مشاركتي في ندوة سياسية عن مصر على البي بي سي

اليوم كان عندي فرصة نادرة أن أظهر على قناة التلفزيون المشهورة، البي بي سي، علي برنامج ساعة حساب في حضور خبراء من الساحة المصرية السياسية، وأهمهم الدكتور عمرو حمزاوي. كانت حلقة اليوم عن العلاقة الجدلية بين الإطار الإسلامي والحركة اللبرالية\علمانية في مصر. أعرف أن يلعب التلفزيون دور كبير في تشكيل الأفكار السياسي في مجتمعنا، فأشعرت بأهمية هذه الفرصة لكي أعبر عن رأي. عندما تكلم حمزاوي عن الفصل بين السياسة والدين، طرحت السؤال عن النموذج التركي و إصلاحات مصطفى كمال أتاتورك و هل يرغب حمزاوي أن يرى مثل هذه الإصلاحات في مصر

في وجهة نظري، الحوار ركز على نظريات سياسية ودور الدين في السياسي وليس على مواضيع تفيد مصير مصر، مثل الرؤية الإقتصادية. علاوة على ذلك، معظم الخطاب كان له علاقة بمشاعر المتكلمين و ليس عن خطوات عملية إلى الدموقراطية

بصورة شاملة، كانت تجروبة تثقيفية لي عن الوضع في بلدي وآمل أن دأمن يكون عندي مثل هذه الفرصة أن أتعلم عن و أشارك في الحوار عن تأسيس دولة مصر الحديثة

Naguib Sawiris Talk @ SOAS

"We have a long way to go," I though to myself as I left the talk. I just returned to the dorm from talk at London's School of Oriental and African Studies by Naguib Sawiris, who was promoting his newly established political party, the Free Egyptians. I was delighted when a friend informed that the talk was taking place in London because Sawiris is one of my role models. He is splendid example of an "Egyptian success story." Hearing him talk in person truly affirmed my that notion.

There's a lot that happened during the talk that is reflective of the current situation. The main theme of the talk was that the revolution was prone to being hijacked by forces who do not seek to serve Egypt's national interest. Sawiris warned that the demographics of the "revolutionaries" was gradually changing, unfortunately, for the worse... The liberal, intellectual, progressive youth who aimed to steer Egypt to a more desirable future are starting to become replaced by forces of various religious and political ideologies struggling for power to serve their self-interests. Sawiris claimed that many of the youth who spearheaded the revolution thought that they had achieved their objective by overthrowing Mubarak's regime. Obviously he was referring to the recent clashes between extremists (both Copts and Muslims) who had led to recent clashes. When this sensitive subject came up during the talk and the Q & A session, many Muslims and Copts began speaking up. Minorities from both religious groups began making comments criticizing one another. Actually, at one point, a fight broke out when a Copt directly insulted Islam. The situation flared at that point, but fortunately people came to their senses when another Copt formally apologized on behalf of the other Copts to the Muslims, and the apology was accepted.

It was at this point that the true sound of reason spoke to my ears. An old Coptic woman sitting next to me began explaining to a bearded Muslim man sitting behind me the following:

"We are all Egyptians. We should never let this minority break us apart. In the 1948, 1967, and 1973 Wars, Copts and Muslims fought side by side. Their blood mixed with one another. Never in these wars did a Muslim tell a Copt to go fight in front of him or vice versa. We must remain resilient in the face of those who want to break us apart."

These words of wisdom and nobility struck a chord within me. Regardless of whatever faith I adhere to, I shall always let my humanity supersede. What bewilders me is how we Egyptians have regressed to such barbarism. Egypt has always been a land of tolerance. Muslims and Copts have embraced one another for more than a thousand years. Prophet Muhammed was always gentle and just with Christians, and I am sure that he would have put justice above religious allegiance. I even recall reading a Hadith in which a delegation of Christians began praying in Prophet Muhammed's mosque and even though the Muslims wanted to stop them from doing so, the Prophet ordered that the Christians should be left to pray and worship freely.

The point is, people get so caught up in the moment that they forget what their religions actually preach. Any Muslim or Christian who defies religious tolerance and harmony is going against the teachings of his religion, in my opinion. Sawiris put it so brilliantly during the talk when he claimed, "If I have choose between my identity and allegence to Egypt or Christianity, I choose Egypt." Even though we are all faithful Muslims and Christians, we should not let fundamentalists hijack our religion and politics. "We hope to see Egypt as Turkey, and not Iran," Sawiris went on to claim.

The thing about Egyptian politics is that everyone seems to have an ego and wants to be in the limelight. What impressed me about Sawiris is humble approach. He does not seek the presidency, even of his own party...but actually wants to make a positive difference. He claimed to modernize, we need to have a free, liberal, secular system. Secularism doesn't mean atheism, but it recognizes that forces can hijack religion to serve their political self-interests. Sawiris cited Ataturks' secularist revolution and the seperation of the State and the Church in the Western World as sources of progress. Now he didn't encourage the religious nihilism that has prevailed in the West, but recognizes that religion is best kept in the private sphere of life.

