Interiew on Egyptian TV Channel 2 aired on 26 July, 2012

Identity at Risk

Famous Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen compared the identity of any people with that of an onion composed of multiple layers. Based on this concept, coming from one of the greatest literary European minds in modern times, the Egyptian identity is similarly constructed from many different layers.  Some of these layers originated in Ancient Egypt and its civilization of 30 centuries. Other layers come from its Coptic era, when Egypt was an entirely Eastern Christian society. Countless layers also come from the Islamic and Arabic speaking Egypt.  Several more layers stem from the modern Egypt established by Mohamed Ali, who ruled Egypt between 1805 and 1848, a state which lasted for a bit more than a century after his death. And finally come the multiple layers produced by Egypt's geographical location as a generally Mediterranean society, and more specifically as an Eastern Mediterranean society.

This complex configuration is based upon undeniable historical and geographical fact. It contains no contradictions. Only simplistic thinking would find contradiction in such complex phenomena.  

This rich and wonderful Egyptian identity, loaded with the fruits of cross- fertilization between varied cultures and civilizations, is presently the subject of a systematic destruction of its constituent elements. Its unique richness and plurality poses a threat to other surrounding societies suffering from a severe lack of such variety.

While the Islamist movement, which is now thrilled to harvest the seeds it has sown in Egypt, is among the realities of the Egyptian society, it represents a grave threat to the complexity and plurality of the Egyptian identity.

The prevalence of conservative schools of thought among most present day Muslim minds (as seen in the thinking of Ibn Hanbal, Ibn Taymiyya, the Wahabi movement, and the rest of the Salafi trends) is ominous. It makes the possibility of spreading a wave of animosity towards the non-Islamic dimensions of the Egyptian identity imminent. It is enough to note what some say of the monuments of Ancient Egypt, which are one of the greatest ever among all human civilizations. (Salafi leaders such as Abdel-Moneim El-Shahat, who was narrowly defeated by a Muslim Brotherhood candidate in Alexandria, repeatedly suggested that Egypt's Pharaonic treasures should be either destroyed or covered with wax because they were "statues banned by Islam.”) Parallel to that, the existence of “anti-other” values, no matter who this “other” might be, is very possible and very dangerous for an Egyptian identity which is based on plurality.

What I fear the most is that the political movement will change school curricula in a way that highlights the Arab Islamic dimension alone, while destroying all others. This destructive scenario is not that farfetched with the existence of a parliamentary majority of this school of thought now taking over the education committee. As expected from all theocratic entities, they will mostly focus on the Arab Islamic component of the Egyptian identity.

It is sad to note that this trend of aiming to serve a single dimension has already started many years ago with the religious (Islamic) thought taking over those in charge of education in our society. For example, the Arabic language and literature curricula, instead of offering brilliant literary texts of great minds such as Ahmed Lotfy Elsayed, Taha Hussein, Al Aqqad, Al Mazni, Salama Moussa, Tawfiq Al Hakim, Naguib Mahfouz, Youssef Edris, Nezar Qabbani, Al Sayab, Michael Naema, and many others excluded them. That transformed the curricula into religious texts to a point where it becomes hard to distinguish whether they are dealing with Arabic language and literature or Islamic texts.

Lebanese intellectual Amin Maalouf describes any single dimensional identity as a fatal one. His is an accurate and precise description; such a single dimensional identity in our time will very like collide with the values of pluralism and the acceptance of the “other” and the critical mind, let alone its contrast with the idea of our common humanity. I would say to those who repeat “this is the will of the people,” that it was also the will of the German people that brought Hitler to power in Germany eight decades ago, which took a devastating toll on humanity, destroying the lives of more than 50 million people. This example allows us to criticize the current state of the Egyptian culture which threatens the non-Islamic components of the Egyptian identity, and could easily transform us into a single dimensional society (just like the societies of sand around us), even if we’ve come to where we are because of the popular will.  Wrong (as Voltaire said) remains wrong, even if repeated a million times.

* This article was translated from Arabic into English by Mohamed Shedou and revised and edited by Sharon Bussell. The Arabic version was published by the Egyptian daily al-WAFD on 18th April, 2012.

Liberal Egyptian author Tarek Heggy interview on Al-Tahreer TV 12 April, 2012

Liberal Egyptian author and political thinker Tarek Heggy discusses the complex political situation in advance of the presidential elections in Egypt in this 30 minute interview.

