Summer Escapes to Egypt’s North Coast: Where the Heat is Only Half the Story

Summer vacations on the North Coast of Egypt are like an annual pilgrimage for Cairo's elite, a journey that combines the raw beauty of the Mediterranean with the simple goal of escaping the city’s unbearable heat. It’s the sort of place where men don their flashiest swimming trunks, women sport wide-brimmed hats that double as solar panels, and everyone pretends that the sunscreen they're slathering on is a fashion statement rather than a desperate plea to the sun gods.

At the heart of this ritual is Hacienda, Marassi, and all the other gated slices of paradise that dot the coast, where sand is imported, and so is the attitude. Here, every lounge chair tells a story of triumph over the urban grind—never mind that the triumph sometimes looks like a carefully choreographed dance of Instagram poses and competitive beach volleyball.

You see, the North Coast is not just about the sea and the sun. It’s a test of endurance, a survival course in overcooked barbecues, night-long beach parties, and dodging rogue beach balls. It’s where a serene afternoon dip can be rudely interrupted by the deafening roar of a Jet Ski—or worse, an impromptu concert by someone who has mistaken their karaoke machine for a musical gift.

Then there's the quest for the perfect tan, which is practically a contact sport. You can always spot the newbies—they're the ones who apply SPF 50 at 9 AM and think they're safe. By noon, they're the color of a well-cooked lobster and huddled under an umbrella, cursing the sun, the sand, and the guy who sold them the "authentic" aloe vera that smells suspiciously like household cleaner.

Dining on the North Coast is another experience altogether. Restaurants compete for the title of "most exclusive reservation," a game that’s part art and part combat sport. Your standing in the community can be measured by how effortlessly you can secure a table at the latest hotspot, where the fish is flown in daily from places that sound exotic but are actually just the Cairo Fish Market with a better PR team.

And let’s not forget the kids, who are herded into endless loops of swim lessons, soccer games, and the occasional sandcastle competition that somehow turns into a fierce debate over zoning regulations. The real heroes are the grandparents, who are deployed as the summer’s uncredited lifeguards and dispute mediators, proving once again that retirement is not a vacation—it’s an unpaid internship.

But for all the chaotic bliss, there is something deeply comforting about the North Coast’s unchanging rituals. It’s where old friends reconnect over shisha and backgammon, where love blossoms under starry skies, and where even the most harried urbanites find a moment of peace—if only between the third espresso martini and the first reluctant phone check for work emails.

So here’s to the North Coast of Egypt, where the heat is relentless, the Wi-Fi is patchy, and the memories are sun-kissed and sand-sprinkled. It’s not perfect, but then again, neither is the ideal summer—it's just the perfect excuse to escape, unwind, and return to Cairo two shades darker and ten times more stressed about your inbox. But that's a problem for September.

Zarzour a.k.a. Tarek Labib

You had just arrived to Cairo from California.

It was Ramadan of 1999 or 2000 and something. My wonderful sister Shahira invited you, and your pony tail, for Iftar at my mother's house. I was the only family member and invitee fasting.

Shahira told us that she was inviting a very interesting architect friend of hers who had just arrived to Egypt, and who knew no one here. She wanted to make you feel at home at our family place.

What a non-conformist, funny looking, broken Arabic speaking, fat, awkwardly suspender dressed , environment friendly, non-fasting man you were!!

I endured several hours of very humorous observations you made of our country, especially during Ramadan, and of how Egypt had changed. "You are still fasting in this day and age ya Ismain"? you asked me a minute before Iftar. I wanted to bite your ear off, but restrained myself because I was still fasting.

You spoke about California and your life there. You spoke about your family, and how you loved your brother Hesham. You talked of how you had a yearning to meet your long lost friends, and make an environmentally architectural  difference in Egypt . You spoke about your mother and your relationship with her . The lengthy diatribe reminded me of the archetypical American passenger spilling his heart out while sitting next to him in an economy seat on a flight from New Zealand to New York. I wanted to murder you.

After, the Iftar was over I told Shahira "When on earth are you going to stop befriending these social misfits"?

This social misfit became one of my closest and dearest friends, and family member, ever since. Does this sound familiar to you too?

Zarzour's story is classic. We all have a Zarzour, or Zarzours, that come across our way in our lives. They epitomise how we are all conditioned to assess, define and classify the people we meet. They turn out to be none of the Zarzours we had judged during our first encounter.

Funny looking: You were definitely not. I think you were the coolest looking guy on this planet.

Broken Arabic speaking: I could listen to you talk for hours in your broken accent. You were so much more coherent, knowledgeable, interesting, charming, and genuine than the most eloquent Arabic speaking men of our times.

Fat: Yes, you were fat. After knowing you, I didn't see fat. We talked a lot about our love of food. I jog 6 km 4 times a week. You walk them in a year. Who is happier? Our conclusion was that we are both happy with the way we are. It is not about how long we live, but the quality of how long we live.

Awkwardly dressed:  You looked trendy in anything you wore.

Environment friendly: Very fitting that the Paris Climate Change Conference was held a couple of days before your moving on. Your home in Abou Sir is an environment friendly masterpiece. You are a genius when it comes to building environment friendly homes. There is not enough space in this ode to you to enumerate your observations and recommendations on how to build today's age homes. Walking in to your abode was a revelation. I consider myself privileged to have had the honour to enter, eat, sleep and enjoy this wonderful place you humbly called home. A true masterpiece in architectural and interior design. A work of genius. You are the Van Gogh of environment friendly architecture. You unfortunately shall be immortalised for your design long after you have left us. I don't think people are yet able to understand where you were going with your designs. You are way ahead of our times. My heart bleeds for another lunch, cooking your flowers, and enjoying your home and friends.

Tarek's Abou Sir Masterpiece

Non Fasting: No comment.

Last Wednesday you didn't show up for dinner.  It was a dinner you would never miss. One of the Pop Up dinners we enjoyed together so much!! Your seat remained empty till we all went home. You called in to say you didn't feel well. Don't we all sometimes? Yet the lesson I now have unfortunately learned is to always go back to check on a friend who is unwell. Never leave an unwell friend alone. Never, ever, if you truly care.

They say that our souls linger around for several days after we die. If they are right, then let us all say a little soft and gentle prayer for Zarzour. Let us wish you a lovely journey onwards and send you a ray of tender loving light. You deserve it our friend. You gave us days of your loving light, it is time we returned some of ours.

We will not mourn your loss, but we will celebrate your life. We will hold a party in your honour in a  place you loved dearly. We will sing and laugh and remember you, because we have not left you, despite you leaving us.

