristocracy and pro-nationalist (read: anti-imperialist) messages. But eventually Nasser’s vision died, and with it, Egypt’s monopoly on pop culture.