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* من سماتِ التحضرِ والتقدمِ الإنسانيين ان تشيع في المجتمع ثقافةٌ تقبل وتحترم بل وتقدر التعدديةَ كأحدِ أهم معالم الحياة . فهل يتسم فكرُ وسلوكُ الأغلبية فى البرلمان المصري اليوم بتلك السمة ؟

* من سماتِ التحضرِ والتقدمِ الإنسانيين ان تشـــــــــــيع في المجتمع ثقافةُ " قبول الآخر" قبولاً موضوعياً كاملاً ، أيا كان نوع "الآخر". فهل يتسم فكرُ وسلوكُ الأغلبيةِ فى البرلمان المصري اليوم بتلك السمة ؟

 * من سمـــاتِ التحضـــــرِ والتـــقـــدمِ الإنســـــانيين أن تشيع فى المجتمعِ ثقافةٌ تقوم على "نسبيةِ" كل الآراءِ ووجهاتِ النظرِ والنظرياتِ والأفكارِ. فهل يتسم فكُر وســـلوكُ الأغلبيةِ فى البرلمان المصــــري اليوم بتلك السمة؟

* من سماتِ التحضرِ والتقدمِ الإنسانيين التحمسُ الشديد لحقوق المرأة والإيمان بأنها أكثر بكثير من كونها (عدديا) "نصف المجتمع" ، فهي مربية ومنشئة "كل المجتمع" ، وأن من صالح المجتمع (أي مجتمع) تحقيق المساواة المطلقة بين المرأة والرجال ، وهجر الأفكار القرو-أوسطية البدائية التى تنظر للمرأةِ كزوجةٍ وأم في الأساس. فهل يتسم فكرُ وسلوكُ الأغلبية فى البرلمان المصري اليوم بتلك السمة ؟

* من سماتِ التحضرِ والتقدمِ الإنسانيين أن يؤَسَسَ التعليم فى المجتمع على "الإبتكار والإبداع" وليس على "التلقين وإختبارات الذاكرة". فهل يتسم فكرُ وسلوكُ الأغلبيةِ فى البرلمان المصري اليوم بتلك السمة ؟

 * من سماتِ التحضرِ والتقدمِ الإنسانيين أن تكبر (بضم الحرف الأول) ثقافةُ المجتمعِ وفلسفةُ التعليمِ دورَ العقلِ الإنساني ، وعلى إعتبار "العقل النقدي" هو أهم (أو أحد أهم) أدوات وآليات التقدم. وهو نقيض ثقافة الطاعة والإتباع والتقليد التى هيمنت على المجتمعات الإسلامية منذ إنتصر حكامُ وشيوخُ هذه المجتمعاتِ لأنصار "النقل" فى مواجهة أنصار "العقل" ، ومنذ أصبح "ابن تيمية" وليس "ابن رشد" هو "شيخ الإسلام" . فهل يؤمن أعضاءُ الأغلبية فى البرلمان المصري اليوم بإكبارِ "العقل الإنساني" و تشجيع تفعيل دور "العقل النقدي" والعمل على تقليص دور ونفوذ ثقافة الطاعة والإتباع والتقليد ... هل يتسم فكرُ وسلوكُ الأغلبية فى البرلمان المصري اليوم بتلك السمة ؟

 * من سماتِ التحضرِ والتقدمِ الإنسانيين شيوع مناخ عام متسم بالسماحة الثقافية والدينية. فهل يتسم فكرُ وسلوكُ الأغلبيةِ فى البرلمان المصري اليوم بتلك السمة ؟

 * من سماتِ التحضرِ والتقدمِ الإنسانيين تأصيل مفهوم المواطنة ، بمعني المساواة المطلقة بين أبناء وبنات المجتمع بدون إيلاء أية أهمية لدين ومعتقدات وآراء وعرق وجنس أبناء وبنات المجتمع. فهل يتسم فكر وسلوك الأغلبية فى البرلمان المصري اليوم بتلك السمة؟

* من سماتِ التحضرِ والتقدمِ الإنسانيين شيوع إيمان واسع بكونية أو إنسانية أو عالمية العلم والمعرفة. فهل يتسم فكرُ وسلوكُ الأغلبيةِ فى البرلمان المصري اليوم بتلك السمة ؟

 * من سماتِ التحضرِ والتقدمِ الإنسانيين شيوع ثقافة عامة تكبر وتحترم وتحمي الحريات العامة وأهمها حرية الإعتقاد وحرية نقد كل شيء ( في حدود القانون ). فهل يتسم فكرُ وسلوكُ الأغلبيةِ فى البرلمان المصري اليوم بتلك السمة ؟

* من سماتِ التحضرِ والتقدمِ الإنسانيين إختفاء ظاهرة محاكمة أي انسان على افكاره أو كتاباته أو ابداعاته الفنية ونهاية مرحلة مصادرة الكتب ، ونهاية مرحلة السقوف المنخفضة لحرية التفكير والتعبير والابداع . فهل يتسم فكرُ وسلوكُ الأغلبية في البرلمان المصري اليوم بتلك السمة ؟

* من سماتِ التحضرِ والتقدمِ الإنسانيين تعظيم وإكبار "قيمة الحياة الإنسانية" . وهو ما يعني رفض وإدانة أي عدوان على حياة المدنيين في أي مجتمع مهما كانت المبررات . في مجتمعنا بعض " بسطاء العقول " الذين تثلج صدورهم العمليات الإنتحارية ضد بعض المدنيين وعمليات إجرامية مثل تفجيرات جزيرة بالي في اندونسيا وعملية 11 سبتمبر 2001 في الولايات المتحدة. فهل يتسم فكرُ وسلوكُ الأغلبية في البرلمان المصري بإستهجان ثقافة الموت وإكبار وتعظيم شأن الحياة الإنسانية ؟