Please be there for us when it is our time. There will not be a lovelier, gentler, warmer, welcoming, and loving face to see on the other side.

The Zarzour and I

The sweetest of all plums !

My Dearest Magda,

You are on your way on a wonderful, beautiful journey we shall all definitley take either the next breath, the next minute, hour, or day.

You are not alone. Fear not the journey. Enjoy the ride until we can catch up with you. I have always wanted certain people to welcome me on the other side when my time is one day up. You weren't one of them because I never expected your leaving us so soon. But now I definitely want you to be there for me, welcoming me with that beautiful warm smile of yours.

I am therefore speaking on behalf of myself, and a little for all those who know you.

I shall not speak on behalf of your husband, sons, or sisters. They have much, much bigger volumes to say.

To me your, family name always spoke wonders of you. No one can be more of a plum than you ya Bar2ou2a :)

The first thing that comes to mind is the sweetness of the plum. No one is sweeter than you Magda and sweetness permeates. You have been such an easy person to know. Sweetness is also very infectious, and that is why anyone who lived around you also became sweet. Omar, is a typical case where you made such a huge impact on his life. His success came from the serenity you managed to bring to his busy and hectic world.

The second attraction of the plum is its roundness. You have always enjoyed a well rounded life ya Magda. You have never done anything in excess. The universe does not like squares, and anything round is welcomed. Therefore, for anyone who came in contact with you, knows how easy going and amenable you are to all living creatures. There was also always that glint of mischievousness in your eye because you are fun loving, which is a great gift. A well rounded character can also only live this way.

The third virtue of the plum is its seed. You are leaving behind wonderful seeds. I personally adore them. Your beautiful belly cooked them well and many on this earth have grown to love your sweet products. They too have chosen two girls who have been cooked in a lot of love. A mother wants nothing more than to see her sons happily wed to women who will love and cherish them. Rima and Alix will be just that. Their bellies have had a chance to talk to yours, and they too shall produce beautiful offspring. I just know the first girl will be a Magda, who will carry your torch of happiness, acceptance, and joie de vivre!!!

So dearest sweet Magda, we will be there with Omar and your family saying good bye to you. We will also continue to enjoy life and always celebrate knowing that you will be there. You are just going on a trip and all I can say is "au revoir" and a "bientôt".

Tons of love and sweet blessings to you.

Seifallah Fahmy

Pray for an Egyptian Lee Kuan Yew

The Egyptian political scene so far looks desolate.

There are too many feeble political parties. They have not been able to come up with an ideology appealing to the masses. None of our existing parties can put forth a candidate of their own for the upcoming presidential elections. None of them have the funds to support a presidential candidate. None of them have the funds to win a majority in the next parliamentary elections.

These parties are not to blame. It takes time for political leaders to mature and recognize how the political game needs to be played.

This does not bode well for Egypt. Why?

Sixty five percent of our population is below the age of thirty five.  Some people see it as a problem. I see it as a gold mine. They need to be given hope and nobody is giving them that. Neither a political party nor a presidential candidate has been able to appeal to our youth.

We luckily now have a constitution which unambiguously defines his or her role, and limiting the term to two four year terms. This might be the first ray of hope that things might be on track. Yet the majority of our youth didn't vote for it. Skeptical as they may be, I foresee it will one day be an invaluable tool in their hands. This is how they will keep our leaders in check.

Therefore, we now must only wait for our presidential elections and hope and pray that our next President is a Lee Kuan Yew. I hope our candidates study this Singaporean leader well. This man managed to rescue Singapore from desolation. He turned it into an Asian economic powerhouse and a vibrant democracy. In this day and age we however can do well without his caning policies and unique autocratic idiosyncrasies. 

The only difference between our future Egyptian president and Lee Kuan Yew (apart from one being a constitutional president and the other a prime minister) is the decade in which they will govern. Mr. Yew didn't have tech savvy, internet connected, social media linked, politically opinionated, and this many economically deprived youth. Ours will. After both revolutions of 25 January and 30 June we all know what our youth are adept at.

I hope our presidential candidates make sure to address the needs and aspirations of our youth as a top priority in their programs. For them employment is their urgent and most imminent need, and a move towards oppression their worst fear. They need a well-defined economic program that will employ the maximum number of our young women and men. They need clear programs of future democratization.

The candidate then may be, may be, able to win over the trust and hearts of our youth.

Believe In Our Youth

These past three years must have been the worst of my life.

The pressures, the burdens, and the sheer daily will power to hang on and not skip country have been enormous. To wake up, and go to work to businesses crumbling because of a depressed economy. To look in to the faces and eyes of your hundreds of lifelong employees and to not fire them because they are your family. To pay them salaries from your life long savings in the belief that life will be one day be good again. Just believing in that is a heck of a burden.

To think of the future of your family. Can I maintain the standard of living I have provided them? Will I be able to provide them for the needs they are accustomed to?

Yet, you and I have held on to our faith that things will get better. You and I did not move to Canada, the USA, or Dubai. We are sticking it out here. Why do we do it midst what most people perceive as total chaos, anarchy, and hopelessness? Because we believe in our genetic composition.

We as, Egyptians have brought to the world one of the most beautiful civilizations humanity has ever known. We have given humanity the breadth of wealth in all sciences while humanity was foraging from trees and hunting wild animals. We built temples and pyramids that have withstood the test of the ages as symbols of our humanity. Those genes live on. We are Egyptians, and we are proud of it. We have been ruled by Monarchs and Queens. Hatshepsut and Nefertiti, and even Cleopatra who we considered our own. We had women rulers, while everywhere else women were held in the abyss of ranks in human society.

Now to put things in to perspective we actually have things going pretty well for us.

Would you please entertain just for a second the thought of what the world would be like if a German General toppled Hitler because he believed he was evil? Sixty million lives would have been saved. Imagine if one of those lives was your son, daughter, wife, sister or mother or father? We have a general who did.

My son goes to college overseas and I don't have to worry that he will be one of the 37 million who had to go to war and die in World War I or of the 60 million who died in World War II. Therefore these are definitely good times.

These are times to think positively. We can debate all day on who should, or should not, be president. We should fight abuses by the police, we should fight for the rights of our women and youth. But we should do all of that believing in our genetic make up and that we shall come out of this better. We need to keep working to bring this country back on track. We need to give hope to the youth who are under 35 who make up 65% of our population.  We need to give the youth who have fled Egypt a reason to come back.

Youth is our hope.

Believe in our youth.