I can go on and on to explain the merits of Sawiris' talk, but the chaos in the audience during the Q&A session made me realized that the Egyptians still have a long way to go in fully absorbing the principles of democracy. This was the cream of Egyptian society, and they could not conduct the Q&A session without tension and disrespect to one another. What happened to the civilization, discipline, and tolerance that Tahrir Square taught us? How do we expect to have a full-fledged democracy if we couldn't control ourselves in a small auditorium in London? People were confused and upset. Some people left half way through the Q&A session. For some reason, I did not give up hope. I know that every problem has a solution. I pray that God bestows Muslims and Copts with the wisdom, benevolence, and enlightenment that the old Coptic lady sitting beside me had revealed in the few words she spoke.

Although I heard some in the crowd murmur, "I'm not ready to go back to Egypt." I thought the complete opposite. It is my life's purpose to return to my nation at this point and do what I can, no matter how little I may have to offer.

I pray that God guides us all to the straight path.

The Guardian's Contribution to the Revolution

I just left my Strategy seminar awed by an inspirational talk by the Managing Director of the Guardian, Tim Brooks. Recently, with the unfolding of the Arab Revolutions, I have held independent media in high esteem for its ability to shape world events. The Guardian always offered an insightful perspective on what takes place behind the scenes. As a professional news agency, its journalists seemed committed to the truth.

Although the class discussion was about the Guardian's business model and how the news agency is coping with the inevitable shift from print to digital media, I was fortunate enough to approach Brooks at the end of the talk to ask him a question that boggled my mind for sometime, " How did the Guardian get a hold of a true estimate of Mubarak's fortune?"

The reason meeting Brooks meant a lot to me was because of how the Guardian's article about Mubarak's $70 bn fortune tipped the scale in favor of the Egyptian revolution's success. At a time when my nation was at an inflection point, and Egypt's destiny stood on a thin line between revolution and counter-revolution, it was this news about the abhorent corruption that had plagued our governing system that drove the final nail in the Mubarak regime's coffin.

I was curious to find out how the Guardian had obtained exclusive access to this piece of information. According to Brooks, Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, got hold of 200,000 diplomatic cable leaks. Instead of releasing them all, he collaborated with news agencies, such as the Guardian and the New York Times, to filter through them and release ones that would have a strategic impact. It was during the climax of the Egyptian revolution that the Guardian decided to release the news of Mubarak's fortune and expose the a secret that the U.S. and Egyptian governments had withheld thus far.

It was amazing how a single piece of information could shape a nation's history. I personally thanked Brooks as an Egyptian for his agency's decision to commit itself the truth. Athough a lecture by the head of a news agency that has been around since 1821 was a treat in and of itself, a conversation up close and in person with Mr. Brooks about how his agency contributed to my nation's history was more than I could ever ask for!

Tahrir: The Friday of Purification & Trial

Since the 25th of January, 2011, I had constantly been dreaming of the day when I would be able to join the crowds in Tahrir Square who celebrate the victory of the Egyptian Revolution and inch towards a liberal and democratic Egypt each day. April 8th would be the day.

Since the collapse of the Mubarak regime, the revolutionaries have made it a tradition to unite each Friday in Tahrir Square to express the solidarity of all the different colours of the Egyptian political and religious spectrum, keep the revolutionary fire burning, and demand that cronies of the former regime be brought to justice. Hence, April 8th was deemed the Friday of Purification (of Egypt from corruption) and the Trial (of Mubarak and other corrupt members of the former regime).

As I entered Tahrir Square at approximately 10am from the adjacent Abdel-Meneim Riydad Square, I was surprised to see the square quite empty. There were various stages set up on the various corners of the square. At first, it almost seemed like I had entered a carnival. Each stage showed different talents. The first square showcased political poetry by different youths. One filled his poetry with satire, another with comedy, and a third with hope. I then walked around the round-about in the middle of the square to see a second stage with a person from the Muslim Brotherhood preaching social justice. A third stage was headed by a Nasserist declaring solidarity with revolutionaries in Libya, Palestine, and Syria.

I had heard many stories in London of people who had witnessed Tahrir Square first hand, and they painted a utopian image of the Square in my mind. They made it seem like a place euphoric place where Egyptians epitomised human creativity, virtues, principles, comradeship, respect, and dignity. They were true to their world. As the influx of people into the Square grew, the scene became so much more vibrant. Despite the various stages chanting different patriotic slogans and playing various revolutionary songs, there was a sense of tranquility and magnificence amongst all the chaos.

The experience took on a divine dimension during Friday prayer. When the call to prayer took place, the square all of the sudden became dead silent. I was awed by how the call to connect with God had unanimously been respected by all, Muslims and Christians alike. As everyone faced al-Qibla, and the Imam who was giving the Friday prayer speech, I thought to myself that this must be what Hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca's Ka'ba must be like. The Imam's sermon focused on the fact that justice must be upheld and that the treason and corruption of the former regime must be persecuted. He also emphasised that we are all Egyptians; it did not manner what political ideology or religious affiliation you ascribed to, we are all Egyptians. He also preached the importance of tolerance and respect of other's opinions. When the Friday prayer took place, it was quite emotional. Many around me began to tear because the Imam had made several invocations to God calling for Him to bring about justice, improve our situation, protect the gains of the revolution, and have mercy on the revolution's martyrs.

