The Freakiness Quotient of this clip from Egypt’s Channel 1 is off the scale, as members of the Egyptian Unique Moustache Association talk about their great respect for one of the most notorious hairy upper lips in history. (Courtesy of MEMRI TV.)

Following are excerpts from an interview with members of the Egyptian Unique Moustache Association, which aired on Egyptian TV on July 11, 2008

Interviewer: I’m sure many people have pressured you to shave your moustache, saying: “What is this? Enough with that.”

Association Head Fathi Ahmad Mahmoud “Moustache”: My personality forces people to treat me with respect.

Interviewer: Didn’t your friends, relatives, your wife, or your children say: “Enough is enough”?

Fathi Ahmad Mahmoud “Moustache”: They are all proud of me. My youngest boy, Nader, calls himself “Nader Moustache.” Get it? All his friends call him “Nader Moustache.”

[...]

Interviewer: Do you respect all types of moustaches – regardless of their size, length, or width?

Allam Muhammad Abdel Al-Halim: Of course.

Interviewer: Even Hitler’s moustache?

Captain Sayyed Shahada: By the way, I respect the moustache of this Hitler, because he humiliated the most despicable sect in the world. He subdued the people who subdued the whole world – him with his “11” moustache. By the way, that kind of moustache is called “11.” The generation of this Hitler... When I was little, my father, may he rest in peace, grew that kind of moustache, and so did all his class members. They all had this “11” moustache. That was in the days of Hitler... My father...

Interviewer: That was the fashion back then.

Captain Sayyed Shahada: Exactly. I should know – my father was a barber.

[...]

Fathi Ahmad Mahmoud “Moustache”: We have different models. One model is “the Douglas.” Then there’s “the Pretzel,” which is rolled like this... The “Two Swords” model stands up like that... The “Mafroud” is flat like a ruler. Another model is the “Carter,” which comes out from here and is very wide.

Interviewer: What is it called?

Fathi Ahmad Mahmoud “Moustache”: The “Carter.” We have two special hair designers, Muhammad Salomon and Yasser Imam. They are the association’s designers. They designed all these models.

[...]

Fathi Ahmad Mahmoud “Moustache”: In the days of King Farouq, anybody who grew a moustache would get a raise.

Interviewer: Really?

Fathi Ahmad Mahmoud “Moustache”: Yes, they would get a raise.

The United States gives Egypt more than $2 billion a year in foreign aid.