Our Children

 

How far back does your memory go?
Be honest, because we sometimes look back at a picture or a video of our childhood experiences and think we remember it?
“We know that having language can be very important to memories because in having words for our experiences, we can talk about them, repeat them, and structure them” say some experts.
So do we start remembering from 3 or 7?
That is really not the point I am trying to make. For those of you who have children as old as mine, 25, 22, and 2 (that excludes a whole bunch of you) I am asking this question because our eldest children only hear from my friends what great parents we were. They don't remember how great we were!!!!
Mona and I were absolutely great parents. We sacrificed everything for the well being of our children. A sacrifice that was done with a lot of heart, and no misgivings whatsoever. We did it willingly and without the least of regret. Do our children remember those moments? No. We only have the pictures and videos to prove our love? Yes.
When they were old enough to remember fully, they didn't want to be with us. We would implore them to go on this, or that, trip. The answer was always no. We would gladly take their friends along, but the answer was always no.
Now that I have a two year old and watch myself drool, and dribble, over his highness I remember my previous experience with my older children.
My advice now would be the same. Give, give and give and don't expect any appreciation. None is warranted. You are giving because they deserve to be given to. Not because they are your own but because they have no one but you, for the time being.
That’s a fact that sometimes makes me sad, since I now cherish Shams's company, as I did Zein and Aly's,  time together so dearly. But remember that conscious, autobiographical (also known as “explicit”) memories are only the tip of the iceberg. “Implicit,” or unconscious, recollections shape us too. The truly important and formative memories are the ones we don’t have words for — the ones that are logged somewhere deep in our children’s brains. That’s where our kids learn that they are loved, that relationships bring them joy, and that people can be trusted.
No, my children probably won’t always remember the time when we rolled in the grass, or when I carried my daughter day in, day out, to the beach in Agami, and we all laughed. When I swam with Aly in the pool to attack Captain Hook, or when I carry Shams in to his favorite "Aquamium" in Gouna, or when Sabrine and I smother him with kisses on his way to his first day of school.  But what they will remember is that their favorite people always take care of them, relationships are intimate and fun, and life is good.
Peace and love to all of you who are in our shoes!

Insignificant Pain

At 3:15 am today I heard my 2 year old son Shams scream my name. I was in my bedroom five meters away from his. It was an unusual beckon. One of a child who has had a bad, very bad, dream. A nightmare. Even these little angels have them?

I jump out of bed and run towards his room. I am half asleep in my quest to hold my baby in my arms to comfort him an to tell him that everything is alright. I am here for you my son, don't worry. Yet all of a sudden I find myself sliding on the bedroom carpet and falling headlong into a low table. I hear a crack and and sense extreme pain in my left hand. Yet I get up convinced I just had a bad fall and scurry on towards his room. Right before I open his bedroom door I feel something very warm gushing down my hand . I lift my hand, and now the warm sensation is transferred towards my elbow. Something red was oozing down towards my arm and elbow. What is this? Blood? Impossible! This is a dream. Why am I bleeding?

I hear Shams's nanny enter his room. She will comfort him and I recoil into the bathroom to asses the damage.

I look at my hand and in horror see that my thumb has been half severed and a white bone is protruding out of my skin. My thumb is sadly listing at a forty five degree angle towards the left. My childhood dream was to be a doctor. For many reasons I cannot delve in to here, I did not become one. So I curiously looked in to the protruding bone and bleeding and  listing thumb. It didn't bode well. I have never broken a bone in my body before. This is a calamity! Will I be able use my thumb again? This is new to me, and my mind starts pacing, and racing. What do I do now? What do I do now?  It is Friday dawn in Cairo. Do I call a family member or doctor friend for assistance? No. Don't bother someone at 4 am in the morning with something like this. I decide to go to the Dar El Fouad Hospital emergency unit.

I wrap my thumb in four layers of  Kleenex, jump in the car and furiously drive towards 6th October City. 

Four police blocks later I arrive at Dar El Fouad. 

It is now 4:30 am and the pain is excruciating. I enter the Emergency Unit. I see the resident doctor. He sees my predicament. In two minutes a nurse asks me a list of medical questions, I am tagged with a bracelet, I am bar coded, I am X-Ray-ed and I am in a very familiar room tended by the young and just awakened Dr. Maged. He is a young, handsome, very intelligent emergency unit surgeon. I feel relieved he is young. I have so much faith in today's youth. He professionally tells me that this procedure will hurt from the moment he will inject my thumb with an anesthetic, to the moment he re aligns my bones in my thumb. He proceeds and makes nine stitches to seal the wound.. He has therefore very well managed my expectations. I groan and moan while he does what he promised to do. I am X-Ray-ed again and the thumb is back in place.

I am left alone in the room to await someone to escort me out. I cry. I cry floods of tears. The awakening of my child at 3:15 am that led to my destruction of my thumb, that lead me to the journey to reach Dar El Fouad also lead to another experience.

While I thought that my thumb was the most important thing to my existence, and while I was wallowing in self pity and grief, and blaming the universe for my misfortune, a very young woman is rolled in to the berth right next to me. She is pregnant. Her colour is the colour of a lemon. Her facial features beautiful, yet immobile. She looks like she is in another world. I try to look in to her eyes, but her eyes do not see. A nurse rushes to close the curtains between our berths and we are separated. I hear the doctors talking. She is a four month pregnant woman who passed away before she was even brought in to the hospital. They don't know the medical reasons for her death. They make assumptions It is a cold, methodological, clinical assessment of the situation. These are two souls who are no longer with us. A mother and an "in body" child? Can there be a tragedy worst than this?

I try to be as empathetic and compassionate as  I can with this beautiful soul, yet I can't. Her grief is overwhelming. Here she is is, so young, so expecting, yet so far gone away from our world.? 

Her mother enters the room and starts wailing. She is hugging her daughter, and grandchild,  in utter disbelief.

My thumb pain and my predicament now seem so dwarfed by the magnitude of this tragedy I am now witnessing. I was ashamed for being in pain! What trivial pain can I be in? What self pity am I wallowing in? What grief is this mother experiencing this moment? Unfathomable !

Now the tears are freely rolling. I empathize, I understand, and I am silent..

Thoughts on the Bassem Youssef Show aired on Friday 25 October 2013

The Egyptian John Stewart

Societies most confident of their principles and of the loyalty of their members have allowed the greatest freedom from censorship. In societies whose values have not been fully accepted by their people or, whose leadership rests on shaky foundations, the heaviest hand of censorship has fallen. The relative prevalence of censorship is one of the features that has most distinguished autocratic from democratic societies.

For those of you who presume have very good motives to censor the Bassem Youssef show, the fact that this censorship may have a laudable ulterior purpose cannot mean that censorship is not censorship.