After the prayer, the crowds resumed their chanting. It was so crowded on the ground that I could literally feel my rib cage about to be crushed! Despite the hustle and bustle, people were very courteous to one another. Amidst the crowd of men, there was a women who seemed trapped. I wanted to suggest to her that it might be a good idea if she made her way out, but it seemed impossible. Once some of the other men noticed her, they called on everyone to give her space and make a safe passage for her to exit the crowd. It was this respect and chivalry that made Tahrir Square quite a special place.

As I struggled to make my way out of the crowd, I noticed that some photographers stood on the roof of an apartment building. Suddenly, I realised that that would be an ideal location to take panoramic photos of what was going on on the crowd. I wormed my way through the crowd until I finally was able to make it to the sidewalk, where I could finally take a full breath of air. I then scouted the area until I found the building's entrance. I ran up the nine or so stories of the building. To actually make it to the roof involved some unconventional climbing, but I eventually made it. The sight from the building's top was absolutely breathtaking. The scene below appeared to me as if I were staring at a sea of people. Like an ant colony, the demonstrators were miraculously very well organised. As one would expect, the three dominant colours were red, white, and black... From up there, once could see the whole picture. Together, the Egyptian people were a force to reckoned with.

The Realization of Al-Nahda

Yesterday I picked up the latest edition of The Economist magazine, proud to see that the spotlight is on Egypt once again. But something was different about this edition. Upon looking at its cover, something resonated within me. There was something alluring about its title, "The Awakening." At first, I didn't quite realize what attracted me so much to these two words, but I toyed around with the phrase in my mind until it struck me later that night as I flipped the glossy pages of Egypt's contemporary history. The Awakening was finally the realization of Al-Nahda the Arabs have always dreamed about!

I had lived my whole life wondering what the solution to the "Egyptian Problem" would ever be. I was sure there had to be a solution. I was trained as an engineer, a profession all about problem-solving, but for some reason I always felt like the "Egyptian Problem" was unsolvable. What could ever reverse our course of history and return us to our magnificent past, the Golden Age of Islamic Empire and the splendors of Ancient Egyptian civilization? It seemed like we Egyptians, in particular, and Arabs, as a whole, were destined to rot under political repression, ignorance, and poverty. Whenever I travelled abroad, I felt that the world was running. Having lived in China, India, the U.S., and Turkey, I felt like there was so much momentum in these nations. People across the world were racing to gain a competitive edge over one another. Yet, when I returned to Egypt, I didn't feel the same energy and dynamism. Unfortunately, people always thought I was naive because of my optimistic thoughts. They were always pessimistic, looking at the empty half of the glass. I swore to make it my life mission to prove them wrong. Hitherto, I dedicated as much effort and resources as I could to make a positive impact on Egypt and its people.

I have always been inquisitive about Al-Nahda, the period in Arab history deemed to be its Renaissance. The reason this period had such an allure in my mind was because it was quite recent, beginning in the 19th century and lasting through the 20th century. It was the period when we gained our independence from Western colonialism and when Arab political and social thought literature. It was a bold attempt at modernizing the Arab World that manifested itself in the works of Mohamed Abdou, Refeh el-Tahtawi, al-Jabarti, and Ahmed Shawqi. These great men looked at the West and sought to emulate its civilization's great achievements in the Arab World. For the first time in the modern era, the Arabs embarked on an intellectual discourse that sought to define their modern identity while preserving the jewels of their Islamic and cultural heritage. I had the honor of being a student of Professor Sawaie, an expert of Al-Nahda at the University of Virginia, where we read primary sources of what was going on in the minds of Al-Nahda's pioneers. I've always believed that it was Al-Nahda's ethos that would awaken the Arabs and make them realize that they have a pivotal role to play on the world stage.

My confusion about the Egyptian Problem and my dreams of Al-Nahda coming into fruition finally confronted on another on January 25, 2011 when young Egyptians took to the streets to declare to the world that their time has come to take matters into their own hands and emerge. For the past 200 years, no philosopher or public thinker had been able to make a breakthrough significant enough to spark Al-Nahda into reality. Al-Nahda, up to that historic date, had always been a figment of the Arabs' imagination, remaining unrealized in many dusty books and studied only in theory. Finally, its time had come to take birth. The Egyptian youth showed the world that the Arabs and Muslims vie for the same things that the rest of the world needs to live harmoniously, namely prosperity, democracy, and modernization.

The Egyptian Revolution of 2011 had finally answered the Egyptian Problem and sparked the long-awaited beacon of Al-Nahda. The Arabs have finally regained control of their destiny and their consciousness that they are worth something and that they have a crucial role to play in the world as their ancestors did. The Egyptian Revolution has had reverberating effects across the region, with revolutions flaring up from the Atlantic Ocean to the Persian Gulf. Soon, the dictators that have imprisoned the Arabs will fall and their repressive regimes will crumble. It is only then, when we have achieved true free freedom will the Arabs have their say, domestically through democratic systems, and internationally through a true representation of the Arab people's ambitions and aspirations in shaping the new world order.

