Hossam Badrawi Official Website
I have old relationship with Hussam Badrawi. It started when I was invited to a TV program in which we both participated. He was late, and the shooting time was over, then he showed up. He was out of breath and apologized saying, “The lady gave birth so hard.” At the time, my anger faded away and was replaced with respect for the doctor who placed his medical duty above any issue. My relationship with him went on, sometimes as a politician, educational expert or a doctor, until I received a phone call from him when Egypt was in the middle of the storm of January, 25 Revolution. He calmly said, «I am offered the position of Secretary-General of the National Democratic Party.. What is your opinion?” I told him to accept, wishing that he could present a good example which I expected to be positive, but he was hesitated. He said, “But.. .” I interrupted him saying, “without “but.” If you do not accept this position, someone else will come, who will destroy the remaining from Egypt and its future.” When Omar Suleiman assumed his position as Vice President and in a meeting with the parties leaders, I was setting on his left and Hossam Badrawi was on his right, in a sign that surprised the audience. But what surprised them most was that I spoke frankly and claimed decisive demands to satisfy protestors. Badrawi totally agreed on what I said. That was a courageous situation of the one that assumed the Secretary-General of NDP. Our intimate relationship was and is growing. Till I was visited by the young Researcher Ahmed Mubarak who inspired me by his enthusiasm to respond to him and write an introduction to a book about Dr. Hossam Badrawi .. I encouraged him; however his enthusiasm was not in need of any encouragement. But I did not imagine that this young man made all that effort to gather what Badrawi wrote, said, did and was written about him. He presented the reader an integrated example of a person who appears calm when he is furious and appears modest when his modesty adds more pride to his personality». It added to my knowledge about Badrawi a lot about his continuous struggle to defend the human rights and his internal partisan struggle which was announced in many cases that were particularly critical to the ruler, his ruling party and men and followers of his men.
Ahmed Mubarak succeeds in tracking many of Hossam Badrawi’s relentless attempts to reform the party’s rickety, full-of-corruption structure. We read in a television interview [October 2007] that Badrawi says,” Change comes either through rotation of power or through changing the NDP internally. Egyptians need a wave of change in it as it is the political structure of the ruling party. They need to work for reforming the party as an introduction to reforming the entire political system [p. 72]. Badrawi said, seemingly he justified his battle from inside, not outside the party, “I believe that any ruling system needs someone to reform and push it to the right way from inside. Internal opposition is more dangerous than external opposition. Tyrannical regimes attack its opponents from inside first.” [P. 78]. His situation from facing Islamization and its relationship to freedoms is a situation that deserves respect. He was and is still the same. We read, “We must admit that the security confrontation to politics and terrorism religionization will necessarily lead to imposing some restrictions on human rights, especially in the areas of freedom of expression, movement and activity. Therefore, we need a parallel strategy to protect human rights and strengthen political participation and openness to civil society through new initiatives, new thought and executive programs that citizens feel and participate in.” [P.84 [“We must admit that any government cannot alone confront intellectual and religious extremism. Only the whole society can do so. Society cannot ally with the government to achieve this goal unless we give [people] freedoms, keep their dignity with all management authorities and fulfill their demands for the natural rights of health, education, transportation, housing and food.” [P. 85]. This situation requires us all to call for it, and still requires us to shout for it.
Badrawi, in a television interview [in 2008], said, “Wealth should not be placed with political power in one box. This is danger. We must bear in mind that there is no group in society that has no right to exist in political authority because everyone has the same rights. There must be clear rules to avoid conflict of interests, and it must be applied to everyone.” ]p. 9] .. I recall these words now and I find them worthy of being recalled. We can add that Badrawi refused interference of wealth to control the media [which, of course, will lead to political influence and impact on the public opinion] [P. 95[.
Badrawi describes his battles in the NDP. He says in a simple way with fun, “I’m like one who is pushing a car in an upward slope. If the situation continues to be as is, this means undesirable repercussions.” [October 2009].. I think about this sentence and ask myself, Badrawi and the reader, which one of us does not have this feeling? [P.103] Hossam Badrawi calmly and courageously continued his challenge. Perhaps he was teasing his adversaries. He declared [in 2009], “My political structure is against inheritance [of governance].” He continued challenging all saying [in 2007], “Everyone lies and forges. If the NDP replaces Wafd Party and the NDP replaces Muslim Brotherhood Party, nothing will change. [P. 146]. When the NDP figures kept censuring Badrawi’s situations and declarations, he, for the first time, shouted saying [2010], “The rotation of power is the only solution to face corruption. I demand applying it in the NDP first. If we do not make the change, the consequences shall be disastrous. Egypt is no longer the mother of the world because deterioration hit all areas» [p. 148]. In front of all at the Supreme Political Council, Badrawi said “Although I belong to the majority party, I feel that I belong to minority everywhere.” In May 2010, seven months before January Revolution, Hossam Badrawi wrote to Mubarak saying, “As part of my participation in the seventh session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, and the interviews I presented. I am presenting Your Excellency suggestions to develop the role of the NDP in supporting Egypt policy in the area of human rights internally and externally.» [P.164]. There are extremely important comments and details in the report. For example, Badrawi said an important opinion “In many departments in Europe and America, they began to use the term “Moderate Islam.” It is an idiomatic contradiction because any political Islam uses religion to reach power, or at least confuses religion with politics and this is a significant danger to the civil state, the Constitution, the Copts and our national homogeneity. The religious political tide is increasing, its spread in society is clear and its manifestations are very disturbing» [P. 170] .. This statement may be more than sufficient to give Hossam Badrawi our full respect.. and to give Ahmed Mubarak sincere thanks and greetings.