I watched the show in its entirety. There are quite a few segments which made me also cringe, but others (like the song and dance) were a masterpiece.

I will summarize the reasons why people have objected to the Bassem Youssef show from what I have read on Facebook, Twitter,and what I have seen and heard in our Egyptian media:

Your form of censorship operates on the assumption that the thoughts, feelings, opinions, beliefs and fantasies of human beings ought to be a subject of moral judgment and ultimately social and government action.

You believe that this censorship is a necessary obligation of the authority to protect the moral and social order.

You believe that the objectionable material proposed by Bassem Youssef may be considered immoral or obscene, heretical or blasphemous,seditious or treasonable, or injurious to the national security. Thus, the rationale for censorship is that it is necessary for the protection of three basic social institutions: the family, the mosque or church, and the state.

You believe that the minds of those who would be subjected to the ideas to be censored are not capable of seeing the falsity and would be led astray.

What are you really trying to protect?

Censors talk about "VIRTUE" -- really means"conform to the opinions, beliefs and values that they and theirs hold and which they would like to see enforced throughout the land."

Censorship REALLY "serves to protect the predominant ideology from which those benefit most who have attained power, wealth, status,and control within society." Censors seek to protect the prevailing ideology not because society would collapse, "but because it serves to legitimize their eminence and the various social, political and economic arrangements they oversee."

Why are Censors wrong?

They cannot define with clarity what is blasphemous, obscene, or seditious expression. Clear definitions and standards are rarely publicized prior to the arrest, prosecution and conviction of those accused of illicit expression.

They cannot demonstrate that the material "actually poses a danger to society."

Censors have to "forcibly suppress" because they cannot "convincingly demonstrate" that the material is false or harmful.

Censorship arises when and precisely because someone cannot convincingly demonstrate to others that the opinions which offend him or her are indeed truly false or dangerous. If they could, there would after all be little or no need for censorship.

What are the consequences of censorship?

The fact is that censorship always defeats its own purpose, for it creates, in the end, the kind of society that is incapable of exercising real discretion. ... In the long run it will create a generation incapable of appreciating the difference between independence of thought and subservience.

Censorship that hinders peaceable opposition to the government in the short run creates the long-run danger of violent opposition.

By suppressing reform the censorship may transform it into a revolution.

Every censorship produces a technique of evasion as wellas a technique of administration.

It is a notorious fact that censorship, or the threat of censorship, may make the fortune of a TV show, film, book or play which might otherwise have failed to win public attention.

For the real evil in the world comes not from the likes of Bassem Youssef, but from those so convinced of the absolute rightness of their opinions and beliefs that they would impose what they think and feel upon others. It is they who must account for their actions. For it is they who are most definitely in the wrong, and from whom little good ever comes.

Solution:

Let the Judicial system take its course. With a proper constitution, and a country governed by the “Rule of Law” there will be no need for a censor. Everyone would be held accountable by the courts which represent the true will of the people. OR: simply don't watch the show next time!

Sources: Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, U.S. Supreme Court, Academic A Encyclopedia, Harry White, "Anatomy of Censorship, International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, Henry Steel Commager and me!

Why You Should Not Trust The Salafi's

We were fourteen parties, last year, in a meeting with SCAF to put together a constitutional committee to write a new constitution for Egypt.
There had been a major rift between the El Nour leadership. Instead of Emad Abdel Ghafour, the head of the party, two new faces were among us: Moustapha Khalifa, and Younes Makhioun were now representing the El Nour Party in the meeting.
The meeting started at 9am and lasted through till 9pm. The discussions around the names and the representation of the constitutional committee had lasted for 10 days. Today we were putting the final touches to it. The last touches took us over ten hours. The major players in the negotiations surprisingly were Ayman Nour (El Ghad El Thawra party)  and El Sayed El Badawi (Wafd Party). They were the best prepared for this meeting because they had stayed up the night before , till the wee hours of the morning, in the Maadi Sofitel Hotel negotiating with the Political Islam parties the names to be proposed for the constitutional committee. There was a lot of rancor towards these negotiators by the remaining members of the meeting because we were excluded from this late night meeting. Anger was put aside for the better good of this extremely important historic meeting.
The negotiations were difficult and prolonged. A lunch break was taken in the afternoon. Haggling and negotiations prevailed during the lunch. Several tea breaks were taken during the afternoon discussions. This was to give us a chance to contact our party leadership for consultation on the names of the proposed members of the committee.
By 8pm we were all extremely exhausted and we finally reached consensus on the names of the constitutional committee. Fifty percent of the names agreed upon were pro a secular constitution and the remaining fifty were pro a political Islam constitutional committee.
The last tea break was taken before we were to go out to relay the breakthrough news to the hundreds of reporters waiting for us in the Ministry of Defense courtyard since noon.
We got back to the conference room for the closing session. Then Moustapha Khalifa requested to make a statement. Field Marshal Tantawi gave him the word. Mr. Khalifa in a very soft and docile voice dropped his bombshell statement. He told us that the Salafi's elected him and his party in to power solely on the premise that they will uphold Sharia in their governance. The new constitution must be written in accordance with Sharia law and nothing else. He therefore could not accept a constitutional committee that did not have a majority of 51% members belonging to political Islam! The rest is history.
This is where the Salafis stand. The political romantics who believe they are more benign than the Muslim Brotherhood are strongly mistaken. I fully agree with those calling for the disbanding of political parties whose origins are built on a religious premise. Once we have our next parliamentary elections, which will be based on a well written constitution, will we be able to take the Salafists demands in to consideration. Prior to that, they should not keep us hostage by threatening to side with the deposed President and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Predictions for the 30th of June protest outcomes are galore!

Political Pundits Abound

Political naiveté prevails.

We shall wake up on June 30th and witness thousands of truly patriotic people marching in to the streets. Myself included. The rioters shall demand for the departure of  President Morsi and demand for early presidential elections. I agree with all of you who see he has used his election to cement a totally un-democratic rule of lawlessness in a country desperately in need of the rule of law. I too cannot watch his speeches, or follow his narrative. He is unfit to be the president of this great nation. However he is the first, so called, "democratically" elected President of Egypt.

There may be confrontations between the peaceful marchers and Islamists. Incriminations will abound. The old NDP and their cronies will be suspect, so will the Political Islamists with their conniving Machiavellian orchestrators. The riots may last a few days and there may be some blood shed. In the absence of a strong police force the military may be asked to intervene, and they shall intervene. They shall intervene to break up the bloodletting and they will go back to their barracks. Under no circumstance shall they revolt against the President. They shall keep the status quo until the next presidential elections. So for those of you who have hopes for a military coup, I hate to disappoint you. There shall be none. The military shall only intervene once the hungry masses start revolting against the regime for not providing the very basic of their needs. This day will inevitably arrive, based on the totally incompetent governance performance of Political Islam in power.