My Egyptian generation, I salute your bold accomplishments. You have achieved what many men have dreamed of their whole lives but have passed away without seeing come into existence. You have written history with your tears, sweat, and blood. But even more importantly, you have lit the kindle that will ignite the flame of realizing Al-Nahda.

نعم للبرادعي

اليوم قرأت مقالة ثورية على موقع جريدة الصري اليوم عن إقتراحات الدكتور محمد البرادعي لإصلاح و تتوير النظام الديمقراطي في مصر خلال الإنتخبات الرئاسة في ٢٠١١. كل مصري يتمنى أن هذه الإنتخبات ستجعل بداية جديده في تريخ مصر. عندما قرأت عن ترشيح البرادعي، فوجئت أن شخص على مستواه سيشارك في السياسة المصرية. أعتقد أنه يريد إصلاح بلده مثل كل مواطن آخر خاصة بأنه مثقف معروف دوليا.

اقتراحات البرادعي مهمه جدا لآى انخابات ديمقراطي، و هي:

١. تشكيل لجنة مستقلة لتنظيم الانتخبات

٢. إشراف قضائي كامل

٣. رقابة دولية

٤. وضع دستور جديد

اول تلاث نقات مهمة لضمان شفافية الانتخابات. النقطة الرابعة ثورية من وجهة نظري لأن تغير الدستور سيغير الجو السياسي في مصر تماما. اتمنى أن أول تغير في الدستور سيكون حدود على مدة بقاء الرئس فى السلطة و تنفيذ تغيره بعد هذه المدة. هذه من أهم قرارات جورج واشنطن عندما استقال من الرياسة الأمريكية. اظن أن البرادعي ينسخ الدستور الأمريكي و الغربي عندما يقترح: "توازن دقيق ورقابة متبادلة بين السلطات التشريعية والقضائية والتنفيذية، بحيث لا تطغى إحداها على الأخرى.."

و من جانب دور الدين في الدستور، فكرة "الدين للة و الوطن للشعب" قرار مهم. مشكلة الحكومات الدينية و العلمانية مثل إران و تركية إنهم متطرفان و هذا تطرف يخنق الديمقراطية.

Football: The New Form of Nationalism

I have given up my football fanaticism a long time ago. There was a phase in my life in which all that preoccupied my mind was football. I played it, dreamt about it, and followed it wholeheartedly. As I grew, I gradually let this obsession go, just like a child who gives up playing with toys. Lately, I have begun how to realize how a silly hobby such as soccer could have a much deeper meaning for others. Moreover, I am shocked by how ugly a simple sport can become.

I remember being disconcerted after we lost to Algeria in the African Cup of Nations in 2004. I brushed off my disappointment after a day or two. There will be another day when we will win against them, I thought to myself. Of course, supporting the national team is a form of nationalism, but it should never breed hatred. This is what has caught my attention in the past couple of days.

Football has become the new form of nationalist expression worldwide. Tim, a dutch friend of mine, once mentioned that football in Europe has become a substitute the wars that festered all over Europe for much of history until the end of World War II. The Europeans realized that instead of fighting wars on the batter field, they would fight them on the football fields. Yet, this modern type of fighting is marked by sportsmanship, passion, and peace.

Apparently, the Arabs have taken this notion of fighting on the football field a bit to literally. Despite the cultural, religious, and linguistic ties that relate Egyptians to Algerians, the two nations have turned a friendly sport into a bitter conflict. What scares me is how this rivalry has turned into an all-out conflict between the two peoples. Egyptians stone the Algerian team's bus in Cairo, and the Algerians have ransacked Egyptian business in Algeria. This conflict seems contagious with he media and general populations of the respective nations joining in on the ugly frenzy. Whatever happened to our pan-Arabist dreams? How could an Egyptian hate an Algerian (and vice versa) over a football game? In my eyes, this is absolute ignorance.

There is no denying that sports are the new form of rallying people around a national cause. Take the Olympics for example. Competing for that gold medal is like an arms race in and of itself. Just last year, China proved its rising super power status through its unprecedented achievement gathering the most gold medals... Wasn't this how the U.S. and the Soviet Union fought out the Cold War? Peacefully... in the sports arenas of the Olympics...

Instead of using football and sports as a rallying point, we Arabs have used it as a tool to divide us as is the case with Egypt and Algeria. In any case, the two teams play this Wednesday. I pledge my allegiance to Egypt, but I wish Algeria the best of luck and may the best team win. In my opinion, that is what nationalism is all about...the collectivist welfare of the nation. What the Egypt and Algeria need to realize that they are one nation and that the outcome of Wednesday's game will be a win for the Arab nation in either case!

Will there ever be peace?

Its one of those questions that we've grown up asking. One of those questions that envelops the human intellect day and night; one of those questions similar to "Does God exist?" or "Why do we exist?" Now the question I pose shouldn't have the same gravity or existentialist connotation to it, but it seems to be one of those questions that deserves its place in the panthenon of questions about humanity and the divine.