* من سماتِ التحضر والتقدمِ الإنسانيين التفرقة بين " الحقائق الدينية " و " الحقائق العلمية " . ومع احترام كل منهما ، فإن المجتمعات التي بلغت درجة كبيرة من التقدم لا يمكن ان تخلط. بين مجالات الحقائق الدينية ومجالات الحقائق العلمية . فهل يتسم فكرُ وسلوكُ الأغلبيةِ في البرلمان المصري بالتمييز بين مجالات الحقائق الدينية ومجالات الحقائق العلمية؟ 

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Al-Tahrir TV interviews Tarek Heggy 11th March, 2012

Society in Transition--The Role of Education (Part III)

There has been a steady decline in the level of Egyptian school teachers and university professors since they have become state employees. Once a member of an elite corps of scientists and learned men, a professor today is just one of thousands of government employees. The drop in teaching standards parallels the general decline in the level of public services in Egypt, a phenomenon that has grown out of the frightful imbalance between people's growing sense of rights and their diminishing sense of duties. This phenomenon is common in socialist countries. Things cannot be otherwise in an environment where workers are cushioned by a plethora of promises and freed from the constraints of such basic economic laws as that linking salary to production and the law of rewarding excellence and punishing error, and where labor laws encourage slothfulness and idleness while discouraging initiative, creativity, competition and motivation.

I am confident that if we were to liberate teachers and university professors from the fetters of the civil service, we would break the heavy bonds that tie them to the present situation of education in our country and allow them to concentrate on improving the quality of their work rather than their chances for promotion.

There has also been an alarming decline in our cultural life since it came under the thumb of politics. Education and culture are two sides of the same coin: if one declines, the other will follow. To understand what politics have done to culture in Egypt, it is enough to see the works of artists and writers in the 60s, or radio and television programs of the time, when politicization was at its peak.

Last is the indiscriminate expansion of the system. Education in Egypt is like a train: once a child reaches the age of six he or she can hop on board and remain there until the very last stop—the university degree. Not one country, either in the socialist or the capitalist worlds, provides education free of charge to every citizen wishing to benefit from that constitu­tional right. The fact is that no state, whatever its political orientation, can afford to provide free education from primary school through university. The only difference between socialist and capitalist countries in this respect is that while outstanding students enjoy this right in both cases, in the latter students who can afford to pay are allowed to continue studying even when they are not exceptional.

With such an indiscriminate expansion of education as that which took place in Egypt, it becomes impossible to maintain a balance between quality and quantity. Education is, after all, a service like any other, and the largesse of the Egyptian state in extending this service unreservedly to its citizens was, in­evitably, at the expense of quality. The damage could have been minimized with proper planning. However, the state did not prepare for increasing the number of public, technical and commercial schools, nor for the necessary boost in the number of teachers needed, nor for ways to generate productive and useful employment for the flood of future graduates. In fact, the expansion of education, like so many other things in Egypt, was a haphazard process born of a vague slogan about education being “the right of every citizen”. But noble slogans and good intentions never have and never will achieve success at any level.

To make matters worse, several factors combined to make Egyptians come to regard university degrees, and the government jobs that could be secured with them, with excessive respect, even reverence. At the same time, people began looking with disdain at technical and specialized vocational de­grees, which limits the social standing of its bearer. In addition to a shrinking private sector and the fact that most citizens are civil servants, and since all high public positions are held by university graduates, not to obtain a degree puts one in a category of social inferiority.

There was a time when a professor was the symbol of society's respect for itself. Venerated for his wisdom and his mission to society, a professor was someone who dedicated his life to teaching and educating the young. In return, society gave him the appropriate material and moral appreciation to enable him to pursue his mission. When the university and academic life in general was made subservient to political considerations, the professor's chair became just another form of government employ­ment. The vocation of professor lost its essence and mystique. The situation was even worse for school teachers, who were tossed around by the storms of political expediency on the one hand, and those of economic need, on the other, since the state could not afford to pay them salaries that met the increasingly heavy burdens of daily life. Teachers also suffered from the intellectual vacuum that affected their profession, as it did all other aspects of life in Egypt. It was no longer possible to expect a teacher to be a symbol of self-respect and knowledge, and to be a conduit for knowledge. The values and the status of the professor and teacher had been shaken, and with them the very foundations of education in Egypt.

Is there a cure?

Before probing ways and means of reforming education in Egypt, we should be aware that the success of any attempts at reform hinges on the readiness of Egyptians in general and the authorities in particular to admit that the problem of education has reached crisis proportions and that radical reform is a must.

Part IV will examine recommendations for educational reform.