Therefore our survival as a nation depends on the enlightened many of our youth, and the seasoned younger politicians, to come up with a well versed, authentic political ideology. One that people can relate to. One that embraces secularism and liberalism yet proposes it in a moderate Islamic language appealing to the people, and especially the youth. This ideology shall be embraced by a party. A party of the people, led by the youth, clean seasoned politicians, intellectuals, and technocrats of Egypt. Then comes the most important, most crucial, and most essential part. Raising money. There is no political system in the world which is not funded. The successful political parties are heavily funded, while the marginal ones are underfunded. The only reason Political Islam has been successful is because their coffers are extremely full. They also know how to obtain their funds through avenues we are totally unfamiliar with. The MB spent over 600 million Egyptian Pounds  just only on the presidential elections. As we speak, they have already mobilized in all Governorates in preparation for the Parliamentary elections. Hundreds of millions are being lavished on the unsuspecting majority of Egyptians who can barely survive on a day's meal. The Salafis are equally funded. Wahabi Saudi Sheikhs are on a vendetta path with Qatar because of its funding of the Brotherhood. Furthermore, they firmly believe that they will fill up the void for those who voted for the Brotherhood, and who are now disenchanted. In the absence of an opposition, they believe they will be the benefactors of the protest votes against the Muslim Brotherhood in the next parliamentary elections. Some romantics think the Salafis are more benign and a better choice than the brotherhood. They are deluded. The Salafis, once understanding how the political system functions, will be one hundred times more repressive than the Brothers.

Sorry to burst your bubble my fellow Egyptians. Simply put: Our true salvation lies in the understanding that a solid and effective opposition lies in a group of people who can articulate a very well written political ideology which is backed by a huge financial establishment.

Deep down in my heart, it pains me to write these words because I would wish, more than anything, for a revolt that would remove this tyrannical rule forever. Therefore if you disagree with me and want to bet otherwise, I am willing to take you on. Because this is one bet I would be most happy and willing to lose.

May God guide us all to what is best for our great nation and people.

From Dover to Calais

I know this is 2013 and that it is my first time to take a train voyage from London to Paris, so please forgive my childish rant and naive writings.
To think that the British and the French have been archenemies for so many centuries is unthinkable.
To be greeted by a French Passport Control officer at Saint Pancras station in London, and to board the Eurostar on a journey to the Gard Du Nord in Paris is unfreekingbeleivable !!!
The British and the French still keep poking fun of each other, at every possible occasion. They are now members of the EU and have a high speed train that links them both to each other. An umbilical cord of sorts. They are very similar in everything but language, yet they have managed to coexist peacefully for so long now. A Martian landing on earth today would assume they are of the same nation but of different fathers.
This brings me to my Egypt and our neck of the woods.
Imagine today an Arabstar train from Sharm El Sheikh to Jeddah. A portion of the line would also travel under water and the distance would be similar to the one I am currently traversing.
It would be a catastrophic journey.
Why you ask? Because we as Arabs, have not reconciled differences. We are still entrenched in hundreds of years of mistrust, envy and bias. We relish in our differences rather in basking in our commonality. Would half the journey serve alcohol until entry to the Saudi border? Will we build changing rooms for the ladies to dress in or out of their garb? After so many years of coexistence, we as Arabs have not yet found a formula where we can be like the French and the English? This is called civility. We are uncivilized because we as Egyptians left our civilization in 1952 and the Saudis left theirs after the death of Aly Ibn Abi Taleb.
I will get in to trouble for this rant, but I hope whoever reads this blog will take it in good stride. I mean well because I believe in our youth. They are the future of our region and they make up the majority of it. This generation is open to the world because of the ease of travel, and the wonderful border buster: the internet! They don't hold grudges and have less biases. They are purer and more open to change than our forefathers.
May our God, in his infinite wisdom, provide us with guidance and until we manage to reconcile ourselves with our past, and purge ourselves from our modern day fanaticism. Then will we be able to travel under water by train through umbilical chords.

The Political Islam Threats Have Begun

My dear Egyptian brothers and sisters,

I chose to write because since yesterday, once again, I have received death threats. They are related to my political affiliation. I have also received messages accusing me of being a US agent in my capacity as Chairman of the Egyptian National Competitiveness Council. This is not why I am writing this message, because I am capable of refuting these allegations, and I shall survive the death threats. I am writing this because I am confident many other secular nationalists will receive similar threats over the coming few weeks. In order to stand up to whoever is behind this new show of terror and force we need to unite. I believe that in unity there is strength, and although there is a shimmer of hope that the seculars are uniting, I still see major issues.

Yesterday’s 4th of December secular rallies in both Tahrir and Ettihadeya were epic. The energy of those present surpassed that of the 25th of January. The tweets and Facebook posts preparing for this rally were awe-inspiring. But there was one over arching problem. People were confused on where to go, and when? What were we going to demand for in our rallies? How long do we stay once we get there? Is there logistical support we can provide to each other, like transportation, food, water or blankets? In our divine wisdom, as a nation, we got most of it right on our own. No one, and no one should ever again under estimate the genetic code of the Egyptian intelligence. These genes have been developing for over 5000 years.

I had decided that morning that I would go to Tahrir first then to the Presidential Palace at 7. When I got to Tahrir it was already packed. The chanting gave me goose bumps, but I got a call from some of our Party youth at the Ettihadeya that they had stormed the barricades. Two tear gas shells were lobbed at them, but the police officers ordered their soldiers to move back and leave the demonstrators march on to the palace. I was overwhelmed with joy and asked the Party youth in Tahrir to move on to the Palace as quickly as they could. I wrote a message to Ahmed Said, the head of the Free Egyptians Party, who was in a reunion with Dr. El Baradei, Hamdein Sabahy, Amre Moussa and others. I recounted to him the situation and asked what this team of leaders desire us to do? Till the moment I am writing this note, I have not received an answer. It is 11:00 am on the 5th of December.

This recount is a case study of our malaise. We are a majority of Egyptians who need strong, young, energetic, dynamic, leaders and a group of elders who would be our moral anchors. Like a “board of trustees” in any successful business or academic institution. Our elders need to hone in on three or four young talents who are to become the lightning rods of this new movement. They will be the faces that will lead us into the political battles we will face in the near term. I am sure that others will surface on the long term, once they see that the “elders” are giving way to the younger generations.