All this pondering began as I was stranded in the traffic rush hour of Istanbul. Enveloped by automobiles of all sort, I flipped through radio channel after radio channel hoping to find something decent. It was one of those days when every song on the radio sucks. I then landed a channel that was playing a pretty groovy Mediterranean beat. I was satisfied and left the channel on for a while. After my ear began picking up the deviance of the lyrics from Turkish, I realized that it was Greek song. What a second...I'm in Turkey listening to a Greek song. Weren't these two nations arch enemies less than a century ago? Don't I always get a look of disappointment whenever I tell a Greek friend that I'll be traveling to Turkey?

As the channel returned to the Turkish commercials, I thought to myself... Will I live to the day when an Israeli song will be aired in Egypt? History seems to blow the sands of time no matter how stagnant they are...Change overtakes all. But will this ever be the case in our region? Its seems that this is one of the questions that the world's greatest intellectuals have failed to answer over the millenia... So do we really have to passively submit to the test of time to answer this question?

A Walk Down Memory Lane in New York

I can't hold my craving to write any longer, especially after watching this movie. I just finished watching The Visitor, a heart-warming movie about a past life of mine. Through the eyes of the protagonist, Tarek, I was able to relive the New York I adored so much. Simply put, the plot is about the daily lives of immigrants in New York City and their dilemma of being stranded between their new home and their past ones... Now I can't say I can relate on this exact level as I will always know where my home is, but this story dealt with the idiosyncrasies of post 9/11 America. NYC, the portal of immigration, the portal to the land of opportunity, the portal to liberty has become a paranoid city after 9/11. Now I can definitely relate in terms of living in New York, pre and post 9/11. The plot of this tale takes a particular twist particularly when shedding light on the lives of Arabs subsequent to 9/11.

With all its ironies, New York will always have a place in my heart. The movie's particular amazing cinematography displayed the diametric contradictions that are inherent in New York. While the Statue of Liberty stands as the beacon of American ideals of freedom, justice, and democracy, the movie shows the very inhumane and unjust facets of American society. I can attest that living in the States for over 7 years as a foreigner, I never felt a sense of belonging except when I was in New York. There is no better way to describe New York than to describe it as the nucleus of the world, where cultures from the four corners of the world are brought together, meshed, and tossed together like the different colorful ingredients of a salad. I could have never imagined living in a more exuberant city than New York... before 9/11... when antagonizing banners where lifted everywhere with the words "We Will Never Forget." It was almost as if we lived in 1984 with Big Brother always watching you. But I would have to say that this paranoia of America has begun to fade away as time passes, so I am optimistic!

But back to the movie...The scenes of the movie were truly like a walk down memory lane for me. In a word, the story is about a college professor fed-up the monotonous life of one of America's college towns, which I can definitely relate to in terms of the stillness of UVa at times...but for the time being, I have come to accept that it is my fate to be here, at least for the time being, so he finds liberation from this dull life by breaking lose in Manhattan... So just when I realized that "I" was the sole determinant of my happiness, I was proven wrong by seeing scenes of Manhattan in the movie, and like flashbacks from distant memories, they made me so content! Scenes of Washington Square of NYU's campus brought back such nostalgia when I used to aspire to attend NYU someday... Oh well, who ever though life would bring me here to UVa...You never know what life has in stock for you...it works in mysterious ways.

The movie chronicles the adventures of this college professor when trying to liberate himself in the city. It is natural to do so because big cities like New York are such a crossroads for different cultures and walks of life that it is so natural that you will run into some spontaneously strange combination of events that will define a new chapter of your life. At least that's what I've learned from my own soul-searching liberation trips to DC. The movie epitomizes this notion so succinctly by bringing together so many different people from different backgrounds. The characters are a combination of a middle-aged white American, a Syrian and Senegalese couple, and a Syrian woman. The crisis of the unfair deportation of the Syrian Tarek is what sets the stage for the remaining unfolding events of the story.

I don't think that there had every been a movie that I could relate to more than this one, especially since what sparks the whole row about Tarek's deportation is his arrest in a NYC Subway station for supposedly jumping a turnstile, which is so coincidental since the only time I had been arrested in my life was during the New Year's eve of the 2003 during which I, Lusuki, and Mike (two of my friends from UNIS) were also arrested for jumping a subway turnstile (fortunately, I did not end up getting deported).

About the whole issue of deportation, I did not like how the Syrians made it seem like it was hell going back the Arab World. I take pride in my home land and wouldn't mind going back, but to make it seem like the worst place on earth was a bit pathetic. I take America for what it is, but I know where my roots belong. But I know the case in Syria might not be sufficient to compare to Egypt. I know that Syria is unfortunately a more oppressive state to live in, but what amazes me is that the Syrian immigrants that I have met here in the United States are some of the most respectable and intellectual people I have come across. Both my Arabic professors here at UVa were Syrians and I owe it to them for making me love my mother language. Imagine the potential that a country like Syria might have if it were not for their draconian government. Its sad to see that Syrians have to settle for less by coming here. Similar to the Syrian characters in the movie, my current Syrian Arabic professor had to seek asylum here in the U.S. for political reasons.

