What you don't know...

There's an Egyptian proverb that says: Elli te3rafoh a7san min elli mate3rafush (who/what you know is better than who/what you don't know). Its concept is constantly in use here.

Sometimes families prefer to marry within the family (especially for their daughters) citing this proverb as a reason. Your relative won't abuse you, and after all, blood can never turn into water.

Another example is when you ask people about elections, some would say, "So-and-so has been in charge for so long, he has so much experience and we know him. But how can we vote for someone we don't know." Or maybe they just say it to stay out of trouble.

I wonder if the proverb came from the culture, or it has changed the culture itself. I think originally the proverb would be about the person you befriend, use or trust, naturally the one you know is better than the one you don't know. But when its usage has spread to many other issues, I wonder if it's still true.

To me Elli mate3rafush a7san min elli te3rafoh, or at least more interesting. ^_^