I urge the leaders of all the secular political parties, all the revolutionaries and their organizations, to hold a general meeting that will last for as long as it takes to come up with leaders and plans for our future. The Americans did it in the Grand Convention at Philadelphia which took place from May 25 to September 17, 1787, to address problems in governing the United States of America before they wrote their constitution. Even the French and the Bolsheviks did it after their revolutions.

The delegates who are to be sent to this convention must be instructed to meet "for the sole and express purpose of uniting against political fascism in all its force and charting a road map for Egypt’s political and economic future." Although the men and women delegates will hold very different views, they must agree on questions of human nature, the causes of political conflict, and the object and nature of a democratic government. The “elders” will be called "the fathers of the Nation" and perhaps they will become the most influential members of the convention in translating political philosophy into party, and governmental architecture.

Today, until the above process is put in motion, our “elders” and existing movements need to meet daily and issue a morning communiqué on how they want us to act and react.

I rest my case my brothers and sisters and pray that God, in his infinite wisdom, protect you and guide you to what is best for our beloved Egypt.

بلاغ الى فضيلة شيخ الازهر

بقلم : د/ خالد منتصر

كتب الاستاذ انور وجدى فى عموده الاسبوع الماضى متسائلا عن سبب تخلفنا ، و انطلق من حادثتين التقطهما بمنتهى الذكاء ، الاولى هى تصريح د.فاروق الباز و حديثه عن عقدة المؤمرة التى تتلبسنا و التى ادت بنا ان نتخلف و نصبح فى الدرك الاسفل و ذهلنا فيه بالمقارنة المخجلة بين عدد براءات الاختراع العربية و الكورية و الحادثة الثانية هى الهجوم الذى تعرض له الكاتب اسمة انور عكاشة من بعض رجال الدين لانه تعرض بالنقد للصحابى هو عمربن العاص ، و اعتقد ان الربط بين الحادثتين مهم لتشخيص المرض العربى الذى جعلنا فى اخر طابور العالم بل تشيرالتنبؤات باننا سنلقى مصير الهنود الحمر قريبا ! و بنظرة سريعة على منهج تعليم ازهرى درسة 99% ممن يحملون على عاتقهم مسئولية تنويرنا الدينى و الفكرى و الذين يملكون منابر اقوى من جميع الاحزاب المصرية مجتمعة ، تعالوا نطلع معا على الكتب التى يقرأها هؤلاء و تشكل وعيهم و ماذا تقدم من فكر و سنعرف و سيعرف معنا الاستاذ انور وجدى لماذا تخلفنا ؟ ولماذا تم اغتيال المنهج العلمى فى بلادنا ؟ وسنعود فى تلك القراءة لكتب الفقه المقررة على المدارس الازهرية مثل " الروض المربع بشرح زاد المستنقع " وهو للمذهب الحنبلى و تم تأليفة منذ اربعة قرون و كتاب المذهب الشافعى " الاقناع فى حل الفاظ ابى شجاع " و تم تأليفه ايضا منذ اكثر من اربعة قرون وكتاب المذهب الحنفى " الاختبار لتعليل المختار " و هو مؤلف منذ اكثر من خمسة قرون اما احدثهم و هو كتاب المذهب المالكى " المقرر من الشرح الصغير " فهو مؤلف منذ قرنين ! و بالطبع اول ما سيفاجئنا هو هذه المدد الزمنية البعيدة التى لابد ان تحمل معها الغريب من الالفاظ و المهجور من الافكار التى طالما نادى المستنيرون من المسلمين بتطويرها و من اهم الدراسات التى ناقشت هذا التغيير دراسة علاء قاعود و احمد صبحى منصور و سليم العوا و طارق البشرى و ايضا شيخ الازهر نفسه الذى نادى كثيرا بالتغيير و هاجمه المتزمتون و سنحاول التركيز على اشياء محددة بعينها فى هذه المناهج نستطيع ان نخلص منها الى خطورة تبنيها و الاعتماد عليها لانها ببساطة هى تفريخ منظم الارهاب الخفى أو على الاقل افراز مستمر للجمود و التزمت و هذه الاشياء هى :

1.     الحشو و اللغو و غريب القول :

فى القرن الواحد و العشرين يقرأ تلاميذ الازهر عن كيفية الطلاق اذا قال الرجل لزوجته سأطلقك اذا كان هذا الطائر المجهول غرابا و يظل التلاميذ يحلون هذا اللغز العويص عن ماذا لو طلع الغراب فعلا وما هو الحل اذا ظهر ابوقردان مثلا ؟! " صفحة 377 الروض المربع " و ماذا نفعل نحن المساكين الذين امرنا بأن نسجد على سبعة اعظم هى الجبهة و اليدين و الركبتين و اطراف القدمين ، ماذا يفعل من خلق برأسين و اربع ارجل ؟ " ص 205 نفس الكتاب " بالذمة ده كلام انا مش حاقول حاجة و اترك لكم الرد على هذا الخيال الهوليودى المحلق !! و بالذمة ماذا يستفيد اطفالنا و شبابنا من قراءة كلمات غريبة مهجورة مثل لا يجوز لبس السرموزة و الجمجم ، او لاباس على المرأة ان تصل شعرها بقرامل و هى الاعقصة ، و يجوز المسح على الجرموق و يحب ان يعرف عفاصها ..الخ اما المقاييس و الانصبة و الاوزان و المكاييل التى تستعملها تلك الكتب فهى كطلاسم اللغة الهيروغليفية او شفرات اللغة الصينية فمازال الطلبة مطالبين بالقياس بالقلة و الوزن بالرطل الدمشقى و المثقال العراقى او قصر الصلاة اذا كانت المسافة ستة عشر فرسخا و الكيال من اجل الزكاة هو السق الذى هو ستون صاعا يا سلام قال احنا عارفين الصاع اصلا و لابد ان نأخذ فى الاعتبار الدرهم الأسلامى الذى هو ستة دوانق !!! وهذه مجرد عينة بسيطة جدا من تلك الالفاظ الغريبة المهجورة و الالغاز الشاذة المطالب بحفظها و حلها الغلابة من ابنائنا و اخوتنا طلبة الازهر اما السلوكيات و العادات التى كانت بنت وقتها فهى ايضا مشروحة بالتفصيل الممل ، و الكارثة انها تقدم فى شكل اوامر فقهية واجبة الطاعة ففى باب وليمة العرس و اداب الاكل " الاكل مما يليه بثلاثة اصابع وتخليل ما علق بالاسنان و مسح الصحفة و اكل ما تناثر و الشرب مصا......الخ و فى كتاب البيع يحرم التسعير و يحرم بيع الكلب و فى فصل صلاة الجنازة ص 328 من المقرر الشافعى " ان ترك المريض التداوى فهو افضل " يعنى الاحسن نلغى التأمين الصحى من مدارس الازهر و نستريح و نوفر و عندما يذكر الكتاب شروط من تقبل شهادته يؤكد على انه لا شهادة لمغن او لمن يأكل بالسوق يعنى بأختصار لا شهادة للسيدة ام كلثوم و بالطبع هشام عباس و امثاله من الصابئة ، طبعا الشهادة لحضرتك قارئى العزيز فى المحاكم  لاننى متأكد من انك قد تناولت على الاقل سندوتش طعمية او كنتاكى فى الشارع ! وبذلك تكون قد خسئت و صرت من مساخر البشر الذين لا تقبل شهادتهم حسب قوانين كتب الازهر الشريف .