Aside from the lessons I drew from this terrific movie, I learned that one must always explore different channels of learning. I haven't watched a movie since watching The Reader quite sometime ago, simply because I thought movies were a waste of time and that it was through books that I would be able to expose myself to the world and life. I was wrong. Movies open your eyes as you see the lives of characters unfold before you and it is like you are there in New York City living among them. The colors, sounds, voices, music all put you on a stream of consciousness that leads on a unique journey to New York. These two hours of the movie allowed me to relive the four years I had lived in New York, but now seem like such a distant memory. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to come across this movie, which taught me more about myself than I knew a movie could do!

تقدم كتابة وشهر شخصية فدوى طوقان في عالم الأدب العربي

حينما قرأنا قصائد فدوى طوقان في مساق النثر الحديث، أردت أن ابحث عن حياتها الأدبية من خلال مذكراتها و هذه نتيجة:

تقدم كتابة وشهر شخصية فدوى طوقان في عالم الأدب العربي

تعتبر فدوى طوقان من اشهر أداب الشعر العربي في القرن العشرين. حينما كانت مصر المركز الثقافي للكتاب العرب، نجحت فدوى أن تنشر كتابتها خلال علاقتها الشخصية مع جميع نظرائها في مجالات الشعر والرواية العربية. تعترف فدوى أن شهرتها في هذه المجلات بسبب "إخلاصها لمصر العظيمة" حيث قضت جميع عطلها هناك. تأثير مصر على كتابتها ظهر من خلال سحر القاهرة الذي أسس علاقتها النفسية بينها وبين المدينة. علاوة على ذلك، إنتشرت كتابة فدوى من خلال صحافة مصر الأدبية، مثل مجلة "الرسالة". صحافة مصر كانت وسيلة إنتشار قصائد فدوى، وتعرف القراء العرب بشخصيتها.


تشجيع فدوى الأول كان شقيقها، ولكن موته في بداية طريقها الأدبي أثر عليها بشكل عميق عندما تعترف أنه كان "أستاذها ومعلمها الأول والأخير". نلاحظ من هذة المشاعر انها مدينة لشقيقها ولمصر لنجاحها الأدبي. بعد رحيل شقيقها، مردت فدوى "بانعزال خانق" بسبب عدم وجود أي فكر أو ثقافة أدبية في "سجن الحريم والحجاب" التي فرض عليها من خلال المجتمع والبيئة المحافظة في الوضع الراهن في العالم العربي وتعامله بحقوق النساء. في هذا السجن، اكتشفت أن هناك "لا ستسشف من خلال رأيه فيها مدى توفوقي أ فشلي". حينما فرت من هذة البيئة المضرة لطموحها الأدبي، ذهبت فدوى إلى مصر.


عندما ذهبت الى مصر في عام ١٩٦٨ بعد هزيمة النكسة، حلم عمرها، وايضا حلم أي مواطن عربي، تحقّق عندما إجتمعت بالزعيم العظيم جمال عبد الناصر. قبل تحقيق حلمها، كان هناك تفاعل أدبي بينها وبين كتاب مشهورين من مصر مثل فاروق شوشة، وأحمد حسن الزيات، وصلاح عبد الصبور، وأحمد بهاء الدين. هذا التفاعل ساعدها من ناحية تشهير قصائدها في الإذاعة المصرية. شهورة فدوى كان له سبب آخر. مقابلتها مع وزير دفاع إسرائيل ديان سبب أزمة سياسية في العالم العربي. تناقض فدوى رد فعل العرب السخيف عندما تكتب: "فهكذه نحن دائما، نستجيب لردة الفعل السريعة لدينا، دون الوقوف لحظات الخبر أو الحدث للتأمل فيه." برغم ذالك، كثير من الشعراء والمذيعين رحبوا بها عندما زارت دار الإذاعة المصرية. من خلال لقاء فدوى مع الصحفيين، سمعة فدوى إنتشرت حتى سمعت جيهان السادات عن وجودها في مصر، عندما دعتها إلى تناول فنجان شاي. تحدثت فدوى عن لقائها مع ديان.


من خلال كرم السادات، ظهرت فرصة فدوى عندما دعاها الرئيس ناصر في بيته. تصف فدوى مقابلتها مع ناصر بالتفصيل. وصفها عن ناصر مثل ما كنت اتخيل الزعيم في ذهني. توصفه وبيته بصفات مثل: بسيط، متواضع، خالي من أي مظاهر الفخفخة. تصور فدوى ناصر كأب مهتم بأبنائه عندما يسألها عن احوال الفلسطينين في الضفة الغربية. يظهر أن حب ناصر للفلسطينيين وحبهم إليه كان متبادلا لأنهم يهتفون باسمه في المظاهرات. فلسطين أولوية من وجهة نظر ناصر، حتى قبل رجوع سيناء للمصريين. ايضا مذكرات فدوى تبين لنا حال مصر السياسي والإقتصادي. بسبب الغمة، حال مصر الداخلي كان مريعا وكانت تعتمد على مساعدة من الإتحاد السوفييتي. اهم شيء من هذه السيرة الذاتية أن نعرف حال العالم العربي التاريخي. نرى أن إجتماعها مع ناصر سبب موهبتها الشعريه التي تعرضها عندما تعبر عن مشاعر الفلسطينيين تحت الإحتلال. هذه الشهرة ايضا سببت لقائها مع زعماء الشرق الاوسط مثل ديان وأشهر كتاب العالم العربي في وقتها.

Egypt Needs Systems Engineering

As I stood in the queue to purchase a metro ticket at exactly 7:30 am in Heliopolis's Kobba El Saray station, I could not believe that Cairo could be so serene. This was of course before the hustle and bustle of the rush hour. I awaited in a short line to purchase my 1 L.E. ticket to board the punctual metro that would take to Midan el Tahrir, where I would attend another day of classes at the American University in Cairo. Just as I was about to conclude that that Cairo could have its tranquil moments, a Cairene bumbs into me, actually pushes me, cuts the short queue and starts shouting at me for "standing in the way." I began to question his logic, before the strangest thing happened. Another Cairene cuts the two of us and the two men begin quarreling about who should be first in line. As I stood back watching them in bewilderment, I could not understand how they could get so worked up at such an early hour and how were both at fault. The one thing that stuck me in their aggressive dialogue was that the word "system" was thrown around nonchalantly by the two of them. One would remark, "The system is broken!" And the other would reply, "The is no system, brother!" Anyways, by the time they settled who'd be first to purchase the one pound ticket, the 7:30 metro passed all three of us.

Ever since my youth, there have always been criticisms of this abstract notion called "the system"? No one ever really pinpointed what this idea was. It was one of those up-in-the-air notions that everyone criticized when they were frustrated. Whether it was the cab drivers, the politicians, the economists, or my uncles after dinner, the same debate would circulate around how the system is broken. Ever since my youth, I had wished to know exactly what the problem was so I understand its nature to find the solution. The fact that we in Egypt have never defined what the problem is in essence our problem! Apparently, the system and its subsystems (be it the educational or political system) are in peril in Egypt.

Always, there are complaints about the system's incompetence, intricacy, bureaucracy, lack of vision, . All of these factors undermine Egypt's potential to mobilize its people into a productive, efficient, and powerful force. This is detrimental to the state's allocation of resources to efficient use. This is the reason why Egypt is always struggling to stay afloat when it comes to providing for its citizens and making leaps in economic development. Now I can go on and on listing the problems, but that doesn't contribute to finding a solution for them. In a word, the problem is that we need an organized and efficient system that can allocatively and productively bring Egypt to its full capacity.

I commend Prime Minister Nazif's efforts for achieving Egypt's ranking as the number 1 reformer in the world in 2008, but all that Egypt has been focusing on thus far is structural reform. Structural reform of the economy is like shuffling around a deck of cards. You create new industries, they emerge, they grow, and they die. Its a life cycle. The trends of growth are known by economists to be that of moving people out of agriculture into industry, creating new smart villages, stimulating the economy via fiscal policy, shedding workers out of corporations, etc... These economic tools are effective for short-term improvements in the socio-political status of the country, yet these structural changes are merely an effort to beat around the bush and not address the source of the problem, which is the need for systematic change. Systematic change has a much broader perspective and is comprised of economic, social, political, and cultural institutions.

The System is comprised of the rules and practices that constitute the economic behavior. The system is what needs to undergo change. The aim of our system is to change is so that it can become more integrated to the world economy so that the best practices are implemented. Egypt is a welfare state that relies on government that isn't always capable of always providing for its citizens. This is when the government needs to play less of a role by retain the role of establishing the ground rules for markets to determine the rules of the business game and punish those who endorse undesirable behavior. The government must only play the role of the "watchful eye" that Obama mentioned in his inaugurations speech and not favor some over the others when it comes to providing opportunities.

I understand that I have taken a purely economic perspective in this analysis, but my aim is to convey the message that Egypt's System is comprised of a set of powerful interconnected factors that if only one of the subsystems is addressed with without regard to the "whole", then fixing the system will be a futile effort. Therefore, tinkering with a few subsets of the system will not yield sufficient change to the whole system. Everything from the way children are raised to how industries needs to be taken into consideration so as to revamp the whole program.

No excuses can be made to avoid blame of our incompetence. We cannot escape from our past. When our Mubarak uses the argument that Egypt is so underdeveloped because it had endured many wars in the past, I say look to the Japanese who had suffered the atomic bomb. Look where they are now. Look at the Chinese who had endured the wrath of Mao's terror during the Cultural Revolution. Look where they are now. These nations have revamped their system and decided to join the ranks of the civilized industrialized nations. In order to accomplish this marco-level revamping, we need what I call systems or social engineers.