2.     مخالفة العلم الحديث :

تصدمنا مقررات الفقه فى الازهر انها لا تجافى فقط اللغة الحديثة و انما تجافى و تخاصم العلم الحديث فالمهم عندهم هو ماذا قيل فى الكتب القديمة و ليس ما قيل فى محافل العلم الحديث فاعظم ما يجتهد فيه التيار المحافظ فى الازهر هو شرح الشرح و تلخيص التلخيص و طبخ ما سبق طبخة و تقديمة للطلبة فى وجبة " بايتة " و عليهم ان يأكلوها بل و بنفس مفتوحة و الامثلة على تجاوز العلم لما تقوله هذه الكتب كثيرة و اضخم من ان تضمها صفحات جريدة و لذلك سنقتبس فقط بعضها ليدل البعض على فداحة الكل فنقرأ مثلا فى صفحة 389 من كتاب الفقه الحنبلى السابق ذكره ان اقصى مدة للحمل هى اربع سنين ! فهل هذا معقول واذا كان مؤلف الكتاب معذور لانه الف هذا منذ اربعة قرون فالازهر مقصر و غير معذور فى تبنيه لمثل هذا الهراء العلمى و فى ص 119 يتحدث الكتاب عن التداوى ببول الابل ... و فى ص 50 فى باب الاذان يسن للمؤذن ان يجعل سبابتيه فى اذنيه لانه ارفع للصوت و فى ص 72 تبطل الصلاة بمرور كلب اسود لانه شيطان و الكلام الغريب عن دم الحيض الذى يقول عنه الكتاب فى صفحة 43 انه يخرج من قعر الرحم لحكمة غذاء الولد و تربيته و هو كلام كوميدى عفا عليه الزمن و فى كتاب الجنائز عن علامات الموت يقول انه يعرف بانخساف الصدغين و ميل الانف و انفصال الكف و استرخاء الارجل ص120 ! و هو ما اعتمد عليه الفقهاء المحافظون فى تأخير قانون زراعة الاعضاء و رفض الموت الاكلينيكىالذى تحدده احدث الاجهزة الطبية و فى كتاب المذهب الشافعى نفس الكلام المجافى للعلم مثل يستثنى من النحس الميتة التى لا دم لها سائل مثل القمل و البرغوث و ان الماء بالليل مأوى الجنص 76 و ان التنشيف بذيل الثوب بعد الوضوء يورث الفقر ص 69 ولابد من طى الثياب ليلا حتى لا يتلبسها الجن ليلا ص 310 و فى ادب قضاء الحاجة ص 80 " يكره حشو مخرج البول من الذكر بالقطن و اطالة المكث فى محل قضاء الحاجة لانه يورث وجعا فى الكبد " و حتى الظواهر الطبيعية لم تسلم من الشطح فالرعد ملك و البرق اجنحته يسوق بها السحاب " ص 302 و اقرأوا هذا التعريف العجيب للنوم الذى كتب فى ص 84 بأنه استرخاء اعصاب الدماغ بسبب رطوبات الابخرة الصاعدة من المعدة !! اعتقد اننى استنفدت علامات التعجب كلها فمعذرة ، اما تعريف الجنون فى نفس الكتاب فهو تعريف " انقح و اقوى " فهو زوال الشعور من القلب مع بقاء الحركة و القوة فى الاعضاء اما الشرط  الذى وضعه كتاب المذهب المالكى للتوأم فهو من اعجب الشروط فهو يقول  فى ص 79 " و التوأمان الولدان فى بطن اذا كان بينهما اقل من سته اشهر ! و بالطبع لابد ان يراجع هذا الكلام العجيب ما ينافى منه العلم الحديث يتم شطبه فليس معنى ان هذا الكلام قد قاله القدماء ان نقول له امين و نخلع عقولنا على بابه .

3.     وضع المرأة المهين :

لم يتعرض كائن للاهانة و المهانة مثلما تعرضت له المرأة على ايدى الفقهاء القدماء و برغم انصاف القرآن و الرسول – صلى الله عليه و سلم – لها الا ان التراث البدوى الجامد و الاعراف و التقاليد الصحراوية كانت احيانا اقوى و اعنف و فى كتب الفقه المقررة على المدارس الثانوية امثلة لا تحصى على هذه المهانة التى تعامل بها المرأة المسلمة فيكفى ان نقرأ ص 125 من كتاب الروض المربع بأن الزوج لا يلزمه كفن امرأته اى ليس واجبا عليه دفع ثمن كفن زوجته ! اما السبب فيورده الكتاب قائلا " لان الكسوة وجبت عليه بالزوجية و التمكن من الاستمتاع و قد انقطع ذلك بالموت " يعنى تخيلوا معيا الست اللى عاشت تخدم الراجل عمرها كله مش ضرورى يدفع لها الكفن لانه تزوجها علشان المتعة فقط ! و فى نفس الكتاب تحت عنوان النفقات نقرأ " لا يلزم الزوج لزوجته دواء و أجرة طبيب اذا مرضت لان ذلك ليس من حاجتها الضرورية المعتادة و فى ص 355 له ان يمنعها من حضور جنازة ابيها او امها و منعها من ارضاع ولدها من غيره يعنى ببساطة ممارسة سادية و خلاص ، وله ايضا ان يضربها ضربا غير المبرح عندما ترد عليه بتبرم ، وعارفين الضرب غير المبرح الذى يقرره الكتاب انه عشرة اسواط يعنى اقل من دستة كرابيج ! وطبعا ديتها نصف دية الرجل ص 417 و حتى العقيقة اقل – مش ست تستاهل – ففى الذكر شاتان و فى الجارية شاه ، اما فى باب عشرة النساء فستقرا العجب العجاب ، و يجيز الكتاب التزوج بفتاة عمرها اقل من تسع سنين ص 370 و تمتلىء الكتب المقررة بكلام سخيف عن الجوارى و احكام الزواج منهن و ديتهن و عوراتهن التى تختلف عن عورة الحرة .. الخ و اغرب ما قرأته عن الزواج كان تفضيل الزوجة يتيمة الام و ليست يتيمة الاب لان الام تفسد الزوجة و بالطبع يضيق المجال عن ذكر كوارث اخرى فيما يخص المرأةو الله يكون فى عون تلميذات الازهر اللاتى تتم اهانتهن و مرمطتهن  فى هذه الكتب كل حصة .