My keen interest in the field of Systems Engineering was essentially to fix the problem that the "system" entails. I remember that I was once laughed by the mayor of Fairfax when I responded to his inquiry of what I wanted to do after graduation by telling him that I was interested in policy making. In America, engineers are taken to be introverted technical personnel that are referred to by policy makers. Whereas in the developing world it is the engineers that have come to lead. Technocratic governments are the new trend when it comes to countries like China and Egypt. It is through the technical tools that we acquire in our rigorous engineering disciplines that enable us to solve societal problems within a technology-scoped framework. I think it is our responsibility to solve this "system problem" through problem solution mindsets in this Information Age.

It is Systems Engineering that bridges the gap between the human and the machine in the effort to revamp the institutions of a nation from its attitude, psychology, social behavior, within the framework of modern institutions, such as the rule of law to discourage undesirable behavior. What is most important in the case of Egypt is respect for the law. People must understand that working within the framework of the system is in their advantage and that cheating the system is detrimental. Moreover, the great compromise will be for the government to serve the nation instead of opposite.

I truly pray that my studies in Systems Engineering are not in vain and that I may someday be able to pursue my dream of participating in the movement that will put Egypt back among the ranks of the world's key players both economically and politically. Obviously the aforementioned are the ramblings of a 3rd year Systems Engineering student, but hopefully they may sow the seeds for the changes that I dream to see in Egypt one day.

Obama, I'm Finally Listening

So the pessimist cynic in me was just waiting for this whole Obama fad to pass by so that we could return to reality. I remember sleeping through what will be deemed the most memorable moment of the decade, if not the century, the election of Barak Obama. While America was raving for their new prince charming president, I was busy reading some radical communist doctrine. I was sure nothing would change. Sure, America might better itself under Obama, but the world will remain in peril as long as America flexes, its muscles, I thought to myself. We of the Middle East, I thought to myself, are hopeless. America has its dogmatic neoconservative agenda, and it will carry it out regardless of who's in the white house. I was like the three monkeys, each of whom would either cover their eyes, close their ears, or shut their mouth. I was completely indifferent to what was going on regarding the elections. As a foreigner, I thought to myself, this is "their" election and it should concern me. Deep down inside, I was jealous that the Americans could enjoy such a sound electoral system, where as we, those of the Arab World, would never be able to enjoy such liberty in the near future.

At the same time, I had been thinking to myself, who out there could possible set a role model when it came to my future aspirations to lead? My admiration for the likes of Che Guevara, Nasser, Nekruma, Nehru, and other revolutionaries of the 20th centuries has not waned the slightest bit, but I have come to realize that their ideologies aren't necessarily compatible with today's times. So I looked around me...Sarakozy, Putin, and Gordon all seem like laughable jokes! Was this ideal that I'd been searching for all along before my eyes? Could it really have been the guy I'd been so skeptic about this whole time? Could it have been Obama?

I never really knew much about Obama or his beliefs as a politician. The revolutionist in me only paid attention to Obama whenever he was compared to having socialist tendencies. In any case, my thought was that he must be the lesser of the two evils when it came down to him running against McCain. I only started paying attention to how Obama's intentions truly aligned with mine when visiting Washington DC during the inauguration weekend. Never in my life had I seen so many people rally in the streets from one man. I thought the days of popular support for figures like Gandhi, as one can still see in the black and white documentaries, were long gone. I was proven wrong on the 18th of January when walking across the national monumental "Mall" in Washington DC.For the pre-Inauguration party that I attended with several friends who study in DC, I had never in my life seen so many people from so many different walks of life, creeds, and ethnicities come together to celebrate one man. The Lincoln memorial was like the colosseum Rome, with trumpets horning to celebrate the glory of an empire. After some entertaining shows put on by U2, Beyonce, Usher, and Shakira came the moment the million or so people had been waiting for, Obama's oration .

Obama's reference to America's ancestors is a clear reminder of the foundations on which this empire is founded. He gives the Americans purpose of existence, hope, motivation, and inspiration for this country to move forward. It is this nationalism and values of freedom and equality that American is built on, which Obama reminds Americans where they came from. He reminds America of its ingenuity, innovativeness, prosperity, and grandeur that is incomparable in the world. This is the power of America that can prove to be an unprecedented in history. Could America's ability to renew itself, to repeat a renaissance every couple of decades, prove to be essential to allow this empire to never face a decline or collapse as every other empire in history has experienced?

Obama has inspired me. I am not another political sheep who follows the herd, but after hearing Obama live and feeling the energy in the crowd, I am convinced that an idealist revolutionary is now in the rightly crowned the most powerful man in the world. He gives hope and motivation to all to strive to defy reality to fulfill the ideal. I am convinced that this is a new era that every human being should look forward to, that the world's leading superpower is now steering a new course than the one it has led for the past decade. I am optimistic. Even if Obama can't go through with all of his promises, I am convinced that his mere aura is one that gives hope to revive a nation and a world. I am inspired that if we can import this inspiration and hope from a country like America to the Arab World that we can bring about justice, egalitarianism, and a reason for the oppressed to rise and stand up for their rights. Finally, by lending an ear to an inspiration to Obama, I myself am inspired to work for a better future for me, for Egypt, and for the world.