و اعتقد ان شيخ الازهر لا يوافق ايضا على ان تزدحم كتب الفقه باحكام الرق و العبيد و نحن فى القرن الواحد و العشرين و فى ظل مواثيق حقوق الانسان التى وقعت عليها مصر و التفسير موجود عند واحد فقط هو شيخ الازهر الذى لا افهم كيف يرضى عن هذا المنهج فى التفكير .

ولذلك كتبنا هذا التحقيق لتناقش القضية بشكل اوسع لانها هى قضية مجتمع اما ان تنفتح له ابواب المستقبل او يظل قابعا فى كهف الماضى يجتر خرافات و يموت باسفكسيا الجهل .

The Egyptian National Competitiveness Council Post 25 January

Something to think about? http://www.egytv.net/drama/tabid/11070/default.aspx

An Empty House In Hacienda

A dear friend of my wife's got married last week. We were invited to her marriage celebration party at her house in Hacienda during the 23rd of July holiday.

Hacienda is a very upscale summer resort gated compound. It is located several kilometers within the confines of the famous city of El Alamein. The city is known for being the location where Rommel was defeated by Montgomery in WWII, a major turning point in this war.

Hacienda was created following the rapid decline of the city of Agami in the late 90's. Agami was then described, by a visiting foreign friend of mine as “the last bastion of decadence” in Egypt. By the end of his visit he called it “Agony” in lieu of Agami!

Due to Agami’s decline, a famous developer (Mahmoud El Gammal), and a famous architect (Shehab Mazhar) got together to create this new community of Hacienda. They are both very fine and respectable people who have acquired justifiable fame for the quality of their offerings. The masses had charged into Agami and the “well to do” had to flee out. Hacienda was one of the chosen sites. Nearly everyone who owned an upscale house in Agami bought a house in Hacienda. The developers and the architect made a lot of money, and the homeowners got what they paid for.

During the same period, another group of Agamists chose to buy homes in a Kibbutz style project called the Diplomats (Diplomasseyeen). It is now better known as Diplo. These were the simple, non-flamboyant, down to earth, less wealthy Egyptians. They also didn’t want to spend exorbitant money on a summer home. In due course most homeowners in Diplo tore down the facades and interiors of their homes in favor of a more esthetically pleasant, and richer, home. Till this day, inhabitants of both communities still argue why Hacienda is better than Diplo and vice versa!

Those who kept their homes in Agami joined the masses!

This brings me back to my presence at Hacienda on the 23^rd of July 2011. The simple wedding celebration party was made by, and for, the bride and groom’s friends. Food was prepared by a cook. A far cry from the days when the Hacienda hosts catered their food from the Four Seasons. The weather was wonderful, the house simple and modern. We were the house guests of the lovely, and extremely hospitable bride. It was her parent’s home and she felt like she was a guest there too.  The groom is a handsome, warm and an extremely creative person. Genius pops out of his eyes. He also bears a twenty centimeter scar on his right arm. The scar is a result of a surgery he underwent to remove a bullet from his arm. He received this bullet demonstrating against the Mubarak regime long before the revolution was ever contemplated. He doesn’t boast the scar, but when asked he gives you a modest recount of the event. He was bullet scarred, yet he is here in Hacienda celebrating his marriage. He displays a happy smile when we talk about the revolution. He has spent many a night in Tahrir square since the 25^th of January. He can recount a myriad of stories about this revolution.
The bride’s house is on the second row of houses, and yet it overlooks the sea. To its left is a house which directly overlooks the sea. The shutters are closed and it looks, and feels, uninhabited. The only thing different about it is the funny looking, hi tech, antenna sprouting from the middle of the roof. I ask the bride: “Who owns that house”? She replies: “Gamal Mubarak”.

So here I am, enjoying a lovely balmy summer day in Hacienda. I am sitting in the garden overlooking an empty house, talking to the groom and my eyes keep wandering to that scar on his arm. My mind also wanders to a friend, I once had, who is not in his home overlooking the sea in Hacienda. He is in a house with a room with no view. How on earth did he get there?

That is another story.

The Rule of Law

Egypt post 25 January is an Egypt in chaos. It is however a chaos I like! It is a chaos that augurs a worthy change.

It is amazing Egypt is functioning anyway. Can you imagine France, England, or any other country for that matter functioning for six months without a parliament, police force or presidency?

We have a caretaker government in place, which is doing absolutely nothing to move us forward in any direction. The government is actually hampering rather than promoting change. Blame is thrown on the prime minister, and rightfully so. If I were in his shoes I would have risen to the challenge. I would have informed my fellow citizens of the dire economic state we are in. I would have enlightened my people on the findings in the previous regime’s governmental “black boxes” I have come to open over the past few months. By being honest with my fellow citizens I will earn their respect. We as Egyptians are a resilient nation. We don’t want to be lied to, and we are willing to carry the burden longer than others as long as we are given hope.

Hope however cannot be experienced unless it is guaranteed by a sense of security. Security comes from the implementation of the “Rule of Law”.

The “Rule of Law” is a fair, impartial, and accessible justice system, and a representative government is a key element of the rule of law. The “Rule of Law” means to have an independent, efficient, and accessible judicial and legal system, with a government that applies fair and equitable laws equally, consistently, coherently, and to all of its people. By applying the “Rule of Law” we are therefore guaranteed good governance which is generally characterized by accessibility, accountability, predictability and transparency.

I would have therefore, most of all, started a colossal endeavor of institutionalizing a new and effective and efficient “Rule of Law” system for Egypt. Without the “Rule of Law” any future attempts in the amelioration of our standard of living is doomed for failure.

By preparing for this paradigm shift in governance, the current government would have prepared the ground work for the future elected parliament to espouse the concept of governance only, and only with, the “Rule of Law” in practice.